Video Games and ADD

Video games have been notoriously frowned upon by the adult society. Recently many companies have taken advantage of videogames as a medium for learning. Kids can be taught anything from vocabulary and English skills to how to play an instrument. The protestors of videogames are now seeing commercials on their children’s favorite channel explaining how rewarding it is to combine knowledge with visual fun.

In my own opinion based on personal experience, though, they can be beneficial in a much more important area. Starting from 2nd grade my mom was told I had ADD. There were so many teachers telling her I needed Ritalin that we decided to give it a try. The doctor said that I wasn’t overly hyper or easily distracted, but that my brain couldn’t handle too much information at once. For example, if someone asked me to do four or five tasks for them throughout the day and I had no list to remind me of everything, I would most likely forget at least one task. It is most evident in my life not in school but at home. I get overwhelmed with a dirty room because my mind can’t handle all of the things that need to be done and I will avoid it.

I used to watch people play Dance Dance Revolution when it first came to the U.S. and marveled at how their brain could process the timing of their steps so fast and accurately. I tried it and totally bombed. After all I had heard from the teachers, the first thing to pop in my mind was that I would never be capable of doing something like that. My boyfriend had been playing a similar game on the computer called Flash Flash Revolution where you use four fingers to hit up, right, left and down arrows on time. Again, I thought I would never be able to get good at it.

My boyfriend, Chad, kept encouraging me to keep practicing and pretty soon I doubled my speed and accuracy. I continued getting better until I was almost as good as him. He introduced me to a different genre of game that pushed me even further. Soul Caliber is a fighting game where there are a multitude of things to remember if you want to play well. You can use the D-Pad for walking and attacks. You use X, O, triangle, square, L1, L2, R1 and R2. Even if you are not familiar with a videogame controller, you can tell that’s a lot of buttons being used simultaneously. There are attacks like square, square; then press back, triangle, and circle at once. You have to memorize your opponent’s attacks and style for timing. You have to learn when to block rather than attack. There are really many things involved all at once.

Chad and his friends had been playing this game for a number of years by the time I had started to practice. I of course got schooled by everyone for a while and sometimes had to sneak infinite life on so that I could actually get to play a bit before they realized. I started to get better, though, and my brain adapted to handling multiple commands at once. These are just a few of the games whose complicated operations have helped me train my mind to overcome the obstacles my ADD creates. When I was using Ritalin, it never allowed me to accomplish such a feat. In fact, it only gave me excuses for becoming overwhelmed. I don’t doubt that kids with ADD do indeed have a harder time with such tasks, but my opinion is that brain exercises such as those you will find in videogames offer a more effective resolution that with long-lasting results. Please keep in mind that these are just my own opinions based off personal experience and a want to help those with ADD who are capable of managing their symptoms without medication to find a method that may fit them.