Can Video Gaming Help a Child with ADHD Get a Future Job?
Can Video Gaming Help a Child with ADHD Get a Future Job?
Can Video Gaming Help a Child with ADHD Get a Future Job?
By Randy Kulman, Ph.D.
January 12, 2023
Summary
If your child with ADHD is trying to convince you that video game playing is going to help him or her become a professional gamer who makes millions of dollars, don't believe them.
Playing video games can help your child with ADHD get a job.
One of the biggest complaints of parents of kids with ADHD is they are too focused on their screens, although it should be noted that many kids with ADHD floundered when confined to their screens during the remote learning stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The use of a variety of stimuli including video, sounds, words, and actions along with a design that uses trial and error or guided discovery also captures and maintains attention in children with ADHD. As many parents realize, kids with ADHD don't have a problem paying attention, but they might have a problem with paying attention to activities that are not interesting to them.
Many of the jobs in the future will depend on knowledge and facility with technology, something that many kids with ADHD are well-equipped for.
While expertise in video games and technology may be helpful for kids with ADHD to train for 21st-century jobs, many of them can overdo their "Training." It becomes incumbent upon parents to guide and regulate game play and to help children translate game-based skills into real-world skills.
Teach children with ADHD to apply what they learn in video game play to their daily activities and the real world by asking them how they solved problems and used creativity in their gameplay.
Reference
Kulman, R. (2023, January 12). CAN video gaming help a child with ADHD get a future job? Psychology Today. Retrieved January 30, 2023, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/screen-play/202211/can-playing-video-games-help-your-child-with-adhd-get-a-job