A Game-Based Repeated Assessment for Cognitive Monitoring: Initial Usability and Adherence Study in a Summer Camp Setting.

Kids at a summer camp played a game on a tablet eight times in two weeks. The game looks like a video game but secretly measures attention and impulse control.

Camp staff handed out tablets and watched for side effects. The study included children with autism and ADHD, but no control group.

Children kept playing the game every time it was offered. No one got hurt or upset.

The game scores were steady across days and clearly split the ADHD group from the autism group.

Sacrey et al. (2025) went further. They gave toddlers with autism the same kind of game, but as treatment. Attention scores went up and parents saw better focus at home. The 2019 paper shows the tool is safe; the 2025 paper shows it can also teach.

Spaniol et al. (2021) and Spaniol et al. (2018) used an older computer program called CPAT in schools. Kids played twice a week for two months and later scored higher in math, reading, and writing. The camp study proves the new game is just as reliable in a messier, real-world setting.

Livingston et al. (2021) and Strohmeier et al. (2018) used a five-minute game called RAAT to find out which kind of attention works as a reinforcer. Their tool finds the best praise; the Akili tool tracks overall attention. Same speed, different jobs.

You now have a five-minute tablet game that kids will play willingly and that gives clean data. Use it during intake or re-eval to see if attention is drifting, especially if you suspect ADHD alongside autism. The camp setting shows it works even with noise, peers, and snacks nearby.