ECogFun-virtual reality program for improving planning and organization skills in daily life among children and adolescents with ADHD: A study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.
A new VR game for ADHD planning skills is under trial; we must wait for data.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Pérez-Rodríguez et al. (2025) wrote a plan for a new VR game called ECogFun-VR. Kids with ADHD will play 12 short sessions inside a headset.
The kids are 9-17 years old. Half will play the game right away. Half will wait and play later. This is an RCT, so the team can compare scores before and after.
What they found
There are no results yet. This paper only tells us how the study will run.
How this fits with other research
Mitchell et al. (2007) already showed that one VR café lesson helped autistic teens pick better seats. ECogFun-VR copies that idea but targets planning skills in ADHD instead of social skills in autism.
Tamm et al. (2024) ran a small-group class called AIMS for autistic middle-schoolers. It raised planning and grades. ECogFun-VR wants the same gains, but uses headsets instead of a teacher-led group.
García-Gómez et al. (2016) tried horse therapy for ADHD. It barely moved teacher ratings. The VR team hopes tighter game tasks will beat that weak result.
Why it matters
If the RCT later shows gains, you could add short VR sessions to your toolkit for ADHD clients who need help with homework planning or packing a bag. Watch for the outcome paper before buying headsets.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
ADHD is a prevalent childhood neuropsychological disorder that can cause difficulties in functioning within school, family, and social environments, as well as impact well-being of children and adolescents with ADHD. This study will explore the effects of the ECogFun-VR multimodal intervention on planning, organization, and daily functionating in children and adolescents with ADHD. A randomized triple-blind clinical trial will be conducted, with participants randomized into experimental and control groups. The clinical trial has included children and adolescents aged from 9 to 17 years diagnosed with any subtypes of ADHD. Participants should receive stable pharmacological treatment or not receiving any pharmacological treatment during the study. The experimental group will receive 12 weekly sessions of ECogFun-VR, while the control group will undergo no treatment initially. Evaluation will involve several measures including TMT A-B, STROOP, WISC-IV, BADS-C, NEPSY-II, Time-S, W-ADL, Peds SSQ, SNAP-IV, SDQ, BRIEF-2, EQ-i: YV. Assessments will be conducted pre-treatment, post-treatment and follow-up (3- and 6-months post-treatment). The main outcomes are planning organization and functioning of activities of daily living. Secondary outcomes will include executive function, activities of daily living management, and clinical outcomes.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2025 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2025.105075