1 . While many parents worry their children spend too much time playing computer games, Kelcey is happy to see her son Owain turn on his computer. Since Owain had ADHD, the family have taken him to see doctors to help him deal with everyday life tasks. Owain also tried the medicine, but had to stop after the drugs worsened his pain. With ADHD continuing to influence Owain’s school performance, Kelcey was hoping for any other choice. Help came in the end from what seemed very strange — a computer game called EndeavorRx.
EndeavorRx was the first such game to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the treatment of ADHD in children. Now it’s only available on prescription (处方) from doctors. When doctors prescribe it, the child’s parents are sent a link that is needed before the game can be played. Though EndeavorRx looks very similar to other games, it’s been developed to improve areas of the brain that play a key role in attention function.
EndeavorRx trains a child with ADHD to do several things together and take no notice of things that take their attention away. It also measures their performance and changes the difficulty of the game in real time according to the user’s needs. Eddie Martucci, CEO of Akili, says, “These can be very difficult to get through traditional means like taking a pill. But it turns out that playing EndeavorRx can directly make parts of the brain function active.”
Fellow UK scientist Lee Chambers says while the use of such video games in the treatment of mental health conditions is still in the early stages, it appears to have potential (潜力). “Playing a game can avoid the feeling like we are being tested,” he says. “These types of mental health games can follow changes in the information that they collect over time. Given this, they have the potential to improve people’s health in a new way.”
1. What makes Owain’s mother pleased?| A．Her son’s good school performance. |
| B．A helpful way to fight her son’s disease. |
| C．The improvement in her son’s computer skills. |
| D．The great effect of medicine on her son’s disease. |
| A．It includes very simple game tasks. |
| B．It should be played by parents first. |
| C．It can only be used with the doctor’s agreement. |
| D．It is popular among people with mental problems. |
| A．Traditional treatment fails to hold kids’ attention. |
| B．EndeavorRx has advantages over traditional treatment. |
| C．Video games are less harmful to kids than parents have imagined. |
| D．EndeavorRx will attract people wishing to improve productivity at work. |
| A．They have a bright future. |
| B．They should go through more tests. |
| C．They will replace normal treatment soon. |
| D．They should be played with fewer limitations. |
