Comparison of the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation programs of Brain training and Cogni Plus on cognitive skills of students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of two serious games “Brain train” and “cogni_plus” on improving the performance of sustained auditory and visual attention in children with ADHD. Method: The method of the present study was quasi-experimental. The sample group of the present study consisted of 45 second to sixth grade students who received a diagnosis of Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder. Of these, 30 were in the experimental group, which were randomly assigned to the “Brain train” and “cogni_plus” game groups, and 15 were placed in the control group without intervention. Both experimental groups received three sessions per week for eight weeks and a total of 24 sessions by computer-trained therapists in the field of cognitive rehabilitation separately with the game “Brain train” and “cogni_plus” and the control group did not receive any training program. The performance of all three groups in cognitive functions was assessed by sustained auditory and visual attention before and after cognitive training programs by integrated visual-auditory performance test. The collected data were analyzed by analysis of covariance using LSD post hoc test. Results: The results of data analysis showed a significant improvement in the performance of the two experimental groups compared to the control group in the measured components (p <; 0.05). Also, no significant difference was observed between the two experimental groups in improving the performance of sustained auditory attention speed (p <; 0.05). However, in terms of stable visual attention, the cogni_plus group performed better than the brain training group (p <; 0.05). Conclusion: In general, the obtained results indicate the effectiveness of serious games used in the present study on improving the attention span of children with ADHD. In addition, the results show that the “cogni_plus” in terms of strengthening visual cognitive skills perform better than the “Brain train”.