Guided crossword-puzzle games aimed at children with Attentional Deficit: Preliminary results

Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which affects an estimated 5.29% of children worldwide, is one of the most prevalent disorders within the child population today. Succeeding to motivate children with ADHD to undertake academic activities is a key element in their development. This article shows the preliminary results of the pilot-phase in an experiment performed to evaluate the use of guided crossword-puzzle games within a group of 32 typically developing children between 8 and 12 years old without ADHD. To do so, we relied on the collection of parameters and the conduct of screening surveys, as well as measuring system usability. None of the users obtained significant scores in the screening test, so they were all able to take part in the control group. The final calculations based on the usability questionnaire resulted in an average score of 87.11 out of 100. The replication of the current study in conjunction with the development of new guided mini-games for working different areas may help to understand these user´s needs and boost behavioral skills such as attention and organization capabilities among children with and without ADHD.