Previous studies have shown the positive effects of educational video games (serious games) in improving motivation, attention and other cognitive components in students with learning disabilities. This study analyzes the effects on attention of a serious game based on multiple intelligences in a sample of 44 students (age range = 6–16 years; experimental group = 24; control group = 20) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and specific learning disorder (SLD). Performance and observation measures of attention were used. The intervention consisted of 28 sessions (10 min each), in which the participants trained with 10 games based on multiple intelligences. A significant improvement in attention performance measures (visual attention) was found after the intervention, with the experimental and the control groups significantly differing in the posttest. These results invite consideration of the applicability of boosting different intelligences, talents or unique abilities through educational videogames as an important bridge to improving areas of deficit-in this case attention-in students with learning disabilities.

This study examined differences in future anxiety (FA) among mothers and fathers of children with and without developmental disabilities (DD), and it also analyzed differences in FA within the group of parents of children with DD taking into consideration parent-related factors and child-related factors. A group of 167 parents of children with DD were compared to a group of 103 parents of children with typical development. The group with DD included children with autism spectrum disorders, sensory disorders, and intellectual disability. Parents completed the Future Anxiety Scale-FAS1. Mothers of children with DD had a higher general level of FA than fathers of children with and without DD. Mothers of children with DD reported higher anxiety about their future health and the meaning of their future life than fathers of children with DD. For parents of children with DD, those with lower education, male children, and older children reported higher FA. The group at risk of highest general FA are mothers of children with DD, especially those without a professional career. Similarly, parents of teenagers and/or sons with DD are at increased risk of FA.

Objective: To analyze the diagnostic effectiveness of the AULA Nesplora test to discriminate the different ADHD presentations: impulsive/hyperactive (I/H), inattentive, and combined.Method: A total of 117 students (76.9% male and 23.1% female) between 5 and 16 years of age (M = 11.18 years, SD = 3.10 years) participated, and were divided into three groups with ADHD according to their presentation, and a control group. Results: Each of the test conditions allowed the discrimination between the I/H and combined presentations with respect to the control group, and between the I/H and inattentive presentations. However, differences among ADHD presentations were only evident when the results were separately analyzed for the visual and auditory modalities. Conclusion: This study showed that the indicators offered by the AULA Nesplora test (omissions, commissions, response times, and motor activity) make it possible to establish a differential diagnosis of ADHD presentations when analyzed under different contextual conditions.

Background/Objective: Continuous Performance Tests (CPTs) have demonstrated validity when differentiating children with ADHD from healthy controls. However, these CPTs have limitations such as low ecological validity. New CPTs based on the use of Virtual Reality (VR) have appeared as supposedly improved methods for assessing ADHD. This study aims to compare the discriminant value of attentional variables produced by a VR CPT (Aula Nesplora) with that of variables from a traditional CPT (Test of Variables of Attention; TOVA) for identifying ADHD. Method: A total of 338 children aged between 6 and 16 years old (M = 10.84, SD = 3.01) participated in the study: 31.95% correspond to the inattentive presentation, 15.38% to the impulsive-hyperactive presentation, 22.78% to the combined presentation, and the remaining 29.88% correspond to children without ADHD. Results: Results indicated that Aula Nesplora predicts ADHD presentations better than TOVA. It also differentiates better between ADHD and non-ADHD students. Conclusions: These findings show the potential advantages of using virtual reality in ADHD assessment, as it facilitates the diagnosis of ADHD and the differentiation of its presentations in a realistic environment.