Improving ADHD Teen Driving - Virtual Reality
Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati
204 participants
Sep 11, 2025
INTERVENTIONAL
Conditions
Summary
Teens with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have high rates of negative driving outcomes, including motor vehicle crashes, which may be caused by visual inattention (i.e., looking away from the roadway to perform secondary tasks). Two versions of a driving intervention that trains teens to reduce instances of looking away from the roadway will be tested in teens with ADHD.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria5
- Aged 16-19.
- Teens will meet DSM ADHD criteria for ADHD-Predominantly Inattentive Presentation or ADHD-Combined Presentation based on the K-SADS interview.
- Possess a valid driver's license and regularly spend at least 3 hours per week engaged in unsupervised driving.
- IQ ≥80 as measured by the Kauffman Brief Intelligence Scale - Second Edition (KBIT-2).
- Parent willing to participate.
Exclusion Criteria6
- On ADHD medication that cannot be washed out on assessment days.
- Drug or alcohol dependence based on self-report on the Simple Screening Instrument for Alcohol and Other Drugs survey.
- On psychotropic or neuroleptic medications.
- At-risk for motion sickness in the driving simulator or in virtual reality.
- History of moderate to severe head trauma, neurological disorder, or any other organic disorder that could possibly affect brain function.
- Cannot see the secondary task stimuli without the use of glasses (contacts acceptable).
Interventions
Weekly for 5 weeks, teens complete a computer training program designed to train teens to limit the length of glances away from the roadway. During phase 1 of each training session, on a computer, the top portion of the screen plays a simulated video drive while the bottom half of the screen contains a map. Teens complete tasks that require switching between the 2 halves of the screen. While doing so, they receive feedback regarding how long they are looking away from the driving portion of the screen. During phase 2 of each training session, teens will complete five 5-minute simulated drives using a fixed-base driving simulator. During the drives, teens will be cued to a complete a visual search task which will require them to divert their gaze from the road. Eye tracking goggles will monitor eye glances and provide real time auditory feedback when a visual glance away from the roadway exceeds 2 secs.
Weekly for 5 weeks, teens complete a training program designed to train teens to limit the length of glances away from the roadway. The training has two phases, each of which will be administered using immersive virtual reality. The first phase will have teens switch between the upper half of a virtual reality screen which will play a simulated video drive while the bottom half contains a map. Teens complete tasks that require switching between the 2 halves of the screen. While doing so, they receive feedback regarding how long they are looking away from the driving portion of the screen. During the second phase of each session, teens will complete five 5-minute simulated drives in a virtual reality environment where teens will be cued to a complete a visual search task which will require them to divert their gaze from the road. Eye tracking will monitor eye glances and provide real time auditory feedback when a visual glance away from the roadway exceeds 2 secs.
Locations(1)
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NCT06960980