03 Nov 2011
By: LEA WEE
Computer games are also helping children who have learning or psychological issues.
Most programs for reading and spelling are not designed for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or anxiety disorders.
So psychologists at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) worked with Fujitsu Asia and e-learning company ASKnLearn to come up with their own programs in 2009.
They developed a web-based portal, Roc-N-Ash (www.roc-n-ash.com), which has a child assume an online character of either a male or a female avatar.
The ADHD program trains the child to concentrate and be less impulsive, for instance, as he fights sea monsters to save a dolphin, said Ms Kheng Joo Lian, principal educational psychologist at IMH.
Before the child starts some games, he has to wait for five seconds for a puffer fish to deflate. If he does, he is rewarded with gold coins.
The portal incorporates an anxiety program which teaches a child how to identify anxious thoughts and recognise the physical symptoms of anxiety. He also learns coping strategies, such as deep breathing and replacing anxious thoughts with more helpful ones, said IMH’s principal clinical psychologist, Mr Ong Lue Ping.
One parent, who only wanted to be known as Mrs Ng, credited the program for helping her son, Lucas, 12, pass his year-end examinations recently, after he failed two subjects during the mid-year exams.
Lucas used to suffer from anxiety attacks and would throw tantrums and even threaten to kill himself every time Mrs Ng asked him to do his schoolwork. He started using the computer program early this year.
Said Mrs Ng: “I could see some improvement after a few sessions, especially after he learnt the deep breathing techniques. He would tell me, ‘Mummy, today, I did not throw tantrums. I was able to breathe before I did my schoolwork’.”
In April, the IMH received the National Research Foundation grant to link another game to the existing portal to help children manage their anger.
Access to the portal, which also includes educational materials on ADHD and anxiety disorders, is free. But users have to pay a subscription fee of $40 to play the games.
Other hospitals use computer games available off the shelf to help their patients cope with psychological problems.
Occupational therapists at Changi General Hospital (CGH) use the Nintendo Wii not only in its rehabilitation programme for stroke patients, they also use it with patients who have mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.
Playing a Wii game with others helps to promote social interaction, which improves general well-being, said CGH’s senior occupational therapist, Ms Fang Yihong.
Meanwhile, to prevent potential psychological problems from arising among its adolescent patients, the National University Hospital introduced an inpatient group programme in 2009, which encourages patients to play computer games as a group and make friends with one another.
Besides computer games, there are also board games and art projects.
“These are just tools. The main aim is to create an atmosphere where young people can be young people and be around others like themselves, instead of just being hospital patients,” said senior medical social worker Benjamin Png.
Computer games can also have applications beyond benefiting those with psychological and physical problems. There are reports that they can help in the management of pain, including that related to procedures such as wound dressing in burns patients.
Dr Tan Kian Hian, the director of the pain management centre at the Singapore General Hospital, said computer games help by distracting patients from their pain. There is also some evidence that they cause biological changes in the brains of patients which, in turn, relieve their pain.
He added that the centre is not using computer games for pain relief at the moment.
“But we will monitor the advancements in this field closely,” he said.
Email: leawee@sph.com.sg
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