Profile
Project Title: Exploring impact of digital technology on families of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: towards developing an intervention for safe use.
Summary: The increasing presence of digital technology in children’s lives poses both opportunities and risks. This may be especially important for neurodiverse children who may find it more difficult to pay attention, are hyperactive or impulsive. While technology may offer many benefits (e.g., educational, social connection), neurodiverse children may be more vulnerable to its adverse impacts, for example, increased problems with attention, sleep disruptions, and amplifying the risk of addictive behaviour. My PhD research aims to develop an intervention to support families of neurodiverse children to
address the challenges of digital technology management. This project involves three objectives:
(1) explore how neurodiverse children use technology and identify the specific parenting challenges
(2) co-design (with parents and child behaviour experts) will help to develop new content to support parents in managing their child's technology use (3) a pilot randomised controlled trial to evaluate the intervention's acceptability and effectiveness. This mixed-method study will employ a systematic review to explore current knowledge on how neurodiverse children use technology. In-depth interviews with parents and professionals will gather insights into their experiences and concerns.
A screening questionnaire will be developed to identify parents needing support in managing their child's technology use. A series of co-design workshops will be conducted to develop an intervention, which will be presented in an e-book and on a simple website. A pilot randomised controlled trial will assess the intervention's effectiveness in reducing parental concerns about their child's technology use.
By developing an intervention, this research aims to empower families to mitigate the potential adverse impact of digital technology while maximising its benefits for neurodiverse children.
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