Active Psychology & Behaviour NIHR-supported project Mental Health

RECOGNeyes for schools

In plain English

AI plain-English summary

One in 20 school-age children worldwide struggle to focus, remember instructions, and stay organised because of ADHD, yet most computer games designed to train their attention have failed to help in real life. This matters because ADHD’s effects on reading, maths, and learning can limit a child’s future job opportunities and mental health. Medication offers only short-term relief and can have side-effects. The problem is that existing cognitive training games do not train skills that transfer to everyday tasks. RECOGNeyes trains a single, concrete skill: keeping your eyes on the task. Children play a game using a small eye tracker, which strengthens the brain’s gaze-control system—a core component of attention. Early results show improved eye control, smoother reading, and measurable brain changes on scans. If this succeeds in schools, it could offer a drug-free, scalable way to improve attention and learning for millions of children with ADHD, without side-effects. The team is now refining the game, testing it in school settings, and developing pathways to make it widely available.

View original technical description
ADHD affects 1 in 20 school-age children worldwide. It makes it hard to focus, remember things, and stay organised, which can impact skills like reading, maths, and overall learning. These challenges often affect a child’s future, from job opportunities to mental health. While medication can help, it has short-term effects and sometimes unwanted side-effects. Practicing skills, however, can change the brain for the better. Computer-based Cognitive Training (CCT) games are designed for this purpose. But for ADHD, most CCT games haven’t worked well—likely because they don’t train skills that are useful in real life. RECOGNeyes takes a different approach. It focuses on training one key skill: “keeping your eyes on the task.” Using a small eye tracker, kids play a game by controlling it with their eyes. This strengthens the brain’s gaze-control system, which plays a big role in attention. So far, RECOGNeyes is showing great promise for young people with ADHD. It has helped with better eye control, smoother reading, and even brain changes seen in scans. The team is now working to improve the game, test it in schools, and find ways to make it widely available.

Researchers

Elizabeth Liddle (Principal Investigator)

Related Research

Grants with similar aims, by meaning.

RECOGNeyes: Remediating cognitive control of gaze
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Exploiting human-centred AI and gamification to improve compliance with Amblyopia (Lazy eye) treatment
An innovative AI-based web app that reduces wait times for assessing and treating students with ADHD, resulting in a 130% improvement in attention
Real-time fMRI Neurofeedback as a novel neurotherapy for children with ADHD

Original classification

Mental Health & Technology

Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.