A simulator may make driving safer for teens with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder by training them to take shorter glances away from the roadway.
Focused Concentration and Attention Learning (FOCAL) is a computer-based program that teaches teens to keep their eyes on the road. For this study, funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, a driving simulator was added to give students immediate feedback.
The 76 teens who participated in FOCAL+ had a nearly 40% lower risk for a crash or near crash compared to those in a control group who did not do the training, the study found.
Adam Kiefer, an assistant professor of exercise and sport science and co-director of the STAR Heel Performance Laboratory, was an author of the study, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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