A Preliminary Study of Voicebot to Assist ADHD Children in Performing Daily Tasks

Abstract

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) child patients have difficulty in starting and completing daily tasks successfully on time due to executive function impairment. As a result, issues arise due to the patient having low self-efficacy and frequent troubles with parents. This study is a parallel pilot randomized controlled trial that suggests the usefulness of a voicebot to assist children with ADHD in performing daily tasks. A dialogue structure to help children's self-instruction training and a token-based economies method for task performance were applied to the voicebot. Sixteen children and their parents [Intervention group (n = 7), Control group (n = 9)] participated in an 8-week, home-based field study. We developed the voicebot using Raspberry Pi and allowed children with ADHD to use it four times a day through voice interaction. We found that children's use of the voicebot helped them to increase their self-efficacy, decrease the inattentiveness, increase self-control in completing daily tasks, and decrease the severity of behavioral problems. The study also revealed that it can help improve parent-child relationships. This study will be informative for researchers who engage in future studies that seek to provide insights into the area of assistive care for children with ADHD.