Our Crowdfunding Groups
Crowdfund UC Davis thanks all of the donors who gave to this important project in October. This campaign has closed, but we are grateful for your support!
Help us develop a non-medication strategy to help ADHD!
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood behavioral conditions, affecting 7-11% of the population, and can continue through adolescence and into adulthood. Symptoms may cause trouble in many parts of life - in relationships, at home, at work or at school.
People with ADHD often fidget - a lot.
Research by the UC Davis MIND Institute's Julie Schweitzer suggests that this fidgeting actually helps teens with ADHD focus better on attention tasks. Now, Schweitzer and a team of psychologists and computer scientists want to test a new computerized "smart fidget" ball. They want to know if it can help improve attention, mood and anxiety in children with ADHD. The goal is to develop new non-medication, adjunctive treatments for ADHD.
An audacious goal
Schweitzer admits that the team has "audacious" goals: "Eventually, we'd like to create fidget devices that interact with a smart watch that would give people clues to let them know it was time to tap or squeeze the ball to help moderate the attention or emotions," she said.
ABOUT THE FUND
A "smart fidget" device
Your gift will support our team's design of a computerized fidget ball, specifically developed for children. We will then test if the smart fidget ball, and natural fidgeting too, helps improve attention, mood and anxiety symptoms in children with ADHD. Our fidget ball is a silicon skeleton with a soft fabric cover that's about the size of a softball, with parts that can be clicked, squeezed, stroked, tapped and more. Study participants will use the high-tech ball while doing tasks that test their attention, memory and mood. The "smart fidget" ball's internal sensors measure the children's movements. The data will be analyzed, including using machine learning analyses to try to predict which types of movements are most helpful in improving attention, mood and anxiety. The effects of the ball and fidgeting will also be assessed on heart rate variability using an electrocardiogram device. Another group of children with ADHD will complete the same tasks without the fidget ball to help assess the effectiveness of the ball.
Your donation can help support travel expenses for study participants and their families to come to the MIND Institute. Donors will receive a thank you text and project update from the research team.
Your donation can help provide specific research related supplies. Donors will receive a thank you text, video, and project update from the research team.
Your donation will help cover the assessment tools used in the study. Donors will receive a thank you text, video, project update from the research team and specialized sticker from the team
Your donation will help us develop a child-friendly version of the high-tech "smart fidget devices" used in the study. Donors will receive a thank you text, video, specialized sticker, project update from the research team, and an invitation to Q & A about ADHD and fidgeting.
