For the Staal family residing in Minnesota, the emotional intensity exhibited by their young son often escalated to unmanageable levels.
As reported by The Mayo Clinic, these episodes would often leave him feeling “not accessible,” necessitating up to an hour for him to regain composure.
In an innovative approach, the highly regarded Mayo Clinic provided the Staal family with a Garmin smartwatch designed to monitor the heart rate, movement, and sleep patterns of their five-year-old son.
This device, favored by athletes, was calibrated to send alerts to the parents’ smartphones when the child’s readings indicated climbing stress levels.
“It gave us a premonition that something was amiss,” remarked Sarah Staal. “We were able to assist him in recovering within five to ten minutes, reclaiming our evenings as a cohesive family unit.”
A ‘Game-Changer’
Now eight years old, Staal was among a cohort of 50 children aged three to seven who participated in a clinical trial conducted in 2022.
While not all participants were diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)—approximately half were already receiving treatment with stimulant medications—each child faced behavioral challenges.
Alarmingly, nearly one in five children in the United States grapples with a mental, behavioral, or emotional health disorder, as noted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The researchers at Mayo Clinic sought to determine if this technological intervention could assist parents in mitigating their child’s distress in moments when professional support was not readily available.
They also aimed to assess whether families would actively utilize the watches and if the notifications delivered to the parents’ devices would facilitate appropriate responses to tantrums.
The study yielded promising results, with children donning the watches approximately 75 percent of the time.
Notably, alerts prompted parental responses within an astonishing average of four seconds upon detecting signs of distress.
Furthermore, severe tantrums were significantly curtailed by approximately 11 minutes when the children wore the device.
“It was indeed a game-changer,” reflected Jared Staal, Ethan’s father. “Though we still confront challenges, we are now able to foresee them and perceive these moments through a vastly different lens — we previously lacked a clear strategy to provide support, but the watch has afforded us that clarity.”
Looking ahead, researchers are eager to scale their research to evaluate the smartwatch’s effectiveness among larger populations.
Add a quote from one of the docs/researchers here
Lifelong Struggles for Millions
ADHD is regarded as one of the most prevalent neurodevelopmental disorders during childhood, hindering children’s focus and ability to manage impulsivity.
Approximately seven million children in the United States, aged three to 17, have received an ADHD diagnosis, according to the CDC.
The demographic is predominantly male, with researchers suspecting this is attributable to genetic factors, though the precise causation remains under investigation.
Moreover, around 3.5 million children within this age range are currently prescribed ADHD medication. For decades, healthcare providers have relied on Adderall and Ritalin as treatment options.
Recent investigations from Washington University in St. Louis, encompassing nearly 6,000 children, have raised questions about the efficacy of these medications, suggesting that they may influence the brain’s reward and alertness centers rather than the regions governing attention.
Source link: Inkl.com.
