How to improve tonal perception?

Psychology ADD/ADHD: What are some of the best computer games to improve visual attention and perception on small children?

• I work at a clinic and a lot of my patients are small children with ADHD. I'd like to know what are the best computer games out there to help them focus and improve their perception skills.

• Answer:

  Small children, by their very nature have short attention spans and limited impulse control. As a person with ADHD and the parent of a child with the same diagnosis, I'm highly skeptical of trying to diagnose or pin a label on a young child who may or may not be neurotypical. Additionally, I would remove extraneous stimuli from the environment. Video games are engaging, especially so to people with ADHD because they are an assault on the senses, with their bright colors, moving images, sound effects and music. They are traps for hyper-focus, not a platform for learning attention to detail and patience. Attention spans can be a bit like Legos. They are built one piece at a time until you get to a finished project. You may already see where I am going here. I think your premise is flawed. With the proliferation of video games, the best way to improve attention, is to escape electronic stimuli entirely. You would want to avoid anything that may cause pain or injury, but items like a short length of chain, that moves in an interesting way, balls of yarn and other movable objects are great for exploring and building attention. For slightly older children, I would suggest 3D puzzles. (Something like http://alico.com.sg/cp/cast_lvl2.html might be good.) These items require time to resolve, attention to detail and stimulate all the same senses as a video game. They just don't stimulate the user without his/her input. I was an awkward child who never played sports. At 18 I taught myself to juggle.  Everyone who knew me was surprised. What I learned from the experience was that by practicing and deconstructing motion, I could be every bit as coordinated as everyone else, even more than most. I believe in chemical intervention for ADHD, but like my juggling, the skill of extended attention span can be improved by doing the things that require attention, much like I tackled coordination by doing things that required coordination.