SmartBrainGames have released a device for children with ADHD that turns their PS2 off if they're not paying attention. Pretty crazy. And at $548, it surely will become one of those crazy rare collectables like the Miracle Keyboard for the NES or that Excersise bike training thingy for the NES/SNES.
Now if only there was one that turned college classes off if one wasn't paying attention... Of course, those bastards would probably set it up to give you some sort of nasty shock, instead. Either way, I love the bike helmet - it'll really make your offspring look like they have 'special' needs.
Indeed. It seems very patronising. Hopefully they'll do an Xbox version that has a bright green helmet.
personally that helmet, I think is a sick idea made in a sick fuckedup mind. And almost a harrasment to handicapped people :-( And that is my point of view. And I am off to bed.
wait wait wait. it turns the kid's ps2 if he's not paying attention? to what? to the game? 'cause i assume he cannot bring is ps2 to school... i missunderstood, right?
Your kid is already special if he/she has ADHD anyway. I think the idea is good, but the application of the idea is rather detremental since you wear a helmet, inside the house. Anyway, its better than drugs such as Ritalyn, which IMO help for a lil bit but they dont take care of the problem by themselves, then theres the newly discovered side effects these drugs cuase, such as suicidal tendencies.. I actually remember that there was a local report done about a local psychiatrist (some kind of doctor who works with ADD/ADHD children) who had them play videogames, simple games that are easy to get into, and they showed improvements in being able to concentrate on them. The children were then able to move on to higher level tasks that required more concentration. Apparently it was a very successful type of treatment.
While I'm sure that there are legitimate cases of ADHD far too often I think it is more of a case of lack of discipline and parenting. We have made it so difficult for parents to have any kind of authority to discipline their kids nowadays that they either let them run wild or simply drug them. This age of "Think of the Children" is turning them into a bunch of whiney brats who act out because they know their parents won't do shit about it. Products like this are a perfect example. A needless device designed to allow parents to skirt disciplining their kids rather than actually doing it. If Little Billy can't turn off his PS2 then he doesn’t need a PS2. I'm pretty sure when (or if) he gets it back he'll learn to turn it off. Sorry bout the rant but this kind of stuff just pisses me off to no end.
I'm with you all the way there A.Snow. ADD my arse ! Over half the people who claim to have ADD are just dumb shits who don't know how to behave and need a really good kicking every time they step out of line. Of course real sufferers are different. Yakumo
My words exactly, since the real ADD and ADHD and Asberger Syndrome kids are very intelligent (I am NOT joking !). So many of the kids of those three groups who has that diagnose today that has that diagnose, are just "popular asbergers ADD and ADHD people". And those people are just stupid fuckedup brats who can´t behave. And I don´t like being compared to those numbskulls or anything like that. And sorry for all the swearing and cursing.
I think you misunderstand what the product is supposed to do. It's not for kids who play too many games, it's for kids who can't pay attention long enough to play games(or do much of anything else). My little cousin actually has adhd and Asbergers, but he has always been able to concentrate pretty well when it comes to games. I almost want to say he's as good as I was at his age, but that would be a lie;-)
Mr.saturn: is your cousin a real Asberger ? Sorry for asking sir . Since I have Asberger too, and got it before it became a popular diagnose... And no I don´t "worship" the "Danish" (Demetrious Haracopos) psychatrist who used many ASérs to get fame and fortune. That person is in some ways to some people a guru, to me he is just a jerk i met when I were at some place. Sorry for my bitterness, on that account.
Thats exactly what the product is supposed to do. To promote concentration on a single object such as a PS2 game. Thing is, it all got out of hand when drug companies started to advertise ritalyn and made parents think that if their kid acted out of line that they probably had ADD or ADHD and a pill could fix it. What ended up happening is that we have a generation of kids who were forced, by their parents, to take these medicines and thus damaging their brain from producing the chemicals naturally and thus they now rely on those pills to be able to have control over their behavior and actions. Just like we had the tabacco trials in the mid 90s, we'll someday have lawsuits against these companies about their marketing practices and what exactly the medicine does in the long run and the information they withheld from the public. Of course, there are those that are severe cases whos parents do all they can and even as they keep giving proper attention and discipline they still have to turn to medicine to help out a bit. Again, its about giving the right attention to the child, its part of parenting, otherwise your kid becomes disfunctional to society.
WolverineDK: I'm not sure how this product is a 'harassment' to handicapped people - it's not targeted at anyone handicapped at all, just kids who don't pay attention. Also, Asberger's Syndrome and ADD/ADHD are two VERY seperate things. Yakumo, A.Snow, and madhatter: I agree 110%. The prescribing of behavior-altering drugs like Ritalin for kids with 'ADHD' or 'ADD' has always seemed to me like an expensive cop-out for bad parenting. At the age most children are diagnosed with those disorders, and considering the symptoms, it's nothing that some attentive and firm parenting should not be able to cure without expensive visits to a therapist. But in today's age of lazy living and shirking responsibility, it's just easier to medicate the little bastards into obediance. But I still think the idea and design (especially the bike helmet!) for this product are absolutely hilarious.
Thanks GSL (i do know the difference about them) , but of what i have read ritalin gives some people a lobotomy(a chemical one). And some other scary effects, and my young best friend little brother would have been close getting ritalin, if his father did not give the shrink the finger. Since no one shall put that kid on drugs.
I understand what the product is for. However I believe that the actual cases of ADHD which are so extreme that you can't teach a kid to turn off his PS2 (or lights, TV, ect) are so minuet that it doesn't necessitate the product in the first place. Basically it's a solution for a problem that barely exists. Out of the small amount of these that will sell the majority will be bought by parents with kids who could be taught to turn the system off when they are done playing. In this day and age though it is easier for parents to shell out half a grand on this contraption than to teach their kids and that is just sad.
If someone bought this, it would be hard to tell who is the retarded one in the family...the parents or the kids..
Edit: Almost forgot. Hello everyone :smt1062 Yeah he's a genuine assburger(I'm not making fun of him, he's actually the one who started calling it that). No,no,no. The product isn't teaching kids how to turn off their ps2. It is supposed to help them concentrate on playing the game, hoping that if they can learn to concentrate on one thing it will carry over to daily life. Turning off the ps2 is what the child is supposed to avoid doing(by paying attention to the game).
