A randomised controlled trial of a web-based multi-modal therapy program to improve executive functioning in children and adolescents with acquired brain injury

Abstract

Results indicate no additional benefit to receiving Mitii™ compared to standard care. Mitii™, in its current form, was not shown to improve EF in children with ABI.

Remote Technology-Based Training Programs for Children with Acquired Brain Injury: A Systematic Review and a Meta-Analytic Exploration

“…18 studies (see Table 1) investigated 7 different remote cognitive TP consisting of drill-based exercises aimed at stimulating different cognitive functions: TherapWii Protocol [34], Cogmed Working Memory Training [44–47, 50, 64], Lumosity Cognitive Training [21, 29], Captain's Log [35, 36, 65], Attention Improvement and Management (AIM) Program ([33, 66]), Brain Games Program [67, 68], and “Move it to improve it” (Mitii TM ) Protocol [51, 52]. Alongside exercises targeting cognitive functions, the AIM Program additionally proposed metacognitive strategy use, while the Mitii Protocol proposed web-based multimodal exercises, based on perceptual and motor abilities.…”

“…In contrast, the menu of drills and strategies of the AIM Program was initially defined by a clinician on the basis of neuropsychological testing, parent and child reports, and progressively updated by a therapist during training in accordance with changes in performance [33, 66]. With respect to the Mitii Protocol, the complexity of exercises was adjusted weekly by a trainer based on performance and comments provided by the child and family [51, 52].…”

“…Moreover, some studies [44–47, 50, 64] established a criterion based on IQ, excluding patients with clinically impaired or borderline intellectual functioning. Some other studies [34, 51, 52] excluded individuals with severe cognitive impairment, but without declaring a specific IQ threshold. In contrast, another study [29] included patients with very low IQ to test the feasibility of the selected TP among the general population of children with brain damage, who displays heterogeneous cognitive functioning.…”

“…Linden and colleagues [67] used both standardized tests and nonstandardized computerized tasks. Two studies out of 18 [51, 52] reported no improvement. In the other 16 studies, improvements after training were found both in near-transfer and/or far-transfer measures (e.g., academic achievement and everyday functioning), at least at post-training assessment.…”

Training attention in children with acquired brain injury: a study protocol of a randomised controlled trial of the TALI attention training programme

“…While the AIM21 and the Amat-c22 24 demonstrate some improvements in cognitive measures of attention, a common shortfall has been the lack of transfer to other domains, with little to no improvements seen in academic achievement, behaviour or parent ratings of attention 21. Many of these interventions require extensive time commitments, resulting in poor compliance and high attrition,25 26 and fail to consider the influence of broader psychosocial factors, such as family functioning, when assessing the efficacy of cognitive training 23 27…”