Screens, ADHD, and Dopamine: A Conversation with Dr. Randy Kulman
Latest Posts
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The Future Is Fast: ADHD in an AI World
Many of the traits that frustrate parents today—energy, curiosity, and the need for excitement—may be the very ones that fit the world of tomorrow. Are you frustrated by your child’s inattention to schoolwork and chores? Do you have to remind him to focus on homework rather than an online video game? Parents of kids with…
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Can Your Child Get Smarter From Video Games? Generalization: The Magic Sauce in Learning From Video Games
How video game play can improve real-world skills. If you want to improve your aerobic capacity, play full-court basketball, not softball. To improve your analytical skills, learn to play chess or bridge, not Chutes and Ladders. If you really want to improve your aerobic conditioning or your analytical skills, play against people who are better…
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ADHD | Autism | Parenting | Social Media
Is Your Child Being Diagnosed on TikTok?
Teens are self-diagnosing ADHD and Autism based on TikTok and social media. ADHD, Autism, and TikTok TikTok and other short-video applications have brought a wealth of information about ADHD, autism, and other psychiatric diagnoses to a broad audience. Many recent studies suggest that the increasing conversation and content discussing ADHD and other disorders on TikTok…
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What to Do About Screen Time This Summer with Your Neurodivergent Kid
Six Ways to Build a Healthy Play Diet for Your Neurodivergent Child This Summer Whether your child has already started summer vacation or is about to, you’re probably looking for things to keep them busy. In the best of worlds, parents don’t have to work, have plenty of money and resources, and live somewhere with…
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Frustration, Irritability, and Big Feelings After Screens
Parents often say something like:“My child was having fun… so why are they so angry now?” If you’ve noticed moodiness, irritability, or emotional blow-ups after video games, YouTube, or social media, you’re not imagining it. This is common.And it’s often more intense for neurodivergent kids. Why kids get upset after something they love In our…
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AI Is More Than Chatbots: What Parents of Neurodivergent Children Need to Know About How AI Works
Why “AI” Is Often Misunderstood When many parents think about artificial intelligence, they are thinking about chatbots—tools like ChatGPT or Gemini that talk, answer questions, help with homework, or sometimes feel like a superpowered version of Google. Chatbots are certainly one form of AI. But they are far from the whole story. AI’s presence in…
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Entertainment Entitlement: Why Your Kids Are Always Bored
How parents and screens teach kids that they need constant stimulation. Kids have been telling their parents they’re bored for as long as there have been parents. Nothing new there. But lately, it seems different. Many 21st-century kids, especially bright or neurodivergent kids, report being bored a lot. They’re bored at school. They’re bored on…
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How to Worry Less About Your Child’s Screen Time
Whole Play pairs screen time with other activities. Did you know that the number one health-related worry of parents in Australia is children’s screen time? Similar findings have been reported in studies of American and European parents, as well. Parents and professionals are concerned that many children are displaying signs of screen addiction. But I’m…
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What Age Should Your Neurodivergent Child Get Their First Cell Phone?
Should we set different limits on access to technology for neurodivergent kids? It’s very difficult for parents to know when to allow their children access to technology in the age of AI. And if you have a neurodivergent child, it’s even more confusing. We’d like to tell you that we have all the answers here…
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Fast Minds, Fast Hands: ADHD, AI, and Future Jobs
How to make ADHD an advantage in the world of AI (Part 1 of “Future Jobs for ADHD Minds” — A Digitally Nutritious Perspective) Future Jobs for Action-Oriented Kids with ADHD Many parents and providers have concerns about where kids with ADHD will fit into an AI-dominated world. The world is moving faster, and the…
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ADHD, Executive Functions, & AI: A New Era in Treatment
What Research Shows About How Technology and AI Can Help Neurodivergent Kids ADHD is often identified as a disorder of executive functioning, brain-based, self-management skills such as working memory, flexibility, time management, organization, and self-control. Viewing ADHD as an executive functioning disorder rather than as simply hyperactivity or inattention allows clinicians to treat it as…
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Video Games or Online Videos: Which Is Better for Teenagers?
Help teenagers recognize how algorithms can shape their video interests. Typical teenagers spend more than 8.5 hours per day with screen media. For teenagers who describe themselves as “enjoying screen-based media a lot,” their favorite activities include watching online videos and playing video games. If we could influence teens to choose between video games and…
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A Health Play Diet Recipe: LEGOS and Minecraft
Over the past 15 years, there have been 2 activities that my patients with ADHD almost universally love: Minecraft and Legos. These might be considered two of the best and most nutritious ingredients for a healthy Play Diet. While they started out as play on two different mediums (screen and floor), they are now often…
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Should You Be Concerned That Your Child Is Using AI?
You might not know it, but the answer to that question is a resounding yes. And you need to know about it! Whether it’s a teenager using ChatGPT or Gemini to help with homework or writing assignments, or a one-year-old listening to music selected by their parents, your child is almost certainly interacting with AI….
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Whole Play: Combining Screen Time with Traditional Play
Did you know that one of the top health-related worries for parents around the world is children’s screen time? Parents in Australia report it as their number one concern. American and European parents say similar things. If you spend any time talking with families, you hear the same anxiety: Too much gaming. Too much YouTube….
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Will ADHD be an Asset in the World of AI? Future Jobs for Curious, Creative, Risk-Taking Kids with ADHD
If your child has ADHD, you already know they live life right on the edge of what’s new. They’re the ones testing limits, chasing ideas, and often leaping before they look. You see it in the toddler who scales the kitchen counter or the teen who can’t resist trying a tricky skateboard move they just…
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Common Characteristics of Neurodivergent Kids: Looking Beyond Labels
When we talk about neurodivergent children, we tend to begin with labels and diagnoses. ADHD.Autism.Learning disabilities.Twice-exceptional.Anxiety.Sensory processing differences. Labels can be useful. They guide evaluations, services, and, at times, school supports. In my work as a child neuropsychologist, labels help me ensure these children receive the services they need and help parents identify how to…
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7 Ways to Stop, and Transition Off Screens (Without a Fight)
Parents often tell our Digitally Nutritious team that the most stressful part of screen time isn’t the screens. It’s getting their child off the screen. And for many neurodivergent kids, stopping doesn’t feel like a simple request. It can feel like losing a world they were deeply absorbed in—right in the middle of something important….
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AI and Infancy: Should I Use AI With My Infant?
Should you use AI with your infant?No. This might be the easiest essay I’ve ever written. The primary tasks of infancy are not academic. They are not digital. They are not symbolic. Infants learn through their senses and their bodies. They learn by moving, touching, mouthing, banging, dropping, pulling things off shelves, and—yes—making big messes….
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Why Technology Is Different for Neurodivergent Kids
Neurodivergent children have different relationships with technology. If you are the parent of a neurodivergent child—perhaps one diagnosed with ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, a learning disability, anxiety, depression, or a mood disorder—you have likely noticed this already. Even parents of children without a formal diagnosis, including those with executive functioning difficulties, processing disorders, speech and…
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Why Is Minecraft So Appealing to Children With ADHD?
My work as a child clinical psychologist has sparked my interest about how children interact with video games, apps, and other technologies. Over the past 20 years, I have conducted thousands of interviews with kids and their families, I have learned about the power and perils of digital media. I have heard from families about…
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Three Apps and One Game For Your Future Fashionista
It is 3:00 and you are getting ready to go to the grocery store. You go to tell your child to get their shoes on and find them trying out a combination of Lilo and Stitch Hoodie with sparkly pajama pants. They want this outfit, combined with cat ears and unicorn slippers, to be their…
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Learn More about Your Child’s Screentime by Participating in the Aura Study
Our team at LearningWorks for Kids has a longstanding interest in the impact of screentime on children. We see both positive and problematic use in screentime. We have conducted published research in our office in the past and are undertaking a new comprehensive study of screentime among a neurodivergent population. We also support other studies…
