Board Game Project for Adolescents With Tourette Syndrome

Study on the Effectiveness of an Evidence-based Board Game Project to Help Improve Tics and Interpersonal Interactions of Adolescents With Tourette Syndrome: Mixed Methods Research

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of using an evidence-based board game scheme to improve the tics and interpersonal interactions of adolescents with Tourette syndrome.

This study utilizes a randomized control study design. According to the situated learning theory and qualitative research findings, this study develops a board game scheme. This study enrolled adolescents with Tourette syndrome the age of 12 to 20 and their parents as the subjects. The implementation process of this study is to implement a board game workshop once for the experimental group so as to make sure that the subjects understood the rules of a board game. The subjects played the board game at least once at home every week. The 60 minutes parent-child co-learning board game was played for 4 consecutive weeks. On the contrary, the control group continued to receive health education instructions at the outpatient clinic. The research team employs both qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the effectiveness and experiences after the subjects underwent the learning scheme. The quantitative effectiveness indicators include self-reported severity of tics of adolescents, depression, positive mental health, and social adjustment. Moreover, this study performed qualitative interviews with parents to understand their parent-child interactive experiences after playing the board game. The researcher believes that this study can help improve the tics of adolescents with Tourette syndrome, as well as enhance their interpersonal interactions and relationships.

The participants played the board game at least once at home every week. In addition, the 60 minutes parent-child co-learning board game was played for 4 consecutive weeks.

A board game was designed based on situated learning theory and the results of relevant studies. This board game contains a summary, answer booklet, and multiple card game tasks including situations of interpersonal interaction. The participants must discuss, share personal experiences, and find the answer together.

The Yale Global Tic Severity Scale will used in this research to evaluate adolescents' tic severity. The Yale Global Tic Severity Scale has a total score ranging from 0 to 100, with the high score indicating a higher tics severity.

The Chinese Version Beck Youth Inventories (subscale-depression) will used in this research to evaluate adolescents' depression. The Chinese Version Beck Youth Inventories (subscale-depression) has a total score ranging from 20 to 80, with the high score indicating a higher depression.

The Social adjustment scale for adolescents with Tourette Syndrome will used in this study to evaluate adolescents' degree of self-adjustment in social interactions. The lowest and highest total scores were 17 and 68, respectively. A high score indicates favorable social adjustment.

TThe Positive Mental Health Scale will used in this study to evaluate adolescents' degree of positive mental health. The lowest and highest total scores were 25 and 125, respectively. A high score indicates favorable positive mental health.

Inclusion Criteria: adolescents between the ages of 12 and 20 years were diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome by a pediatrician according to the DSM IV. ability to speak and understand Mandarin. adolescents and their parents were willing to participate and fill in consent forms. Exclusion Criteria: (1) Adolescents with Tourette Syndrome have mental illness and serious diseases.

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