After His Own Struggles Growing Up, Professor Dedicates ADHD Research to Helping Others Thrive

Josh Langberg received a $3.2 million National Institute of Mental Health grant to explore how virtual realitycan help college students with ADHD minimize distractions and stay focused

Joshua Langberg understands the daily struggles of students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Growing up he hated going to school, earned poor grades and was criticized for not meeting expectations.

"Until about the 10th grade, most of my grades were C's, D's and F's," said Langberg who was never evaluated for ADHD, a condition not widely understood or diagnosed during the 1980s when he was growing up. "So, I know what it's like to be told you're failing and not living up to expectations. That's the daily experience of someone with ADHD."

Rather than being defeated by those struggles, Langberg, a licensed clinical psychologist and director of the Center for Youth, Social, Emotional Wellness at Rutgers, turned them into a lifelong mission to support others facing similar challenges. He spent years running after-school programs for middle school students with ADHD by developing a compassionate, practical approach to help struggling learners succeed.

"The key is to help people succeed by starting small," he said. "We break things down into smaller steps and allow students to build success, instead of overwhelming them with impossible expectations like getting straight A's immediately."

Today, as the university's chief wellness officer and professor in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Langberg is leading a team researching new ways to help college students with ADHD thrive academically and personally. His latest initiative is directing a $3.2 million National Institute of Mental Health grant with new research exploring how virtual reality can help college students with ADHD minimize distractions and stay focused.

Langberg, who is also editor-in-chief of Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, one of the leading research journals focused on youth mental health, says the research could pave the way for new ADHD treatments that are high-tech, cost effective and more widely available. He has authored over 150 peer-reviewed studies and three books focused on adolescent and emerging adult mental health and been recognized for his work on ADHD.

"We know that behavioral strategies work," said Langberg, "The challenge is delivering them in ways that meet students where they are in both the literal and digital sense. Virtual reality may be one answer."

The five-year study involves 250 Rutgers students who will participate in 12 study sessions using virtual reality (VR) headsets that simulate realistic, distraction-free study environments. A unique "stoplight" system helps to sustain concentration by providing real-time feedback on the focus levels of students by alerting them with a stop sign when their attention drifts beyond the task they are performing.

"When students with ADHD transition to college, they lose the support systems that helped them manage their studies," Langberg said. "Our goal is to provide technology that allows them to create their own focused study environment, whether in a noisy dorm or busy coffee shop."

The project is divided into two phases. The first two years focus on developing and refining the virtual reality intervention. The last three years test its effectiveness and whether it improves academic performance, attention, and self-regulation.

Langberg believes that, in the future, VR headsets could become as common as laptops in college settings, providing powerful tools for students learning to manage their focus independently.

His research complements the university's Accessing Campus Connections and Empowering Student Success (ACCESS), a nationally recognized intervention program that teaches college students organization, planning, and motivation strategies tailored for ADHD. The program has been successfully adapted for students with autism and is now used at several universities nationwide.

In addition to research and training, Langberg's center provides comprehensive ADHD evaluations, a rare offering in higher education. Only about 14 percent of colleges in the country offer such assessments, according to Psychiatric Services, a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Psychiatric Association.

At Rutgers, evaluations are free for students with university insurance and just $150 for others, making diagnosis and treatment significantly more accessible, according to Langberg.

These initiatives represent a holistic approach to student mental health, Langberg says, blending science, technology and empathy to support neurodivergent students across the full span of their academic journeys.

Langberg says his personal story and the journey that led him to his professional career will always remain at the heart of his mission.

"I understand what it is like to struggle," he said. "Now I get to help students rewrite that story for themselves and help to prove that with the right support, every student can succeed."