goldberry Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Hi, I have a DD11 who is inattentive type ADHD, which was just recently diagnosed. We did a cognitive skills test at LearningRX, and she is average/above average in all areas except Short-term memory and processing speed. (ie, Logic and Reasoning and Reading Skills were in the 97th and 95th percentile - short term memory 7th percentile). So she doesn't have any other learning issues except for the memory and processing associated with her ADD. DH and I really want to try a training option first before we thing about meds. I know that Brainware Safari is more just a game with less scientific backup. Cogmed and Learning RX seem like more "serious programs". Does anyone have any experience with either of these? Or can anyone help me understand the differences? They both seem to be doing the same things. We want to try something, but don't want to throw money away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 PACE cognitive therapy (google it) also helps working memory. However I'm not so sure that it's rocket science we can't do at home. Yllek has been telling us in another thread about the therapy her SLP (speech language pathologist) has been doing tying together work memory and language expression. The SLP has the dc play with a toy while she talks to him and does the tasks with him. The toy is a distraction. PACE uses a metronome for this. Yllek's SLP has them doing digit spans, another common thing. When I looked at the screenshots for Cogmed, I was struck by how much of it could be translated to real life activities. Software is the easy way for a practitioner to get you there, but I'm not sure it's the ONLY way. And frankly, on Cogmed the results (20%) would be so low I can't see how it's worth the money. I haven't used it. I'm just saying we're in the same boat, and those are the issues I'm seeing and trying to sort out for myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 Thanks for replying. LearningRX does the metronome thing also. I'm thinking we're going to at least get the Brainware Safari for her to use as part of her school day. It's inexpensive enough that even if it help a teeny bit that would be worth it. We may see how the summer goes and look into a more intensive program next school year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Make sure you look at the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op. It's free to sign up, and they have deals on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Cogmed is for working memory. It has excellent research support. Learning Rx is a franchise. I believe it is connected to what used to be called PACE. I want to say this carefully, but Learning Rx franchise owners do not, to the best of my knowledge, need to have any educational credentials to be able to administer cognitive testing . Perhaps some owners/employees do, but it is not the same as getting an evaluation by a psychologist, etc. again, to the best of my knowledge. Brainware Safari does cover working memory and we saw an improvement in several areas when one of my ds's used it. It was $49 through Homeschool Buyer's Coop (may be more now) when we got it, so there is not a lot to lose if it doesn't work. It is important though, that you do the program 5 days a week, for 20-30 min per day to get the benefit. (Think of it like exercise: if you exercise 20-30 min per day, your body starts to change. If you exercised 10 minutes a day a few times a week, you might as well not do it. Same with software designed to really work your mind. Cogmed requires similar procedures (an hour per day, 5 days per week for 5 weeks, then stepped down) and that is definitely research-based. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 Thanks for that info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonor Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 There is a free cogmed webinar tomorrow at 10 a.mCST, 11 EST. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peacefully Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I always hesitate to post here, because there are so many more knowledgeable people on this board, but I'll chime in with my two cents and current experience. I have Brainware Safari. I like it for what it is, and the offer through the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op is the best deal around. As for the whole issue of brain training in order to produce cognitive shifts... the statement that you need lots of regular, intense "workouts" to create those shifts has not born out in our current program with our SLP. Our homework from her is under ten minutes, and the exercises are always designed to be under ds's stress threshold. We mostly do it daily, but have been known to skip days (sometimes several days :001_rolleyes:). We've only been doing this therapy since September (well, actually October, since we've had about a month of testing), and the change in ds has been huge. HUGE. Just today, I was having a conversation with our SLP, and she was telling me that many SLPs focus on language skills to help their clients, but she prefers to focus on language processes. Her experience has been that she sees changes faster, and the changes don't get "lost" if the client doesn't keep up with practice. When she explained the steps of her program, I could not get my head around how such simple exercises can make the type of cognitive changes that can help my ds actually spell and do mental math and write a paragraph (up from five totally disjointed spelling words, which he could barely do). The change happened so fast, that I know that it was not instruction that made this shift, and because the shift happened in the time frame that she predicted, I know that it was not merely development. I'm re-reading what I've just written, and I feel like I come off sounding like the crazy Internet lady infomercial. :tongue_smilie: I could go one and on (and I have, in previous threads :tongue_smilie:), but I'll just say that it's hard for me to buy the idea that a truly effective program needs to take a whole lot of effort and time. I don't think you sound like a crazy infomercial. Would you mind sharing what types of exercises you are doing? Thanks! Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I always hesitate to post here, because there are so many more knowledgeable people on this board, but I'll chime in with my two cents and current experience. I have Brainware Safari. I like it for what it is, and the offer through the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op is the best deal around. As for the whole issue of brain training in order to produce cognitive shifts... the statement that you need lots of regular, intense "workouts" to create those shifts has not born out in our current program with our SLP. Our homework from her is under ten minutes, and the exercises are always designed to be under ds's stress threshold. We mostly do it daily, but have been known to skip days (sometimes several days :001_rolleyes:). We've only been doing this therapy since September (well, actually October, since we've had about a month of testing), and the change in ds has been huge. HUGE. Just today, I was having a conversation with our SLP, and she was telling me that many SLPs focus on language skills to help their clients, but she prefers to focus on language processes. Her experience has been that she sees changes faster, and the changes don't get "lost" if the client doesn't keep up with practice. When she explained the steps of her program, I could not get my head around how such simple exercises can make the type of cognitive changes that can help my ds actually spell and do mental math and write a paragraph (up from five totally disjointed spelling words, which he could barely do). The change happened so fast, that I know that it was not instruction that made this shift, and because the shift happened in the time frame that she predicted, I know that it was not merely development. I'm re-reading what I've just written, and I feel like I come off sounding like the crazy Internet lady infomercial. :tongue_smilie: I could go one and on (and I have, in previous threads :tongue_smilie:), but I'll just say that it's hard for me to buy the idea that a truly effective program needs to take a whole lot of effort and time. The difference is that we are talking about different programs. If you are following the directions from your SLP and that's all you need to do, that's great. There are things you do in physical therapy that only need 10 min a day, too. Apples and oranges. Both Brainware Safari and Cogmed state that you need the practice I listed in my post for their program to get the results. My analogy to physical exercise was just that--an analogy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 Am I understanding right, though, that SLPs deal with visual and auditory processing issues? DD is specifically short-term memory issues and processing speed. She didn't turn up with any problems with visual or auditory processing. That's one thing I'm trying to pin down with a program, is targeting specifically what she needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peacefully Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandragood1 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 My dd (10) did CogMed last year from January through April. She has ADHD with Short Term/Working Memory issues. She enjoyed it for the first week, but then it got difficult - tears of anger were a regular occurrence. We actually quit before the end of our "support" contract. I did not feel we got our $ worth at all. I didn't see any lasting progress and the psychologist who was supposed to provide support was worthless. The Wii Big Brain Academy game seems to provide very similar exercises with less stress and more fun. Sandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Sandra, welcome to the boards, and thanks for your comments! I've wondered how helpful the psych feedback would be with it. It seems like an insane amount of money for so little, especially in this day and age when computer programs that do similar things abound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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