Cogmed Update Issue 6, December 2007
Parents, teachers and doctors are discovering the importance of executive function
Is your kid smarter than his grades indicate?
For years parents, teachers and even kids have been puzzled by grades that don’t seem to match up to intelligence.
Today, prompted by recent scientific insights into the human brain, many parents and teachers are discovering that some children—even very intelligent children—are underachieving in school because they have problems with executive function.
Executive what?
Executive function is an umbrella term that encompasses a range of essential brain functions that together allow us to prioritize activities, sustain attention and mentally manipulate information.
Read more
Identifying and addressing executive
function problems in your child
A Q&A with Dr. Tarnow
Jay Tarnow, M.D., is the founder and director of the Tarnow Center for
Self Management based in Houston. He has been treating children and
adults with attention deficits and learning disorders for more than 30
years.
How do executive function problems affect children?
The development of executive functioning occurs throughout a child’s
life. The aspects of dysfunction that you see in ADHD and kids with
attention problems are that these kids as adolescents and adults have
problems with prioritizing, organizing, and being able to keep track of
their things. They lose things. They have difficulty with time
management. They have difficulty in controlling and managing their
emotions.
Read More
Cogmed unveils working memory
training program for adults - Cogmed QM
Attention issues are a lifelong condition for many people. The
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry reports that almost
50 percent of children with ADHD still have symptoms that require
treatment in adulthood. For those with milder, but still significant
attention challenges, the problems also often persist, going from
school problems to professional obstacles.
Cogmed Working Memory Training has been used by adults for several
years with great success. And research shows that adults of all ages
can improve their working memory capacity by an average 20 percent
through the Cogmed program.
Read more
Research update:
Harvard tests Cogmed in Boston schools, concludes program can
stimulate skills critical to mental health, cognitive development and
academic achievement
A new pilot study led by Harvard and Children’s Hospital Boston took
Cogmed Working Memory Training into the classrooms of Boston public
schools. The result was a promising conclusion that working memory
training “offers the possibility of stimulating cognitive skills that
are critical to mental health, to cognitive development and academic
achievement.”
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Study confirms Cogmed results are lasting
A recent open label study conducted by Dr. Steven Bozylinski, Cogmed
qualified practitioner and director of the ADHD Clinic of Southern
California, demonstrates the effectiveness of Cogmed Working Memory
Training in sustainably improving executive functioning and attention.
The study found that significant improvements in working memory, mental
stamina and inhibition and significant decreases in ADHD symptoms
remained six to eight months after the training.
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