Using NASA Technology to Increase Attention and Cognitive Function

Posted by Peter on April 14th, 2005 | Comments off

Play Attention CEO to Speak at NASA Benefits of Space Exploration Brought to Earth

ASHEVILLE, North Carolina April 13, 2005

WCU graduate, Peter Freer, Founder and CEO of Unique Logic and Technology, Inc. will speak at the National Space Society 2005 International Space Development Conference in Washington, DC. His presentation is entitled, “From Outer Space to Inner Space: Using NASA Technology to Increase Attention and Cognitive Function.”

Freer holds a Master’s degree in education from Western Carolina University. He is a former educator in both Jackson County Schools and Asheville City Schools in NC. During his tenure as a teacher, Freer encountered an increasing number of AD/HD students. Combining NASA research and his background in educational computer programming, he developed Play Attention®, the nations leading educational attention training system used in schools, homes, and professional offices.

NASA currently uses feedback technology to increase astronaut and pilot attention during flight simulator training. Freer augmented this technology to accommodate educational needs and received four patents for his pioneering efforts. Freer adapted sophisticated instrumentation to fit the personal computer and then incorporated a sensor lined space-age helmet to process brain output and translate it onto a computer screen. This new learning system allows control of game action via the powers of concentration alone – no keyboard, no mouse, no joystick! Users practice paying attention by making video games respond to their brainpower at home or under the guidance of a teacher at school.

Just as NASA astronauts and pilots train to increase attention, Play Attention literally teaches the user to increase concentration, complete tasks, visual tracking, short-term memory, and to filer out distractions – all the skills necessary to be successful in the classroom. The learner directly observes his mind’s ability to command the computer screen in real-time.

”Play Attention,” says Freer, “is popular with students because of its entertaining game format. It keeps the student engrossed while he or she practices reaching new levels of concentration.” The inventor adds, “The system is success based and includes behavioral shaping techniques.”

He further notes studies demonstrate that children trained on Play Attention experience a greater sense of self-esteem, enhanced social interactions, and improved grades as a result of their own newly developed abilities.

Freer says that, “Both NASA and Play Attention have proven that feedback-based learning empowers individuals to deal with their personal challenges by learning how to use their own resources. This produces a sense of accomplishment, self-worth, and success. We owe NASA a great debt.”

The National Space Society 2005 International Space Development Conference is scheduled for May 19 – 22 at the Sheraton National Hotel Arlington, Washington, DC. The conference theme, “Your Ticket to Space” refers to the new opportunities for citizens to participate in space exploration and realize the benefits on earth.

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Neurofeedback as a Teaching Tool

Posted by Peter on February 10th, 2005 | Comments off

Why is Play Attention Different?

Dr. Olafur Palsson, Psy.D. Associate Professor of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and one of the NASA developers of similar technology, states, “The Play Attention system is in my opinion uniquely appealing because it simultaneously addresses three different factors that can inhibit healthy learning and concentration. It trains basic mental skills that underlie the ability to complete school-related tasks; it systematically monitors and reduces attention-incompatible behaviors; and it encourages the type of brain activity that is known from research to be associated with good concentration. This multi-faceted approach goes far beyond the scope of most brainwave biofeedback training. All of this is furthermore packaged into a training format that is self-esteem building for the learner and well suited for use in educational and home settings.”

Play Attention is a comprehensive teaching/learning system developed by a teacher for students struggling with attention problems and the cognitive deficits typically associated with focusing difficulties. In use worldwide and in over 300 school systems in the United States alone, Play Attention has quickly captured the attention of educators looking for an educational intervention.

Play Attention’s core teaching method is derived from neurofeedback. National publications like Discover, Time, and Newsweek have recently raised public awareness about neurofeedback – an exciting intervention for children and adults with attention problems. Neurofeedback is derived from the word, neuro meaning brain related, and feedback. Feedback is a teaching method used since teaching began. Feedback implies reporting information to the student to inform him if he is or is not performing as needed. Clinical feedback using abstract games or graphs to teach control of attention and other autonomic functions has been around since the early 1970s.

The bane of the aforementioned clinical approach has been its difficulty of use and expense. Clinical EEG equipment is complex, expensive, and directed toward changing brain wave patterns. The change in the brain wave patterns is supposed to indicate change in associated skills of concentration, improved behaviors, etc. Frequently, students practice on their own in the absence of a clinician and therefore have no behavioral guidance. Clinicians also have devised a myriad teaching methods (‘protocols’) using different frequencies and sensor locations. Most all of these ‘protocols’ have demonstrated success in training brain training. Virtually no neurofeedback programs or ‘protocols’ incorporated educational methodology and cognitive skill building which commonly resulted in a lack of transference or generalization. This meant that skills learned during the feedback training were difficult to relate to home or classroom activities. This fact greatly delayed its acceptance by the professional educational community and resulted in severe criticism of the technology by others in the field. A few significantly good practitioners like Dr. George Von Hilsheimer had the acute ability to coach well and get students to be successful at home and school.

Background information

In mid 1980’s, Peter Freer was teaching at an elementary school in the rural mountains of Appalachia. He faced significant numbers of students with attention problems. Most of these students were also discipline problems. Being a second year teacher, he did not understand their learning differences, and he felt inadequately prepared to teach these students. There wasn’t even a label for students with attention problems at that time. Upon speaking with his university professors, he implemented a token reinforcement system, repeated instructions as needed, shortened assignments, and moved these students closer to his desk. While these interventions succeeded slightly, Freer still believed more could be done over and above simply modifying student curriculum and environment. Once these children became adults and entered the job market, no employer would move them closer to his desk and give them trinkets to motivate them.

Over the course of his graduate work, Freer was trained on educational implementation of computer software and educational programming developed at MIT in a program funded by the National Science Foundation. Computers were proving to be intrinsically motivating to students. Freer quickly realized that computers could be used to teach attention classes or instruction in focusing, if he could devise the correct program. He began studying research being performed at NASA and integrated into their flight simulator program. It was apparent that the neurofeedback technology NASA had implemented was not appropriate for students. However, significant educational modifications could be implemented that would make this technology practical and educationally efficient.

He undertook the massive effort to totally revise neurofeedback into a pure teaching tool by founding Unique Logic and Technology in 1994. Freer immediately stripped out the active brain wave reporting component as his intent was not to change brain wave patterns. He did intend to help alter cognitive skills because after researching decades of studies on attention problems, he found that children and adults with attention problems seemed to have weakened networks of attention, time on-task, visual tracking, short-term memory, and discriminatory processing. In other words, these students were deficit in the skills they needed most to succeed – the core components of the learning process. So, instead of trying to modify brain waves, Freer thought it more important to develop deficit cognitive skills that would directly affect behavioral performance and educational outcomes. The US government awarded Freer three patents and one pending based on his strategic modifications.

After two years of restructure the program was ready to be tested. Dubbed, Play Attention®, Freer negotiated an agreement with a local school system to test the learning system under the guidance of the special education director.

This special adaptation of neurofeedback only monitored brain wave activity to make the student aware of proper focus. Students can actually control screen characters by mind alone in activities that directly teach students to stay on-task, visually track the teacher during a classroom lesson, follow multiple step directions by increasing short-term memory skills, and learn to filter out distractions. This was a significant modification of existing teaching and feedback technology as it focused on performance based outcomes that were measurable as opposed to the older method of brain wave change which provide no conclusive evidence of specific behavioral change.

The results of the study so impressed the special education director, that he purchased a complete system for every school in the district. But that was only the beginning for Play Attention as Freer placed sensors in a bicycle helmet and integrated a behavior shaping program to assist students in diminishing or extinguishing behaviors not conducive to learning. The helmet was ideal for students as they could quickly prepare it for use in as little as 90 seconds with no fuss, no gels, no mess. It was familiar to them as they wore helmets for biking, roller blading, and skate boarding. The helmet could also withstand the rigors of the school environment.

If a student fidgets or calls out during his Play Attention session, the screen characters become uncontrollable. This allows students to actually see a direct correlation between their behavior and their attention. The behavior shaping module bases it goals on the fact that students want to succeed but need to know why they are being asked to make behavioral changes. Most students with attention problems are unaware that they exhibit behaviors that distract not only themselves, but others in their immediate surroundings too. Awareness of the behavior makes shaping it easier as attainable goals can be set and reinforced through positive reward. Yet another patent is pending on this process.

The overall result of the advancement of feedback technology in Play Attention is simplicity. Play Attention is a comprehensive program but is not complex. Its interface appears as a simple lesson plan. Goals are easy to set in all of the five cognitive components. Results are graphed from the internal data that are collected for each student. Students are even encouraged to work on actual homework assignments while wearing the Play Attention helmet and operating the learning system. This is a unique way to teach them to finish homework within a proper time period promoting good time on-task. When students log out, a journal asks them to reflect on what they’ve learned that session, what they are proud of, and what goals the need to develop for the next session. This information appears at the initiation of the very next session to promote continuity, transfer, and generalization.

Knowing that parents, teachers, and other professionals have tight schedules and need to implement software quickly, he established a support program that allows everyone to be trained quickly and be adeptly supported by professional staff via telephone and the Internet. Tech support is also available free of charge for the life of the product.

The significant changes in technology and methodology stemming from a different perspective – an educational perspective – have enabled Play Attention to become a world leader in educational attention training with homes, schools, learning centers, and professionals using Play Attention from Beijing to Brazil.

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Stephen Hinshaw

Posted by Peter on December 8th, 2004 | Comments off

I just wanted to take a moment to further comment on The November 13, 2004 Boston Globe article, Playing their Way to Improved Concentration, referring to Play Attention, a feedback based learning system I created for persons with attention problems. It uses a video game format to teach cognitive skills typically deficit in children and adults with diffused attention.

In order to balance out the article, Globe reporter Hiawatha Bray sought out the expert opinion of Dr. Stephen Hinshaw.

Dr. Stephen Hinshaw chairman of the psychology department at the University of California at Berkeley and an expert on hyperactivity disorders, said techniques that teach concentration may work in a doctor’s office, but often stop working when the child reenters his home or classroom. “I’m not a cynic, but I’m a skeptic until things are proven pretty thoroughly,” Hinshaw said.

I admire Hinshaw’s candor. Frequently experts are requested to remark on technology or teaching methods they have never seen or used. They must produce off the cuff remarks. Hinshaw should be respected as he utilizes multi-modal approaches to treating AD/HD and has a book worth reading.

While I was not allowed to comment about Dr. Hinshaw’s remarks in the article, I would like to comment that Play Attention is the preferred educational learning system for students struggling with attention problems in over 450 school systems in the US. We’ve recently received a 91% satisfaction rating from our users because of our great support and teaching method utilizing feedback technology.

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Boston Globe: Playing their Way to Improved Concentration

Posted by Peter on November 16th, 2004 | Comments off

The November 13, 2004 Boston Globe article, Playing their Way to Improved Concentration, refers to Play Attention, a feedback based learning system I created for persons with attention problems. It uses a video game format to teach cognitive skills typically deficit in children and adults with diffused attention.

I have always considered attention problems to be learning disabilities rather than brain damage (minimal brain dysfunction). In an evolutionary sense, people with diffused attention have always existed among us. In primitive times, they were likely the people standing or walking the perimeter of the camp fire while the rest of us ate our catch. Their orienting reflexes quickly triggered at the slightest sign of danger.

I synthesized my experience in education, computer education, and psychology to devise a system to optimize human potential. However, at the time I began this journey, my university training was of little help. None of my classes mentioned attention problems and therefore I received no training to assist my students.

The Globe cites that ‘…Peter Freer, who developed the product, used to teach school in West Virginia [actually Western Carolina] in the 1980s. Confronted with hyperactive students, Freer didn’t know how to help them. “At that point, at university level, they didn’t even teach anything about how to cope with these kids,” he said.’

I researched experimental data from NASA regarding astronaut performance and attention. I founded Unique Logic and Technology (ULT) in 1994 to provide technology to educators and the general public.

As the Globe points out,‘Freer was trained in computer programming, and he wondered whether technology might help his hyperactive students. While researching the matter, he found that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration had developed computer systems for improving the concentration skills of astronauts and test pilots. NASA scientists attached electrodes to pilots’ heads to capture their brain waves. They learned to identify the kind of brain activity that occurs when a person is concentrating on a task. Then they wrote software that lets pilots control images on a computer screen. The more they focused their minds, the better they performed. In the process, they learned how to how to set aside distractions and concentrate on the task at hand.’

I vastly altered and advanced NASA’s technology to make it appropriate for educational use. I did this by incorporating cognitive skill training and behavior shaping. ULT has been awarded three patents with others pending based on the advancements.

Everything we know about the brain indicates that it can restructure provided the right challenge is provided. The difficulty is that this process takes time. Play Attention takes time, too – perhaps forty to sixty hours of training to gain permanency. ‘Hours of practice can teach a child what it feels like – and looks like – to pay attention. As Joyce Bowen put it, “after you do it a couple of times, you develop muscle memory in your brain.”’

Joyce’s child has rewired his brain to perform quite well at school. He no longer strikes his sister impulsively. He’s a normal, might one say, average kid – bright and happy. Sometimes it’s great to be average.

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Adult ADHD Life Strategies

Posted by Peter on November 12th, 2004 | Comments off

ADHD Strategies for School & Work

Diffused attention during the learning process greatly decreases the amount of information that can be transferred from short-term memory to long-term. When questioning an ADHD student about the material just presented during a lesson, typically he’ll recall bits and pieces of the material presented, but seldom a holistic perspective. Other areas of life are affected including everything from personal interactions to work or school.

School

Diffused attention also makes reading a challenge as the student must read a passage two to four times before he can gain fundamental meaning from the text. Academic work becomes tiring and tedious. Children often claim homework is ‘boring’ after failing to be successful at simple assignments they are highly capable of accomplishing in short order if their attention were not diffused. Equating boredom with academic work is usually the result of lack of success and an assignment that is not highly stimulating.

Social Interactions

Socially, diffused attention causes an inability to perceive social cues. A look of disapproval, a simple shake of the head meaning NO, and other social cues are overlooked. For adults, this can cause conflict between workers or embarrassing situations at social gatherings. For a child, peers tend to shy away from kids who cannot recognize social cues. ADHD kids are labeled as nuisances and are often excluded from parties, etc. ADHD kids also discern themselves from their peer which results in reduced self-esteem.

Adults

Typical symptoms of ADHD such as hyperactivity, poor organizational skills, distractibility, impulsivity, etc., often are challenges for the adult in the workplace. A recent article in WebMD.com reports that Joseph Biederman, MD, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, has surveyed ADHD adults and found that the incomes of households with an ADHD member are substantially lower than households without an ADHD member. Biederman calculates that households with an ADHD member have incomes that are $10,791 lower for high school graduates and $4,334 lower for college graduates. This extrapolates to an annual revenue loss of close to $77 billion in the US.

Biederman reports that an adult with ADHD has greater difficulty keeping a job due to lack of organizational and social skills. In fact, he thinks the disorder may actually make it more difficult to get an appropriate education to obtain a job that offers a higher pay scale. Lost days at work due to ADHD also provide a negative financial impact. “About 50% of the people with ADHD who had jobs in the survey said they lost work directly related to their ADHD symptoms,” says Biederman. “The symptoms of ADHD are very difficult for employers to deal with.”

However, there are strategies that can be employed to maximize function, skill, and satisfaction in the workplace.

Know your strengths and weaknesses

It is important to realize that many ADHD adults have successful careers. Edison, Mozart, and even Einstein may have had AD/HD. Success seems to be linked to employing good coping strategies once you’ve discovered your strengths and know your weaknesses. Once you become aware of your specific set of challenges, it will become easier for you to plan a strategy. Therefore, consider your unique characteristics as you design your strategies. Below is a checklist describing many of the symptoms typically associated with ADHD. Strategies for coping are listed below each symptom.

Distractibility – people walking by your desk, or talking near you, distract you from your work

Try to place yourself in the least distracting environment. This may be a private office or cubicle with little foot travel by other office workers. You may retreat to a conference room if possible.
Maintain a memo pad to keep ideas and assignments from slipping away if you become distracted. Use the memo pad to jot down notes when you receive a phone call.
Come in early or do your work when others are not in the office.
Don’t multi-task. Set a goal to finish your current task before starting another.
Background noise, sometimes known as “white noise” can be effective. Special white noise CDs, audio tapes, or earphones are available for this purpose. Simple classical or new age music may also help.

Poor Memory – you can’t recall dates, names, or appointments.

First and foremost, buy a day planner and use it religiously to keep track of your schedule and upcoming tasks.
Many freeware and commercial computer programs are available that automate scheduling and task reminders.
Make use of pocket recorders. Current recorders no longer need audio tapes as they record on microchips. These are effective for personal reminders or note taking at meetings.
Write checklists and set reasonable goals for projects.

Poor Organization – you can’t seem to finish projects on time or you fail to keep good records.

If possible, find a job that does not require long-term task management.
Set goals for your current task by breaking it into a series of manageable tasks. Mark the deadline for each mini-task with a timer. Computer programs are available for this or you may use a simple kitchen timer.
Reward yourself when you reach a goal.
Use an automated computer scheduler to set meeting times. These usually come with an alarm. Set it alert you five to ten minutes before each meeting.
Allow adequate time between meetings or projects to you do not overload or overbook your schedule.
Partner with a co-worker who has good organizational skills. This person may act as your coach. The coach will help set goals and reward you as you achieve your goals.

Impulsivity – you respond, at times, without thinking of consequences, sometimes your respond with outbursts

Have a trusted co-worker provide constructive feedback about your interactions with other staff. This co-worker may also act as a personal coach to role-play appropriate responses to common office dynamics.
From this feedback, develop strategies to be used when you become frustrated.
Yoga and some martial arts classes may prove effective in teaching relaxation and concentration skills. A meditation class may be effective, too.

Procrastination – you put things off until the last minute sometimes frustrating or angering colleagues

Set goals for your current task by breaking it into a series of manageable tasks. Mark the deadline for each mini-task with a timer. Computer programs are available for this or you may use a simple kitchen timer. Reward yourself when you reach a goal.
Use an automated computer scheduler to set meeting times. These usually come with an alarm.
Partner with a co-worker who has good organizational skills. This person may act as your coach. The coach will help set project goals and reward you as you achieve your goals.

Hyperactivity – you find it very difficult to sit still during meetings or at your desk o Maximize your personal time like breaks, lunch, etc. to exercise and burn off some energy. This can include walking around the block or trips up and down the stairwell.

Break up your day to include trips to the mailroom, photocopier, fax, and restroom. o Bring a notepad to meetings and take copious notes.
A rubber band or paperclip in your free hand can provide stimulation while you take notes.

Daydreaming – when you find something boring you block out the stimuli and think of something more fun.

Remember, if you have a job you truly enjoy, you’ll find you’ll daydream less. o A job with challenging responsibilities will provide less opportunity for daydreaming than a job shuffling papers.
Set goals for your current task by breaking it into a series of manageable tasks. Mark the deadline for each mini-task with a timer. Computer programs are available for this or you may use a simple kitchen timer.
Reward yourself when you reach a goal.

Avoiding details – details like paperwork bore you and you find them virtually impossible to finish o Rule number one; if you can get someone else to do it properly (like an office assistant), let them handle paperwork.

Make filing more fun by color coding folders and using catchy labels. o Personalize your filing (sensibly) by using fun labels and folders – possibly color coded.
For paperwork that requires immediate attention have your filing system close at hand, perhaps directly on your desk

Poor social skills – your interactions with your colleagues are marked by your interruptions, blunt comments, or poor listening skills.

Have a trusted co-worker provide constructive feedback about your interactions with other staff. This co-worker may also act as a personal coach to role-play appropriate responses to common office dynamics.
Pay particular attention to social cues and work on them with a personal coach to develop awareness and appropriate response.
From this feedback, develop strategies to be used when you become frustrated.
Learn to pick up on social cues more readily. Some adults with ADHD have a hard time picking up nonverbal cues that they are angering a co-worker or supervisor.

Summary

A person with ADHD must develop skills and strategies that will enable him/her to function optimally in the workplace. Should skills and strategies fail, it may be necessary to switch careers after careful assessment of your work attributes and skills.

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How does poor attention actually affect the learning process?

Posted by Peter on November 7th, 2004 | Comments off

One pound of learning requires ten pounds of common sense to apply it.
-Persion Proverb

If we take a cognitive view, from a purely external viewpoint, we can examine how we learn. Learning involves the teacher, the learner, the learning process, and the cognitive and behavioral changes associated with learning.

Flow Diagram

The teaching method is the series of actions that the teacher uses to present the lesson. The teacher could be a computer, but is ordinarily a human who includes both content and organization of teaching materials. The teaching method encompasses both how and what is learned, the teacher’s attributes (mood, knowledge base, etc.), and the learning environment. Examples may include use of preparatory sets, computerized instruction, repeating instructions, or providing an example, etc.

The learner’s attributes include the learner’s entire schema: all existing knowledge, metacognitive skills, disabilities, and memory capabilities. Picture this as everything the learner brings to class.

The learning process demands that the student pay as much attention to the teaching method as possible in order to assimilate the data provided. If this occurs, then cognitive processing of the data can occur which leads to integration and organization with prior information in the learner’s schema. A person with an diffused attention receives bit and pieces of the lesson information. This typically results in the transfer of bits and pieces of information being transferred to long term memory.

Cognitive outcomes are actual changes in the learner’s knowledge or memory system including acquisition of information, procedures, and strategies. This includes understanding of information. This is the result of developing neural networks. While educators do not explicitly state that their goal is to develop a new concept through neural networking, this is precisely what they are doing.

Outcome performance is the learner’s performance or actual behavioral changes including retention and transfer behaviors related to new tasks. This is quantified by a test of the cognitive outcomes or qualified by anecdotal records. In essence, the learner is transferring or generalizing what has been acquired cognitively.

When diffused attention allows only bits and pieces of information to be transferred to long-term memory, then cognitive outcomes are affected because both the meaning and significance of the presented information are altered. A good example is watching a person with diffused attention attempt to read. They scan the same page three or four times before they get the full meaning. Many college students reported to me that they read the text book four times! This obviously makes learning more difficult.

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ADHD: An Interest and Motivation Deficit?

Posted by Peter on November 5th, 2004 | Comments off

Dr. Russell Barkley also proposes that ADHD is related more to lost interest and motivation rather than with an inability to pay attention or concentrate. He contends that students lose interest quickly because they are not motivated.

ADHD is Directly Related to the Level of Stimulation

If one has ever watched an ADHD child play commercial video games like Sony Play Station or Xbox, it becomes obvious that ADHD is not only a matter of motivation or interest, but is directly related to level of stimulation. Video games are intrinsically motivating because they offer the viewer a heightened state of arousal, stimulation, and response. ADHD people do not have trouble maintaining focus on a three-ring circus. Motivation is a secondary consideration at best. It is a fact that persons with ADHD frequently cannot attend to low-level stimuli like homework or balancing a checkbook. ADHD people know that balancing a checkbook or doing well on homework are quite essential to their personal wellbeing. They are typically quite motivated to perform these tasks, but they cannot. Their diffused attention pulls them away from the task unless they are redirected by an outside stimulus/agency. People with ADD/HD can pay attention but usually shift attention from task to task, never staying with or completing a current task. It may also take a much higher level stimulation to shift out of inattentiveness or to maintain attention for longer periods.

Curriculum Modification Only A Short-term Intervention

Agreeing that ADHD is a misnomer, Barkley contends that curriculum should be made more motivating and interesting to students. This is not only an over simplification of the problem, but also a fundamentally flawed perspective. Curriculum modification is a standard practice of teachers who encounter students with ADHD. It is a sensible short-term intervention just as are incorporating a behavioral shaping program, token reinforcement, and placing the student closer to the teacher. But these are only short-term solutions as they tend only to change the student’s environment. They do not change the student.

ADHD Leads To A Negative Self-Image

This being so, when an ADHD student repeatedly fails to successfully perform homework, class assignments, or tests, their self-image declines. They perceive themselves as unable to control their behaviors and begin to believe they are victims of an unfair world. Because they believe that they cannot control their behaviors and thus are not personally responsible for negative behaviors, they deem other’s negative reactions as excessively harsh, discriminatory, or unfair. Complaints of this nature are seldom assigned to just one person or group; they will be directed to everyone. A natural reaction to the perception of victimization is anger. Anger may cause outbursts, defiance, and even hitting as solutions to even the most minor conflicts. This type of behavior may cause the individual to become a social outcast. This in turn serves to reinforce his perceptions of unfairness and rejection. Sometimes, rather than fight or deny the negative responses to his behaviors, he may elect to agree with his critics. He may label himself ’stupid,’ ‘lazy,’ ‘bad,’ etc. This frequently leads to a feeling of worthlessness and may result in an I don’t care or I don’t care what you think attitude.

ADHD and Learned Behaviors

All of the aforementioned perceptions and behaviors are learned. They are indeed compensations which produce a disastrous cycle that destroys self-esteem, decreases opportunities for friendships, and lowers academic performance. It is quite evident that modifying the environment is only a short-term solution that must be tempered with cognitive skill building.

ADHD And Cognitive Skill Building

Cognitive skill building includes increasing organizational skills, short-term memory skills, visual tracking, time on-task, and discriminatory processing (filtering) skills, all of which are loosely termed executive functions by psychologists and educationalists. Psychologists and research scientists have long known that executive functions can be improved through training. But the true question must be put: why do we consider ADHD a disorder that cannot be improved? Diffused attention can be improved thus improving subordinate deficits. Society will only become aware of this through a paradigm shift.

“Cognitive exercises, including computer-assisted strategies, have been used to improve neuropsychological processes, predominately attention, memory, and executive skills. Both randomized controlled studies and case reports have documented the success of these interventions using intermediate outcome measures.” –Rehabilitation of persons with traumatic brain injury, NIH Consensus Statement, 1998 Oct. 26-28;16(1):1-41.

Training Works For ADHD

It has been repeatedly demonstrated that provided the correct challenge, executive functions can be increased which would promote successes in the workplace and at school. It is founded in current cutting edge research in neuroplasticity and the human genome project. However, this is cutting edge, and the dinosaurs that rule the ADHD domain will not likely embrace it in their lifetimes.

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