BrainWare Safari makes leap forward

July 20th, 2010

District Makes Program Standard

As a provider of BrainWare Safari, we were heartened to read about a Michigan school district that after two short years of testing decided to have all students from 3rd grade through high school senior take the program.  Their average cognitive ability gain of 3-4 years matched the national average for this exciting new program.

Here is a summary of the article.

The Huron Daily Tribune published a story (July 13,2010) on  the Harbor Beach School District in the thumb of Michigan.  It all started with a pilot of BrainWare Safari, the cognitive development software program, two years ago.  This year every student in the district used the program, from third grade through seniors in high school.

In the pilot in 2008, every student who used the program improved his or her cognitive ability, with an average improvement of 3 to 4 years after using the program for just 12 weeks.  Students have experienced dramatic improvements in attention skills, memory, pattern recognition, processing multi-step directions and other mental processes that enable them to learn more effectively. 

How does that translate into academics?  Teachers started to see students paying better attention in class, being more engaged in their work and even behaving better.  And learning and test results started to improve as well.  One high school student saw a jump of 7 points on her ACT score and became class valedictorian.

The story is a textbook case of how a school district can evaluate and implement new technology.  They put the program through its paces, were clear about the expected outcomes and measured them.  And, of course, the first step was that they were willing to try something new.  As Harbor Beach Superintendent Ron Kraft expresses it, “We’re not afraid to step out on a limb.”

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If memory can be improved, maybe IQ can too

July 15th, 2010

Simple Memory Test Predicts Intelligence

 A recent article at livescience.com makes the case that IQ is not fixed because it is highly correlated to working memory, which is a learning skill that can be improved, often dramatically.  Working memory is a way of temporarily storing information used for some mental task.

This correlation exists because a major key to intelligence may be the ability to juggle multiple thoughts or memories at one time.

If the results of the study hold for the population at large, “I could predict an individual’s overall intellectual ability essentially with 79-percent accuracy if you tell me what their working memory capacity is,” said study researcher Steven Luck of the University of California, Davis.

The logic is sound.  And it also partially explains this IQ chart.  A school district used a standard IQ test to measure the impact of Fast ForWord software on an entire class of kids over a ten year period — five years of no progress before, then four years of dramatic gain after.   To read more on this study, click here.

Here is a link to the article:

http://www.livescience.com/culture/memory-test-intelligence-100525.html

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Touching blog on PDD-NOS

June 18th, 2010

Progress on Autism Interventions

Here is a touching bog, a wonderful glimpse into the life of a parent bringing up an autistic child.  It recounts a day at the Yankees and how different the experience was for father and autistic son compared to the father’s first time to the Yankees with his father.

It is frustrating to learning services like ours to read stories like this. We know our core program, Fast ForWord software, is not a “cure” for autism but it does show what is possible.  Fast ForWord is able to improve the processing aspects of learning in often dramatic ways, showing that the brain has much more in common with muscle than it does with a hard-wired computer — it is an inspiration to researchers around the world that learning rewiring is possible. 

In years to come the hope is that more Fast ForWord-like treatments will become available addressing the various different aspects of learning, eventually adding up to a comprehensive intervention that should be able to repair most of the learning gaps associated with autism or PDD-NOS.

Here is the blog post:

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/autism.pervasive.developmental.2.1749342.html

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How to Keep Your Child Reading “In The Zone”

June 14th, 2010

While all parents know about the dreaded summer swoon and the importance of reading over summer, less well understood is the importance of having your child read books in the what is called the Zone of Proximal Development, the reading level that stimulates without frustrating.

We have just posted on our website a chart for reading list sorted by grade level.  We have also posted a reading zone chart that converts the single point reading grade level of your child into a range or difficulty that is healthy for your child — engaging without being too easy or too hard.  This  conversion chart is not intuitive — it was developed by reading experts over years and is worth keeping around for future reference.

These resources are all on our website:

http://www.gemmlearning.com/tips.php

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Is ADD a Condition or a Symptom?

June 1st, 2010

There was an interesting article in the New York Times today about the controversial Quotient machine that uses an exercise based on a repetitive boring task as a way of measuring focus.  Clinicians are using this equipment to measure the impact of a drug while they are still in the office to avoid the normal dose and drug experimentation. 

The article, titled “Seeking an Objective Test for Attention Disorder,” points out that finding a bio-marker is the Holy Grail of ADD and ADHD science.  It pokes fun at the current ADD testing which most heavily relies on parent feedback.  But the article also has a cynical tone towards the Quotient test as it is no narrow.

We think the real question here is — is ADD or ADHD a condition or a symptom of a learning or other issue?  We think ADD and ADHD are best thought of as symptoms, like a high temperature is a sign of sickness.

And so while measuring the level of inattentiveness may be useful –thermometers are useful — it doesn’t really help define causes. 

In our world of auditory processing disorder and language deficits, inattentiveness is common.  Children drift off in class because the world is coming at them too quickly.  Sure, the teacher will observe ADD in this case, but in this case, were there is CAPD there are interventions like Fast ForWord software can help.  For ADD due to auditory processing disorder drugs are not the best choice.  

Therefore we believe the concept of an ADD or ADHD biomarker is scary.  It may help clinicians move off the idea that the first interventions should be focused on the causes.  Here is the New York Times article.         

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/health/01attention.html?ref=todayspaper

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Bribing Kids To Learn Works: New Study

May 23rd, 2010

Reward Based on Process, Not Results

Time Magazine’s April 8th cover story details findings of a Harvard study utilizing uBoost’s rewards platform in K-8 schools in NYC, Washington DC and Chicago. It was no surprise that the researchers found that rewarding behaviors that lead to learning gains was much more impactful than simply rewarding the desired outcome. 

In other words, recognition of daily incremental achievement leads to far greater gains than paying a student for final grades. 

Relevant recognition of positive behaviors such as compliance and effort (on the way to good outcomes) has always been a hallmark of Gemm Learning  programs.  Learn more.

Education Secretary Duncan was a big supporter of this study when he was the Chicago Superintendent.  As evidenced by Race To The Top and the Teacher Incentive Fund, the current administration believes that schools, teachers and students will succeed more frequently in an atmosphere of reward rather than punishment.

 Here is the article link:

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1978589,00.html

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New Gemm video challenges NY Times Rosie O’Donnell Story

May 7th, 2010

The NY Times article about Rosie O’Donnell and her son who is diagnosed with auditory processing disorder has created a lot of chatter in our world of learning.  The theme of the article is that auditory processing disorders need to be coped with, worked around, that they stay with you for life.

Then how do you explain this video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a8aqiKb0xw

This a child who came to Gemm Learning with APD, auditory processing disorder.  While it is a compelling video, it is not at all unusual for us.  For Blaise, his APD is gone and he is going from strength to strength.  His brain was changed by Fast ForWord.

The quote in the Rosie O’Donnell story that got me was this one:

“It definitely affected his whole world,” she said of her son. “Not just learning. It cuts them off from society, from interactions.”

Such a bleak picture, particularly as a life sentence that needs constant vigilance as learning needs change as a student ages.  But Dr Norman Doidge, now famous (again, in our circles!) author of The Brain That Changes Itself has his own quote:

“Brian plasticity is the single most important scientific discovery of the last 50 years.”

In other words we now know with a certainty, that learning patterns and pathways are NOT hard wired like a computer.   They are more like muscle, that can be changed and strengthened. 

Ironically, auditory processing is not only not fixed, it is actually one of the brain function where there has been the most scientific progress, mostly because it can be isolated and will respond to sound-based exercise like Fast ForWord.  In Blaise’s case the changes Fast ForWord made have been life changing. 

For more videos on Fast ForWord and learning and reading, click this link:

http://www.gemmlearning.com/video_testimonials_fast_forword.php

Here is a link to the original article.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/

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Rosie O’Donnell’s Child CAPD Article

April 27th, 2010

A strange article in the New York Times today about auditory processing. 

It was an article about Rosie O’Donnell’s son and his struggle with auditory processing disorder.  It does portray her as a wonderful advocate for her struggling child and apparently with good results, but to describe auditory processing in the headline as “little known” is just plain wrong. 

And for an article about learning in the Science section of the NY Times not to mention brain plasticity or any of the “new” (last 15 years!!)  interventions –Tomatis based listening programs, and Fast ForWord for instance —  is certainly puzzling. 

This article reminds firms like Gemm Learning that are trying to make neuroscience based interventions easy to use and mainstream that we are not there yet.  The idea that learning is not fixed, that the brain is plastic and capable of dramatic change if exercised appropriately, remains one the greatest discoveries and yet unknown scientific discoveries of the last 50 years.

Here’s a link to the article and video:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/

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Brain “games” exposed?

April 21st, 2010

A rash of new brain games to help reverse the effect of aging recenly attracted the attention of British scientists involved with a TV show called “Bang Goes The Theory.”   (Sounds like a fun idea that will find its way to the US one day, no doubt!)

The scientists had thousands of people do online brain games for 10 minutes a day three times a week, then after six weeks concluded the activity made no difference to their IQ.  Shocking!

This was a pointless exercise from the start — even if the “games” were legitimate, cognitive change cannot occur in that short a period or with that little intensity.  Nevertheless, Posit Science, the developers of the Brain Fitness Program (protocol: one hour, 4x a week for 10 weeks) felt compelled to defend their program!

This study was designed to fail of course, because it was done for a show that aims to “expose” scientific theories.  The shame in this is that brain plasticity is possibly the most important scientific discovery of the last 50 years and is now established science.  And yet it has yet to penetrate the public mainstream and so remains vulnerable to stunts like this.

Here is the article link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36670031/ns/health-mental_health/

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BrainWare Safari Helps 58 Year Old

April 17th, 2010

It never ceases to amaze me how plastic brains are at any age.  New pathways can be created throughout life that can have dramatic effects.

Here is a letter the folks at BrainWare Safari received recently from a 58 year old.

“I have always struggled with reading…all my life. When I see a sentence, it displays itself to me in short pieces which sometimes move backwards instead of forwards! I could never see an entire line of words. It’s been very frustrating and speed reading courses were of no help. In college I resigned myself to a major in chemistry because my math skills were strong and you did not read a lot in chemistry/science classes. 

At the age of 58, with an advanced degree in organic chemistry, I can, for the very first time, read entire sentences and lines on a page. How? I was given BrainWare Safari and decided to try the exercises to keep my brain sharp. Initially, I went through most of the exercises quickly. However, there were a few exercises that I found particularly difficult so I became equal to the challenge and kept working on them. It was at this time that I noticed a big change in my ability to read. I could see an entire line on a page at one time! This has changed my reading speed as well as my comprehension. The difference is absolutely amazing. Now I will always wonder how my life would be different today if I could have solved my reading problem in third or fourth grade instead of at age 58.”  Gail Langer

Adult dyslexia  is a major growth area for Gemm Learning mainly using Fast ForWord software as experiences like this become more pervasive.

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