Online Brain Training Programs

Why Brain Training Software Is Gaining Popularity

The fastest and most effective way to deal with any problem is to resolve the underlying cause. Brain training programs do just that. They exercise the processing and cognitive skill gaps that cause most reading and learning delays.

Brain training programs aim to short circuit years of tutoring by taking advantage of brain plasticity, the brain’s ability to rewire at any age.

Why Brain Training?

Brain training first gained prominence as a way to help adults sharpen their aging minds.  It is now gaining traction as a reading and learning remediation tool for students of all ages. Here’s why:

1. Because it goes right after learning impediments, it can be fast acting — 3-6 months in most cases
2. The gains endure, because the changes become part of the student
3. The computer game format is more engaging for young ones than tutoring
4. Most brain training is now online — it is convenient and easy to use
5. It has the potential to make profound and substantial gains at any age

What Is Brain Training or Brain Fitness?

Brain training refers to the exercising of various aspect of brain function to boost the cognitive skills — processing, attention, memory and sequencing — required for learning and reading efficiency.

It is an alternative to tutoring, which uses instruction and practice to work around underlying learning and reading delays. Brain training takes a very different approach, going after the cognitive skill delays that are the source of most reading and learning problems.

Brain Plasticity

Brain training programs rely on brain plasticity, the now established science that the brain can not only be rewired, but that this is its normal state, to be constantly adapting, self-organizing. For instance, a recent study by MIT showed that visual cortex brain tissue in the blind is used for language processing.

At this point, only a handful of programs have been able to invest sufficiently in the clinical testing required to establish efficacy. Of those, Fast ForWord is far and away the gold standard. Other brain training programs include Cogmed, a relatively new cognitive software that focuses on working memory, and PACE, one-on-one in-person training.

When Can Brain Training Help?

While studies show that new neural pathways are always created by brain training, how this rewiring translates into academic gain will vary — how much change, and how quickly — depending on IQ, personality traits, and other variables unique to your child. Gemm Learning is able to make a dramatic difference about 50% of the time, and satisfactory gains in another 40-45% of cases.

Find Out If We Can Help

To find out if your child is a candidate for our program, call Monday-Friday, 9AM to 9PM EST, or contact Gemm Learning here.