ADD Austin is a Cogmed Qualified Practice for
Cogmed Working Memory Training
Cogmed Working Memory Training is a comprehensive 5-week home-based software program designed to help children, adolescents and adults with attention deficits by training and increasing their working memory capacity. Studies show that most children and adults with attention deficits have a working memory deficit.
Working Memory is a function of the brain that helps us temporarily store and manage the information required to carry out complex cognitive tasks such as learning, reasoning and comprehension. Working memory keeps information in the mind for a short time, typically for a few seconds, in order to use that information for thinking. In daily life, we use working memory for a number of tasks such as remembering instructions, solving problems, controlling impulses and focusing attention.
Studies show that a deficit in working memory often leads to difficulties in:
- staying focused
- planning next steps
- remembering instructions
- starting and finishing tasks
- reading comprehension
- math
Signs of working memory deficits include:
- problems focusing
- easily distracted
- difficulties starting and finishing tasks
- forgetting instructions
Cogmed Working Memory Training has been found to benefit:
- ability to sustain attention
- impulse control
- complex reasoning skills
- academic performance (reading comprehension, math)
- social skills
- completing tasks
Cogmed Working Memory Training software has been specifically created for children, adolescents and adults with attention deficits by game developers working closely with psychologists and medical researchers. Through active and engaging exercises, participants train at home five days per week for five weeks. Every participant has a Personal Coach who leads the training, analyzes results and provides encouragement through weekly phone calls.
Research on Cogmed Working Memory Training has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Nature Neuroscience, Journal of the AmericanAcademy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Neuropsychology, and the British Journal of Educational Psychology. Published, peer-reviewed and controlled clinical studies have demonstrated that, upon completion of Cogmed Working Memory Training, 80% of participants have significantly improved their ability to concentrate and use complex reasoning skills over the long term. Improvements to working memory are correlated to changes in the frontal and parietal parts of the brain, the crucial parts of the brain for using working memory. Training has lasting effects. When asked one year after training to report on their experience, 79% of parents reported effects had remained or increased. There is on-going research on Cogmed Working Memory Training at several leading U.S. universities.
more about Cogmed Working Memory Training:
- About Working Memory
- Cogmed Working Memory Training for Adults Brochure (PDF)
- White paper providing an overview of working memory, its relation to attention deficits and research studies that confirm the effects of Cogmed Working Memory Training (PDF)
- Cogmed Press Release: Adults Improve Critical Professional and Personal Skills Through New Cognitive Training Program
DISCLAIMER: Cogmed Working Memory Training is not intended to be a substitute for a health care provider’s consultation or a substitute for medication that a doctor may have prescribed. Results may vary. Effects or results in the individual can never be guaranteed.
© 2007 Cogmed America Inc.
