We're Back! Part 1 of a 3 Part Series!

It has been busy at Swank Enrichment Center but new blog entries are coming! We would like to start off with a 3 part series by Dr. Linda Swank.

Part I: Training the Brain

Case Study Sam was a second grade boy who had been referred because his teachers and parents had described him with the following characteristics:

1. Oppositional
2. Hyperactive
3. Anxious-Shy
4. Perfectionism
5. Social Problems
6. Psychometric
7. Emotional Lability
8. Hyperactive-Impulsive

Neuropsychological testing identified him as having a superior IQ. He was diagnosed with ADHD. Occupational Therapist diagnosed him with deficits in motor planning, reflex integration, self-regulation, ocular pursuits, grapho-motor, visual motor, proprioceptive and balance. Speech and Language testing identified significant delay (5th percentile or lower) in following directions, expressive language and word retrieval.

Sam came to our center for approximately one year. He averaged 2 sessions per week for 90 minutes per session of brain training therapy for eight months. The last three months he came only one time per week for about 90 minutes. He completed two brain training protocols that targeted (1) attention and concentration and (2) reading and auditory processing.

At his exit interview Sam was now in 3rd grade making A’s in all of his subject areas. He had friends and was seen as a peer that was compassionate with others. He was now at grade level for following directions. His expressive language was now within 6 months of his chronological age. His word finding had gained 25 percentile points to be in the average range. The parents said they would testify that this therapy had changed their son’s life.

Brain Training at Swank Enrichment Center

The brain-training programs used at our Brain Training Academy have proven highly effective in changing the “out-of-sync” child. Brain training interventions optimize the brain. The brain training helps each individual child develop the skills needed to succeed communicatively, academically, socially and emotionally. The specific brain training techniques used in our program stimulates the development of new neural pathways that enhance the brain systems for improved memory, attention, auditory processing, logical thinking and speed of response for improved word retrieval, reading and math fluency. These newly developed neural pathways facilitate learning to make it easier to learn new skills and to communicate with others.

Brain training is based on the “plasticity” of the brain and its ability to build new neural pathways. Our program develops targeted areas of the brain that through behavioral assessments indicate delays or possible deficits. Our brain training techniques also target the more developed areas of the brain to acquire a balanced brain development.

At Swank Enrichment Center we are continuing to see excellent results from our brain training program! This is exciting for us as well as our clients. Brain training is often preferred as an alternative to medications or aides in decreasing need for medication when dealing with ADHD, ADD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Bipolar Disorder in children, and more.

I strongly recommend watching the 2008 Frontline program on this subject. The link is: PBS Frontline: Medicated Child