What is ADD?
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), is really a group of symptoms that involve developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. Many people have trouble paying attention at times or can be impulsive, and many people have high energy levels. That doesn't mean they have ADD/ADHD. The symptoms become a disorder when they are extreme for the age of the individual (developmentally inappropriate), and when they interfere with an individual’s ability to function in school, work and life.
There is no cure for ADD/ADHD, but there are a variety of treatments, from medication to behavioral therapy that can help children and adults with ADD/ADHD to function more effectively. Recent research in the field suggests that training cognitive skills, including working memory and other attention-related skills may also be beneficial in helping individuals with attention issues, whether or not they rise to the level of an ADD/ADHD diagnosis, to focus and attend.
How BrainWare SAFARI Builds Attention Skills
BrainWare Safari develops 41 cognitive skills in an intensive and integrated manner including 6 vital attention skills:
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Visual Sustained Attention
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The ability to stay on task for a sustained period of time, dealing with visual information.
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Auditory Sustained Attention
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The ability to stay on task for a sustained period of time, dealing with auditory information.
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Visual Selective Attention
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The ability to attend to one input while not being distracted by other inputs, dealing with visual information.
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Auditory Selective Attention
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The ability to attend to one input while not being distracted by other inputs, dealing with auditory information.
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Divided Attention
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The ability to attend to two activities at the same time, such as taking notes while listening to the teacher.
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Flexible Attention
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The ability to shift focus from one task to another quickly and efficiently, when necessary.
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Closely related to the ability to control the focus of our attention is the ability to hold multiple pieces of information in our minds while we manipulate them – a process called working memory. Working memory is often described as a temporary storage system or the worktable of our mind. Many individuals with ADD/ADHD and those who simply struggle with attention also have working memory deficits. BrainWare also develops working memory.
BrainWare Safari works by providing a series of increasing challenges, by offering the kind of repetition that is necessary to make the skills automatic, and by integrating them with other skills to ensure that they don’t just function on their own, but in concert with other brain processes.
Parents and teachers of children who have used BrainWare Safari report that they are better able to:
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Sustain attention for appropriate periods of time in routine home and school work situations.
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Maintain proper attention even when distractions are present.
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Pay attention to details.
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Listen carefully and maintain eye contact when being spoken to
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Finish tasks they start
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Remember the details of instructions given and carry them out correctly
Case Study on BrainWare Safari and ADD/ADHD
