Speaking of Cogmed

Since the Curmudgeoness asks... yes, we've tried Cogmed. Here's one family's experience:

We decided to try Cogmed for documented issues with working memory. I first heard of Cogmed through reading The Mislabeled Child by the Eides, so I had been watching for it prior to its release in this country. (Full disclosure: I have a favorable bias toward Swedes, and the research behind Cogmed comes from Sweden. I have no stake in the company, aside from a bit of ethnic pride.)

I find it comforting that the research behind Cogmed has been published in peer-reviewed journals. Yes, this costs extra. So does the fact that, unlike other software being sold out there, Cogmed is a package deal that includes a fair bit of personal oversight and coaching.

In our case, this meant an initial meeting with a Cogmed trainer who is also a fairly well-known ADD specialist. It didn't hurt our that this woman is warm, wise, and broadly experienced. She worked well with my daughter, and my daughter took heart in the fact that she would check in with this trainer every week (by phone) to discuss any concerns and to get progress reports and encouragement.

Having the oversight of a psychologist was reassuring during the initial weeks, when the training seems to be making matters worse rather than better. It was quite unnerving, and it underlined the fact that trying to rewire the brain is risky -- especially if you're dealing with brains that are not neurologically typical to begin.

The Cogmed program is not necessarily fun, so you're called upon to offer various bribes.... uh, "incentives" ... for compliance. The bribe for doing the daily work is built into the software -- a silly little Nintendo-style game involving racing robots. For my daughter, the weekly incentive was a favorite meal and the grand prize was a remote control dragonfly -- not too terrible a price. In theory, I was also supposed to "coach" to my daughter during her training, to keep her on task and smooth out any difficulties. The reality was that I was more useful outside the room keeping her younger sister quiet. As a result, I didn't get to watch much of the training.

At the outset, my impression was that software was not that different from some of the other brain-enhancement software on the market. Later, though, I got to watch my daughter's final training session, and I came away impressed with the methodical way the program challenges different aspects of working memory. While there's more to attention than working memory, it seems clear to me that my daughter made real gains. She feels it was extremely valuable.

One particular illustration of a clear take-away is spelling. Prior to working with this software, my daughter couldn't hold more than three letters in mind at a time, which made her spelling a disaster. Her spelling improved immediately, based on the ability to hold five or six letters in mind. There seemed to be similar gains with math computation.

Another sign of significant change emerged during a family conversation shortly after the training. When my daughter opened her mouth to speak, I reflexively assumed she was interrupting yet another conversation with an off-topic remark. But, in fact, she was adding to the conversation with a relevant and useful bit of information, and adding it at an appropriate moment. I was so completely stunned by this new development that I now have zero recollection of what the conversation was about.

My daughter also points out that she has not left the house without shoes since.

These gains have not disappeared after a year. I'm as cynical as anyone about people marketing snake oil to desperate parents, but, for us, Cogmed seemed to perform as advertised. It's worth a look.

Cognitive training for ADHD?

The Homeschool Buyers Coop is offering a group buy on Brainware Safari "Cognitive Skills Game Software." I thought I would look into it, since inattention and impulsivity are serious problems around here.

I also thought it would be interesting to compare Brainware Safari with Cogmed, a cognitive training program for indviduals with ADHD. I found just a few sites that discuss both products:

http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2008/06/12/promising-cognitive-training-studies-for-adhd/

http://www.switched.com/2008/06/20/brain-games-booming-with-baby-boomers/

Well, to be honest, the above sites discuss Cogmed, with "Betsy Hill" posting a comment about the benefits of Brainware Safari on each page.

The Fool has shared her family's experience with Cogmed elsewhere; perhaps I can entreat her to post some of her thoughts on Cogmed...??

More on Savage

Still more on Michael Savage's thinking-before-speaking disorder. It's "funny" how some commenters immediately turned this into a "crazed liberals denying Savage his conservative/libertarian viewpoint" issue. Who knew that autism only affected liberals??

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/21/radio-station-is-targeted-over-autism-comments

Seven radio stations in Mississippi, a notorious hotbed for left-leaning wingnuts, have dropped Savage's syndicated program as a result of his comments on autism:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/23/arts/23arts-SAVAGELOSESA_BRF.html

Growing controversy

The New York Times picked up the Michael Savage controversy:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/business/media/22sava.html

I still feel conflicted. On one hand, I feel that paying any attention to this joker is giving him exactly what he wants -- attention. I prefer the "don't feed the trolls" school of thought. On the other hand, the Fool's comment below reminds me that chances are many of Savage's listeners now think that autism is a fake diagnosis used to excuse poor behavior....

Another day, another controversy

Maybe it's just because I am tired in general, but I am at a loss when it comes to this story:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080721/ap_on_en_ot/savage_autism

Part of me wants to be outraged, part of me is feeling manipulated by the media. Perhaps this quote from the story tells us all we really need to know:

"Savage, with more than 8 million listeners a week, is talk radio's third most popular personality behind Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, according to Talkers magazine. He [ha]s made a living off bold, outrageous statements."

Moving along....

Restraint

NYTimes story suggesting that more and more schools are turning to physical restraint and other controversial methods for dealing with children who have developmental and behavioral problems:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/health/15restraint.html

Program on Tourette Syndrome to air next week

ABC will be airing a one-hour program on life with Tourette Syndrome on July 15th at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time. Per the email I received today, "We are focusing on profiles of 4 young girls who - together with their families - taught us both the triumphs and challenges of living with TS." I am cautiously optimistic about this program, and I expect I will watch it. (disclaimer: my son was one of the children initially contacted to participate in this project) Yet, I do feel compelled to note that Tourette's affects four times as many males as females.

Tune in next week and judge the program for yourself.