Experienced opinion w/ Test and Improve your Intell: Prof Ed

No one has ever used the program?

Someone else asked about this program a few weeks back, so I researched it as best I could on the net. It appears that it has been available for awhile, but I had never heard of it.

My guesstimate about it is that it may be too boring to be effective. At least, that’s what I have found with other computer “games” designed to work on visual skills, spatial skills, sequencing skills, and memory.

The programs that I do know about — and that have a high rate of success in developing these skills — are all cognitive training programs that are done one-on-one with a human. The human approach tends to be more effective with children anyway, I think, because they benefit from the “comfort” factor of being engaged with a warm body.

Anyway, two good home programs that work on the skills you mention are Audiblox (http://www.audiblox2000.com ) and BrainSkills (http://www.brainskills.com ). A more expensive, provider-based program that is also highly effective is PACE (http://www.processingskills.com ). All of them require that most of the exercises be done with another person. Audiblox and BrainSkills tend to get more tedious to do with time, because they don’t have the variety of exercises in PACE; however, if you put in the requisite time on the exercises, you get results.

Long-term memory problems can be associated with sensory integration disorder. When this is the case, it seems as if the cerebellum needs to be stimulated via bodywork-type exercises. Occupational therapy, NeuroNet and Dore all seem to work on stimulating the cerebellum.

Sometimes, however, the problem with long-term memory is simply that other cognitive skills are not up to par.

I think that if this computer program were as effective as the one-on-one training programs, I would have heard about it. A program such as this might be helpful as a supplement to a one-on-one program, but I doubt it would replace one.

Nancy

Thank you very much for your response Nancy. You seem very knowledgable in the field. If I might be able to ask you a few more specific questions I would appreciate it.

My email is [email protected]