Cognitive Skills
BRAIN TRAINING PROGRAMS ENHANCE YOUR LIFE
The brain uses cognitive skills which are the core skills to read, think, learn, reason, remember, and also pay attention. The cognitive skills work together and take incoming information and move the information into the bank of knowledge you use every day at work, school, and in life. At ALP Brain Training Centre, we use one-on-one brain training to train the cognitive skills the brain uses to think and learn. Our brain training uses over 35 years of research to target the underlining skills that are important on how you learn and perform. We have helped clients with attention struggles and ADHD, memory decline, learning disabilities. The processing of new information uses each of your cognitive skills; if one skill is weak, grasping, using or retaining that information is impacted. One or more weak cognitive skills cause most learning struggles. Here’s a brief description of each of your cognitive skills, as well as struggles you may be experiencing if that skill is weak:
ATTENTION/SUSTAINED
What it does: This enables you to stay focused and on task at hand for a sustained period. Problems when this skill is weak: Jumping from task to task, lots of unfinished projects.
ATTENTION/SELECTIVE
What it does: Despite the distraction, it enables you to stay focus.
Problems when this skill is weak: Easily distracted
ATTENTION/DIVIDED
What it does: This enables you to remember information while doing two things at a time. Problems when this skill is weak: Difficulty in multitasking, frequent mistakes.
MEMORY/LONG-TERM
What it does: This enables you to recall information stored in the past.
Problems when this skill is weak: Doing poorly on tests, forgetting names, forgetting things you used to know.
MEMORY/WORKING (OR SHORT-TERM)
What it does: This enables you to hang on to information while using it.
Problems when this skill is weak: Having to reread the directions in the middle of a project, difficulty following multi-step directions, forgetting what was just said in a conversation.
LOGIC & REASONING
What it does: It enables you to reason, solve problems and form ideas.
Problems when this skill is weak: Frequently asking, “What do I do next?” or saying, “I don’t get this,” struggling with math, feeling stuck or overwhelmed.
AUDITORY PROCESSING
What it does: This enables you to analyze, blend, and segment sounds.
Problems when this skill is weak: Struggling with learning to read, reading fluency, or reading comprehension.
VISUAL PROCESSING
What it does: This enables you to think in visual images.
Problems when this skill is weak: Difficulties understanding what you’ve just read, remembering what you’ve read, following directions, reading maps, doing word math problems.
PROCESSING SPEED
What it does: Enables you to perform tasks quickly and accurately.
Common problems when this skill is weak: Most tasks are more difficult. Taking a long time to complete tasks for school or work, frequently being the last one in a group to finish something.