Today we converse Dr. Arthur Lavin. Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Case Western School of care for pediatrician in private practice and one of the first providers of a Working Memory Training program for kids with attention deficits. Dr. Lavin trained with esteemed Mel Levine. AF (Alvaro Fernandez): Dr. Lavin thanks for being with us. Can you explain the obtain of your interest in brain research and applications?AL (Arthur Lavin): I am fascinated by how the mind works. How can neuroscientists' increasing knowledge improve kids' lives?AF: Some readers may evaluate that a major move of the problem we face today is that kids are simply "lazy". What do you say to that?AL: I have never met a lazy kid. All people be to succeed in life if not in school. The ones that are labeled as "lazy" are typically ashamed of their lack of capacity to deal with demands and resort to evasive strategies. AF: You mention a "lack of capacity to broach with demands". Is that gap growing?AL: Yes. I can see how complex homework assignments are these days even in 3-4rd evaluate. Kids be to intend and alter a whole matrix of tasks that require good organizational work to complete. They need to grade what they do today tomorrow the day after. The study difficulty for which such young brains may not be fully ready is to deal with an overwhelming amount of information and demands. AF: that seems to imply a higher need for good executive functions than years ago. A kid needs to have good working memory to retain grade and grade much information into actionable plans and then execute them. We experience that a common problem with many kids with diagnosed attention deficits is indeed working memory (the ability to hold in mind and manipulate several units of information). Can you explain what you see in your work with schools?AL: I am afraid that many schools are too quick to analyse ADD/ ADHD and consider drugs as the only potential intervention. The denominate itself can be misleading and counterproductive. School psychologists have wonderful expertise in evaluating subject-related problems and describing attentional deficit symptomatology but are not trained or asked to complete neuropsychological profiles of a child's cognitive functions. Up to a point many kids with attention problems would benefit from educational not medical interventions to alter cognitive functions such as working memory. I am seeing it first transfer having used a Working Memory Training schedule with 15 pre-screened kids: 80% of them presented a substantive improvement. With 50% the results we have seen have been dramatic. AF: gratify give us some examples. AL: Let me give you 3 vignettes all 3 with diagnosed attention deficits. Patient 1: 11-year-old boy very impulsive change surface on medication. Doesn't do homework constantly forgets chores. After the 5-week program he is able to sit down and listen instructions engaging in fewer arguments with his parents. He can do better mental math- for the first time in his life able to do so without using his fingers. He finds that following school and doing homework is easier grades have improved dramatically. Patient 2: 16-year-old girl with ADD. She has trouble executing homework often telling parents she had done it when she really hadn't. Her parents thought she liked to lie. Yet when I talk to her she is clearly more ashamed than dishonest. The working memory training program helps her develop a much improved perception of time. For example she starts to bring home the bacon her shower time better being aware of when 5 minutes have passed-instead of spending 30 minutes in the shower as before. Much improved school bring home the bacon lying at domiciliate has dropped dramatically. Patient 3: 19-year-old boy in college who often became paralyzed when he was faced with complex challenges. He had a tough measure with the cognitive training program but after a while he started learning new strategies and developing self-confidence and showing marked improvement. Now he can break complex tasks into manageable pieces. His attentional deficits appeared to threaten his opportunities in his family business. Unable to keep track of change at the cash register lines at the business would grow and customers get angry leaving him out of consideration for key start-up employment in the business. Now he can manage day-to-day challenges such as these and the door to being part of the family business is now open. He can sequence tasks and execute then with a clear plan in mind without being distracted and losing sight of that plan. AF: Dr. Lavin this is all very exciting news. Thank you very much for your time. AL: Thank you. Copyright (c) 2007 SharpBrainsAlvaro Fernandez holds an MA in Education and MBA from Stanford University. He has been teaching the class Exercising Our Brains at the San Francisco State University and ordain be teaching The Science of hit Health at UC-Berkeley Lifelong Learning Institute. He is the CEO and Co-Founder of SharpBrains which provides the latest science-based information for hit apply and Brain Training. Learn more at.
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