Free ADHD Test to Evaluate Attention and Memory

Brain training can improve the symptoms of Inattentive ADHD. Though the CDC and the major psychiatric organizations report that only medication and behavioral training can improve ADHD, many respected authorities disagree that these are the only methods that improve the symptoms of ADHD. The major problems of the Inattentive type of ADHD include: disorganized thinking, distractibility, poor working memory and slow processing speed. Many studies have shown that these problems can be improved with cognitive or brain training.

The National Resource Center on add symptoms has not endorsed cognitive training as an approved treatment method for ADHD but they do not consider it a therapy that is alternative, unproven, or controversial. I can only hope and assume that if you or your child had cognitive testing that proved that your working memory and reaction time needed treatment, then the National Resource Center on ADHD would consider it as an appropriate component of the Individualized Education Plan but who knows. Brain training, also called cognitive training, has been used as therapy for stroke victims, the elderly and in people with brain injuries as well as therapy for people with attention disorders.

Studies performed evaluating the benefits of cognitive therapy have shown a significant improvement in the areas of working memory, attention and processing speed using brain training exercises. The most vocal proponent of brain training for ADHD is the founder of Cogmed, Dr. Torkel Klingberg. He has shown that brain training can not only improve attention and working memory, but that it can also increase the density of brain dopamine receptors. Cogmed is far from the only ‘brain training’ game in town. The brain training industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. It seems that a new company enters the brain training market every day. This is not surprising. Research on brain plasticity has shown that our brain need not deteriorate with age. People concerned about potential problems with age related memory and cognitive decline are embracing brain training exercises and flocking to programs such as Lumosity and the Brain Science Posit program. In the ADHD community there are brain training programs specifically designed for people with ADHD to treat inattention. The most popular programs include PACE, Learning Rx and Cogmed. These programs can cost thousands of dollars.

Pace is an early version of the franchised Learning Rx program and is only available where Learning Rx is not. There are also cheaper program but most of those programs are so tedious to perform that I cannot even count them as being worth discussing. The good news is that you need not spend thousands of dollars on cognitive training because there are free programs available on the internet to train your brain. These programs are not boring and can be performed in your home and at your convenience. Many researchers believe that you can get the same benefits that the expensive programs provide by performing 25 minutes of brain training five times a day using any of the cheaper or free brain training programs.