I would like to share my experiences as a program manager using Play Attention with one of the teenagers that came to my clinic.
As an ADD kid, Fatima was failing ten subjects in her senior year of high school, which was a bilingual private catholic school with small class groups. In El Salvador, bilingual schools are required to run the programs in both English and in Spanish in some areas, and because of this, children often feel a heavy load on their shoulders. Fatima had failed to pass Math and was having several problems coping with other subjects. Her parents asked for help, since Fatima’s last report card showed that she was underachieving in nine additional subjects and was jeopardizing her high school graduation.
The Play Attention program enabled her to increase her attention span and improve her cognitive skills enough to complete academic tasks necessary to raise her grades. She was eventually able to score a previously unseen 70 in Math, and even higher in her other subjects. Fatima has sustained these higher grades since January, making her parents and school teachers very proud. They have commented multiple times on Fatima’s effort and academic achievements. She was glowing when asked about the night of the prom, which she now has the grades to attend. Her attitude towards academic achievement has completely changed, and Fatima is looking forward to enrolling in college soon.
Dora Beatriz de Sol
Director of C.H.I.L.D.