Avi was always very active and busy as a young kid. He also seemed to have trouble learning letters in preschool. When Avi switched to a new school in kindergarten, his teacher noted that Avi could benefit from some of the services provided by the school. By the time Avi was 8, we had our official ADHD diagnosis with some mild learning disabilities. After trying numerous medicines as well as neurofeedback, acupuncture, etc, we finally arrived at a medicine that kept Avi calm and allowed for some focusing. However, he still needed additional help focusing. Fast forward to fifth grade. One of Avi’s teachers was aware of Play Attention since her brother is a principal at a private school in Florida that uses the program.
The teacher introduced the program to another teacher at the school who got enthusiastic and brought the administrator of the program from Florida to New Jersey to demonstrate it to a group of parents.
We signed up for the program in which the teacher would administer it twice/week at our home. After a few months, I noticed one morning that I came downstairs and Avi was reading a book. This was highly unusual considering his struggle of learning to read with some mild dyslexia. I attributed it to the Play Attention.
Now, one thing they tell you about being successful with Play Attention is that you need consistency. And unfortunately, we traveled over the summer and our teacher who was administering the program was dating and got engaged and it soon became clear that we didn’t have the consistency we needed to progress. I decided to take the plunge and buy the program considering we have other children who could benefit as well.
It was one of the best, if not the best, investment for our son. When the teacher came to administrate it, it was noisy in the house and there were always distractions. After we bought the program, Avi and I found that if he did 10 minutes in the morning before school, when his siblings were asleep, we would have quiet and we could be consistent. Within a few months, his scores improved dramatically. I offered him incentive. If he got to the intermediate level for all 5 games, he could get an ipod. Within 6 months, he accomplished the goal. His ability to sit and do homework improved. I can sit with him for 20 minutes or more doing homework, when previously he would be up and about after 5 minutes, requiring constant redirection. We had recent setbacks due to sleepaway camp and other commitments, but we are staying with the program till the end because that is one of the skills