ATTENTION: There are three types of attention: sustained, selective and divided. In general, they are described as:

• Sustained: Allows the child to stay on task for a long period of time
• Selective: Prevents the child from t being easily distracted
• Divided: Allows the child to do more than one thing at a time

ADD/ADHD: Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder – A syndrome (or group of symptoms) usually characterized by persistent inattentiveness or distractibility, impulsivity and/or hyperactivity.

AUTISM: A brain disorder that affects development. People with Autism often have delayed language, and decreased social and communication skills.

ASPERGER’s: A developmental disorder on the low end of the Autism scale

COGNITIVE SKILLS: Cognitive skills are the basic mental abilities we use to think, study and learn. They include a wide variety of mental processes used to analyze sounds and images, recall information from memory, make associations between different pieces of information, and maintain concentration on particular tasks. These skills can be identified in the subcategories of Processing Speed, Auditory Processing, Visual Processing, Visualization, Memory, Logic and Reasoning, and Attention Skills.

DYSLEXIA: A learning disability specific to poor reading skills

SENSORY/MOTOR SKILLS

Sensory and motor skills develop on the foundation of our innate abilities. Sensory skills are those such as vision, hearing, and touch. They are responsible for receiving information. Motor skills relate to muscles and movement, and include crawling, walking, running, handwriting and speaking. Motor skills give expression to the information our senses receive and process.

Important brain/learning statistics

• On average, students lose approximately 2.6 months of grade-level equivalency in mathematical computations skills during the summer months.
• Ninth-graders are almost 5 times as likely to receive failing grades as eighth-graders.
• Among 14- to 15-year-olds who struggle with basic reading and mathematics skills, 20% drop out of school within two years.
• 88% of learning-to-read problems are linked to phonemic awareness.
• 69% of fourth- and eighth-graders read below proficient.

Brain games for kids

Alphabet blocks or Scrabble tiles ($6- $12)

Help develop analysis skills by using alphabet blocks to make up nonsense words starting with two to three blocks (or tiles). Pick a vowel and a consonant and create a nonsense word, then have the child remove one of the blocks and add a new one while verbally trying to figure out what the new nonsense word sounds like. Great consonant sounds to start with are /b/ as in cab, /m/ as in ram, /t/ as in cat, /k/ as in duck, /p/ as in cup. Start with four basic vowel sounds, /e/ as in Ed, /i/ as in it, /o/ as in on and /u/ as in up.

“If they can’t read, just say the sounds for them,” advises Mitchell. ”And ask them to try to figure out from hearing the sounds what the new word would sound like when they switch the blocks.”

This builds phonemic awareness through sound blending and segmenting. And because this exercise is about sounds, not letter knowledge, parents should work with basic sounds and not use letter names, which can be confusing.

Wedgits  ($19 – $45)

Use these building tools along with the accompanying pictures of completed projects to increase attention, logic and reasoning, and visual processing. “Parents can use a stopwatch to encourage a fast completion,” says Mitchell,  “which increases processing speed.”

How-to-draw Books ($3 – $7)

These simple books are great for visual processing, attention to detail, and planning.

Speed Stack Cups ($10 – $40)

This fun, simple game is good to build speed, planning and eye-hand coordination.

Old Maid ($3)

Spread cards out face down and have children draw two at a time looking for matches. Cards that don’t match are put back in the same location. This builds memory and attention.

Playing Cards ($2)

Time children while they sort cards into red and black piles, then challenge them to do it in a shorter time. Then make it harder by having them sort into three piles: red, black and face cards. Keep raising the level of intensity by asking them do it faster and by adding challenges, such as having them count by 2s or 3s while they’re sorting. An excellent way to build divided attention and processing speed.

Puzzles ($2 – $15)

“Math, science, test taking and, most importantly, reading comprehension, all require visualization skills,” says Mitchell. “Puzzles are great tools to develop visual discrimination, as well as logic and reasoning.”

Simon ($13 – $35)

Children can increase their sequential processing, short-term memory, attention and visual processing with this sound and light mimicking game.

Soduko ($2 – $5)

Available for children and teens of all ages, this numbers puzzle can strengthen deductive and intuitive reasoning, numerical fluency, planning, problem solving, working memory and sequential processing.

Chess ($5 – $30)

A classic brain game, chess helps with divided attention, executive processing, logic and reasoning, planning and problem solving.

Brain games for parents

1. ¿Habla español? Learning a new language requires that you analyze new sounds, which not only improves auditory processing skills, but also memory. Most local libraries have foreign language CDs or videos that you can check out, or you can sign up for a class at your local community college.
2. Count on it. The Sudoku has taken the world by storm. You can’t stand in line at the grocery store without seeing a pocket-size booklet. The numbers (but not math) game can help increase your logic and reasoning skills, as well as memory. And because logic and reasoning are skills that can (to a certain extent) be taught, there are now strategy books for the game. Look for Sudoku booklets that offer gradient difficulties (easy, medium and difficult) so you can work your way up.
3. Lose the list. Using mnemonics (triggers to aid memory using visual imagery or sounds, such as rhyming) is a great way to boost your brain while developing a system to remember things when you just can’t get to a piece of paper. Here’s one example of a number system:

1=tree (think of the one trunk), 2=legs (think two legs), 3=stool (three legs), 4=truck (4 tires) and 5=glove (5 fingers)

Link the items that you need to remember to your memory objects. If you’re upstairs and realize you need to buy toilet paper, envision yourself wrapping a tree in toilet paper. While you’re emptying your trash, you run out of bags, so you visualize yourself hopping around on two legs in the garbage bag. You just ate the last of the yogurt, so picture yourself pouring yogurt all over the stool. When you get to the grocery store, just remember your number system and what you linked to them.

1. Get in the game. Play boards games like chess or Scrabble, or surf the Web for free brain-boosting games, like those found at www.eons.com. Trivia games can boost memory, jigsaw puzzles can help visual and spatial skills and Mah Jong can help executive function (the capacity to control and apply your mental skills).