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Community Corner

Specialized Summer Camp Works Out the Brain

Local psychologist Dr. Wendy Rice uses computer games to help ADD, ADHD and gifted students

It’s fun, computerized and making a proven difference in the lives of children with ADD and ADHD, as well as gifted learners.

, a Carrollwood psychologist is using a child’s love of technology in a one-of-a-kind summer camp that is proven to aid in cognitive training for ADD, ADHD and gifted children.

Twice this summer, Rice Psychology Group, 3802 Ehrlich Road Suite 310, is offering school-age children a specialized summer camp called Summer Camp for Your Brain.

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 “You are hard-pressed to find a child who can’t sit still to stare at a computer screen,” Rice says. “Brain Train is a computer based cognitive training program that uses games to train the brain to be able to pay attention better, remember better, have better self control, and manage frustration.”

Summer Camp for the Brain offers a doctoral level professional who works with the children as a guide and mentor to help them make the best use of the program.

“The program is completely individualized. We can customize the entire computer program to the child’s specific needs,” says Rice.

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Session one begins June 20 until July 14, and session two starts July 18 through August 11.

Sessions are limited to five students in three time frames – 9 a.m. until noon, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The morning timeframe includes a bonus hour of psychologist-supervised therapeutic play and interaction.

Rice compares her Summer Camp for Your Brain to a workout.

“It’s like taking your brain to a gym and doing mental workouts on a consistent basis over a period of time,” says Rice. “When you start out at a gym, you are not doing too many reps and the weights are light.  The more you go, the stronger you get, the more reps you can do and the weights you can lift are heavier – this program is similar.”

The summer camp starts out with computerized exercises that are simple and short and over time, become increasingly more complex and last for a longer duration.

“This strengthens particular brain function, like the ability to resist distraction, to remember items in the correct order or pay attention according to a certain set of rules,” says Rice.

And students are rewarded points for doing well.

Rice says, “It’s built into the program. At the end of their session, we’re going to know how many points they earned for correct answers, responding within the optimal time, and not making too many random mistakes.”

The summer program features a store with items that students can buy with their points.

“We have a really cool store which helps with motivation,” says Rice. “We know motivation is really important and one of the main things that kicks your brain into gear. “

Rice’s use of Brain Train has documented proven results. 

“When we analyzed our own pre and post testing, we found that three quarters of the people who’ve been through it – whether ADD, ADHD or not – improved in at least one of the following areas: attention, impulsivity, working memory or processing speed. “

Rice explained that many children with ADD and ADHD have additional problems with Executive Functioning which is controlled by the front area of the brain.  This impacts gifted children as well.

“A lot of gifted kids are very disorganized and have great ideas that they can’t implement,” Says Rice. “Time and material management are often problems.”

Rice says that gifted students don’t often have issues with their homework, just with actually turning it in.

“Gifted kids tend to tune out when something’s not interesting. This program helps them focus and pay attention even when the subject is not stimulating,” Rice says. “You can’t do these games without focus. We find even though we are not specifically training Executive Function, Brain Train provides significant benefit to improve these skills.”

Brain Train is offered year-round during the day for home-schooled students, as well as seniors and adults wanting to improve their memory. After-school programs are also available.

To learn about registration, locations and cost for Rice Psychology Group’s Summer Camp for Your Brain, visit www.RicePsychologyGroup.com, or call 813-969-3878.

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