September Is Back to School Month Local brain training center offering FREE screenings for attention and other cognitive skills

Warren, New  Jersey, September 6, 2013 – September is Back to School Month for area families and  the brain training experts at LearningRx Warren are offering free screenings to determine the presence of cognitive weaknesses that may be inhibiting one’s ability to focus and pay attention. Free screenings will be held from 9-12 pm on Saturday, September 14th at the LearningRx Center, 34 Mountain Blvd., Bldg. C in Warren. Afternoon appointments are also available September 9 through September 13, 2013.  Advance registration is required and spaces are limited. Call 908-22-BRAIN (908-222-7246) for more information or to reserve a spot.

“Attention skills are critical for school success,” says Marcia Douglas Owner/Executive Director of LearningRx Warren.  “And many people don’t know that ADHD can manifest differently in girls and in boys. When it comes to ADHD, boys are more prone to problems with impulse control, while girls are more prone to manifest symptoms of inattention. If you think your child has ADHD, start with a screening that measures his/her attention and other cognitive skills.”

Regardless of gender,  symptoms associated with weak attention skills include:

• Taking much longer than peers to complete daily homework or projects

• Low self-esteem, anxiety or depression

• Poor grades or work performance

• Significant time management challenges

• Chronic disorganization

• Avoiding school

Unfortunately, many professionals and parents don’t know there is a way to treat the root cause of ADHD, and instead resort to temporary accommodations like removing distractions, decreasing workloads and medicating students with stimulants. For many children medications are not the solution and can actually introduce a host of other problems. Children on medication for ADHD often complain about being “out of it” and suffer side effects ranging from insomnia, seizures, weight loss and sudden high blood pressure to aggression, behavior changes and twitching. But consider that ADHD is caused by weak attention skills and you’ll quickly understand the best solution is to strengthen attention skills with cognitive skills training.

Also known as personal brain training, one-on-one cognitive skills training uses the brain’s plasticity to rebuild neural connections, find faster routes to process information and increase the processing speed of existing connections. “Unlike tutoring, brain training improves the underlying skills––like selected, divided and sustained attention––needed to learn anything,” says Douglas. “A new study* of 4,000 students found that ADHD drugs don’t boost grades, and can actually cause more harm than good. But with brain training, you have nothing to lose but your child’s learning struggles.”

LearningRx specializes in treating the cause ––not the symptoms––of learning struggles. The programs’ game-like exercises and one-on-one trainer-to-student ratios provide guaranteed dramatic improvement in as little as 12 to 24 weeks. With more than 80 centers across the country, LearningRx brain training can help anyone––from 5 to 85––increase the speed, power or function of their brain. www.learningrx.com.

* SOURCE: July 8, 2013 Wall Street Journal, “ADHD Drugs Don’t Boost Kids’ Grades”