Our Cogmed Experience

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08/10/2010 23:59

Subject: Our Cogmed Experience

quote

Anonymous

I posted a while back on another thread that I would update on our experience with Cogmed once my son had completed the program. Finally have time to do so!

Background: My son (just turned 8) was diagnosed last year with ADHD--PI, with particular issues with his working memory. This manifested itself in school in that he hated and struggled with written work, would almost never finish in-class assignments without constant prompting, and would lose track of things. At home, he would forget what he was doing mid-task, so getting him ready for school was a big challenge. He'd also lose things a lot and in short was just a space case. He was not a discipline problem and has no co-morbid issues that we are aware of. We don't have him on any meds nor have we done any other interventions. He is an emotionally mature kid, and very self-aware regarding his issues.

The ed. psych. who did his evaluation recommended Cogmed as a possible intervention. After researching everything I could find about it and discussing it with my son, we decided to give it a try. I should also add that our son was very motivated to do this because he senses the issues he is having and wanted to do something about it.

The program is VERY challenging. It is 25 sessions over 5 weeks. Realistically, you need to block out an hour a day. My husband and I both work so scheduling was a challenge. We did it in the morning before school/camp, which worked well for us because our son is a morning person and it was good to get it out of the way. There is a built-in reward system with a little sticker chart, and every week you are supposed to give your kid a small reward, and a larger one at the end. (This was really helpful by the way.)

The program itself is done at home on your own computer after some initial training meetings with the coach. The software is simple to install and intuitive so the technology was never an issue. The interface is kid-friendly (a robot that has a bunch of games on it and some kinda cheesy music). Every day, there are a series of exercises ---some of these change over time and my son had favorites and others he hated. They are HARD. Not 8 year old hard. Hard for this 39 year old mom. For example, there is a panel with a big grid of red dots. The dots flash in a certain order, then the grid turns 90 degrees, and you have to click on the dots in the original order,. The exercises get progressively harder, and your results are tracked. The computer talks to your kid (my son gave it a name and occasionally would answer back, much to my amusement) and offers little pep talks and advises when a break is a good idea. As a parent, you have to stay in the room and gently redirect and give encouragement, without interfering or helping. Once a week you and your kid talk to the coach on the phone, and the coach troubleshoots and offers feedback and advice (very helpful).

I will say my kid is very motivated and has a lot of self-discipline, doesn't get frustrated easily, and came into this with an amazing attitude, and he STILL struggled, especially after the first week. These exercise are difficult, and they are designed to always push you--if you get better, they get harder. So it is totally normal to only get like half the exercises correct. If your child is not motivated, easily frustrated, or your personal circumstances are such that you can't consistently devote the time without distractions to this process, I would not do it because it is expensive -- $1500). It is also hard for the parent coach -- it is not easy to see your kid get frustrated and have to keep finding ways to encourage and motivate him to do something that seems, at least in the midst of it, kind of pointless. So this is a consideration too. We had a few bad days but we stuck with it and made it our #1 priority, and completed the program about 3.5 weeks ago. (Oh happy day.)

I should say that based on what I've learned, my son fits the profile for a kid MOST likely to be helped by Cogmed--I understand it is less effective for kids with the hyperactivity component or who have significant emotional issues or difficulty dealing with frustrating circumstances (probably because these types of kids have difficulty completing the program or just cheat through it to "answer" the questions without worrying if the answers are correct.) However, I am not an expert so please don't rely on this as the gospel truth!

So now the million dollar question, "does it work?" For my son, the answer right now is that it seems to have had positive effects that are significant enough that I think it was worth the time and money. It is hard to quantify why my son is different, but he just is. Last year he constantly lost stuff at camp, this year, not a single thing so far. He himself has noted that he doesn't go to his room to get his socks and forget why he is there. He brought home a craft project that he had completed himself without any assistance--fairly rare before. It is more an absence of things that I notice. Somehow our mornings seem more calm, and I realized the other day that I don't have to tell him 10 times to do something like put on his shoes before he does it. However, right now I can't discount the placebo effect, and admit that I am looking for improvements and may be seeing things that aren't there just based on wishful thinking. And sometimes I think maybe it is just because it is summer, because he turned eight, etc., that things seem better. The real test will be when school starts back up again, because that was where the issues were most glaring. I"m trying not to be overly optimistic, and never expected miracles, but my husband and I both cautiously agree that he seems different, and my son thinks so too.

I will try to post back in a month or two to give an update and hopefully a more clear cut answer to the "does it work" question. I hope this helped--I know how hard it was to try to find anyone who had done Cogmed and had first-hand experience, so I will try to answer any questions and share any further developments. But bottom line is that if your kid fits the profile, you have the time, money and motivation, and have realistic expectations, I think it is worth trying.