supplemental tutoring re ADD

We have done PACE and frankly I didn’t see a big jump in attention but then I was the trainer. (we have seen other gains). I am sure though that we would have got better gains if I had not been. Still, for attention, I would look into interactive metronome which has some controlled studies documenting attentional gains. They have been getting a lot of press lately. They were mentioned in the latest issue of Parents magazine in an article on ADHD.

Thanks, I’m checking on that. Did you see improvements in attention, longer concentration times and handwriting?

Hi Nancy,

There is a discussion about IM going on right now at the Parenting a Child with ADD discussion board that you might want to check out.

Blessings, momo

We haven’t done IM. We had him pretested with a new trainer who told us he needed some OT first. She has since told me it wasn’t necessary. But in the mean time we have done neuronet therapy which is a multidisplinary program focusing on the vestibular system. It is a broader therapy than IM and we have seen some really good gains. But it doesn’t work attention so when we are done I may still have him do IM.

Do be careful about what’s “in the press”. I am the ‘press’! I produce an hour long regional TV newscast. We are doing a story on Interactive Metronome and other advances with a local university and a researcher. We are doing the story BECAUSE my daughter has ADD and is struggling terribly with 6th grade, and I wanted to look into it for her! However, my pediatrician who I trust implicitly, says the jury is still out on IM, and when I said, how about drum lessons instead…she said, “absolutely.”

Often as we look for stories, we will copy what another station has done, and it may not necessarily have anything to do with merit or worthiness. I try to advocate stories for us that have meaning and substance and that offer good, sound advice but it’s not always practical when we crank out an hour everyday.
Also, you would be dismayed at the amount of news producers who are 22 and have no children and aren’t even married!!!

I have a 13 year old ADD son and his syptoms decreased after starting playing trumpet. Music lessons helped him with his focus—but the focus only lasts the band period and the next. He is also able to focus better just after gym also. He has never had a problem with hyperactivity so I dont know if kids with hyperactivity find the same benefit.

I have a 5-l/2 year old child, adopted from Russia 3 years ago. He now has no speech delays, however cognitive processing is questionable at times when he is posed questions by his teacher in school. He is also distractible and the teacher has trouble getting a response but not all the time. We also get sporatic over excitability but only at times. We have just started Concerta and find it seems to help him with one to one tasking . We see a difference at home but cognitive issues were not a problem then. He receives speech at school and the psychologist diagnosed mild adhd any info to share with us?