The Simply Smarter® program is built upon the foundation of neuroplasticity, utilizing the science of targeted input, frequency, intensity, and duration.

Targeted

The program constantly modifies itself to keep you right at the sweet spot, the spot that is targeted for you to achieve maximum benefit.

Frequency

To take advantage of neuroplasticity, we need to keep triggering the firing of neurons and reinforcing neural networks. Everyone is encouraged to use the program once or twice a day and preferably four or more days a week.

Intensity

This is an incredibly important piece. The importance of intensity cannot be overstated. How you or your child approach every session is going to determine how much the program impacts, changes, and develops the brain. Just doing it isn’t enough; you must do it with real intensity and with intention. Every activity is very short. It was designed that way so that you could create and maintain maximum attention and intensity for the seconds needed to complete each piece that you are asked to process, to watch, or listen to. Approach every sequence of every activity with the intention of remembering it, of nailing it!

If your children are using the program, sit with them, if you can, and cheer them on. The program has built-in rewards and acknowledgement, but a parent’s power is much greater, and we encourage you to provide very meaningful, big rewards for new high scores or higher digit spans. These changes can be life changing, treat them as such.

We realize that it’s not reasonable for many parents to sit in while their child does Simply Smarter®, so we have built in the means to send email and text alerts so that Mom, Dad, grandparents, coaches, whoever will know when the child did well; and each can provide their own congratulations, making every step forward all that more meaningful. Dad coming home from work and immediately acknowledging Johnny’s new high score or a call from Grandma can be very powerful.

For adults be honest with yourselves. Sitting down with good energy, intensity, and with the intention of knocking it out of the park each time is difficult. You are not only allowed but encouraged to set up your own rewards program—rewards for all new high scores. Set digit span and processing power goals, and when you hit it, reward it. It’s only your life and future that you are changing!

Duration

To change the brain, we need to keep causing those networks of brain cells to keep firing together. The longer we do it, the greater the change. Keep in mind that generally without specific intervention the development of processing, short-term memory and working memory, slows virtually to a halt at about seven years of age, creeps a tiny bit forward from then until we are in our twenties, and then usually begins a slow decline that continues throughout our life unless we target it, address it, and build it!

Simply Smarter® is an invaluable tool that has the potential to change the lives of your children, your parents, and yourselves.

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 33 No. 7, 2020 ©NACD

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These COVID-19 Coronavirus times have certainly turned many of our worlds upside down. We now virtually have a world full of homeschoolers; more parents are at home with their children than at any time in the history of the world. Exceptional times and exceptional circumstances can also result in exceptional opportunities. Many of us are rediscovering and redefining basic things like family, work, school, and our relationship to institutions and society. I would like to talk with you about redefining potential and intellect and how while you are all at home, you have the potential to change the lives of every member of the family.

I would like to share a personal story. I grew up in a family of pioneers in human development. My father, a physician, and my uncle, a physical therapist in the ‘50s, worked with brain injured children and discovered that with the proper stimulation, healthy parts of the brain could learn to carry out the functions of damaged areas of the brain. This was ground breaking work that was originally seen as heretical, but is now after decades universally accepted. Changing perceptions is not an easy task, as I can certainly attest to after fifty years of trying to do it.

When I started studying psychology in the sixties, I had a tremendous advantage over others studying and working in the field. I came to understand that all development was possible through this amazing mechanism called neuroplasticity. If you understood neuroplasticity, development was no longer such a great mystery. The brain changed and developed as a reflection of specific stimulation, not because it just got older. Armed with this understanding, I looked at the brain as dynamic, changing, and most significantly, as changeable.

One area of early interest for me was learning and memory. At that time it was just beginning to be understood that there were various components of memory. Memory was being broken down into short-term memory, working memory, and long-term memory. The focus was on testing it and looking for correlations between these pieces and how people learned and functioned. At that time and for decades, the worlds of psychology and education did not have a perception that you could actually help develop or change memory; and even today, they are not really working to do that. My perception, based on an understanding of neuroplasticity, was that these components of memory didn’t just pop up as adult abilities, but they developed; and what developed changed; and what changed was changeable. I set out to understand all of these pieces and to find ways to change, develop, and accelerate that development.

Decades later I am proud to say that we have developed a great understanding of all of these foundational pieces that we now lump together and refer to as “processing.” Armed with this knowledge and the tools we have developed, we have helped change many thousands of lives. Improving these pieces of auditory and visual short-term memory and working memory is quite simply making people smarter. From our first software that ran on a Commodore Pet computer with a cassette drive in the early eighties, to the Brain Builder software in the nineties, to the present online Simply Smarter program and many dozens of one-to-one activities, we are working to change lives. From brain damaged individuals to those on the autism spectrum, to those with learning and attention issues, to typical children and adults, we can build all of these foundational pieces of memory that literally have the potential to make everyone smarter.

At NACD we work with “whole children,” designing home based comprehensive programs that address everything from a child’s sleep and behavior to how they walk and do algebra, including innovative comprehensive homeschool/home-based educational programs. But there is something that in one way or another is on every child’s program, and that is processing activities.

We are fortunate that we can work via Skype with any family in the world who has Internet access and give them the tools designed to develop and improve their brains. Today everyone doesn’t need to come to NACD to work on their processing. You can take advantage of this expertise and go online and in about fifteen minutes a day put together the pieces that can help you and your children work to become smarter. The tool that is available to you is our Simply Smarter program, a tool that your children can use all by themselves!

Let me help you understand what this all really is and what it can mean for you and your family.

What is “smart?” Can you define it? Do you think you would like your kids to be smarter? How about you?

You can define “smart,” possibly, but even more so, you probably know it when you see it. Smart has to do with being present, being aware, being able to take in and process a lot of information, being able to manipulate that information, think with complexity, put ideas together, focus, and communicate.

Smart doesn’t necessarily mean knowing that the capitol Nevada is Carson City, or that Sir Walter Raleigh was beheaded, or that the First World War ended on November 11, 1918, or what your bile duct does, or that “or” is a conjunction. But smart does mean that you are more likely to find such things interesting and you can learn them more easily than most. Knowing “stuff” doesn’t make you smart. (You are going to actually forget most “stuff” unless you are smart enough to make associations and connections between “stuff” and use it.) And smarter also means that it’s easier to understand and learn everything.

What is the foundation of “smart?”

The foundation of smart is the ability to process and take in a lot of information that you see and hear and to manipulate that information and think.

The more you can process and take in what there is to be heard, the stronger your auditory short-term memory. Your auditory short-term memory provides the fuel for the development of your auditory working memory, which is how many pieces or words you can hold together and manipulate, which equals your complexity of thought, or “smart.” How many pieces of visual information you process from what you see, whether from observation of your world or from reading, relates to your visual short-term memory; and as with auditory processing, your visual short-term memory provides the pieces you use to create your visual working memory and visual-spatial abilities. These fundamental, foundational pieces ultimately determine how much information you take in and use, which translates to how much knowledge you gain and your complexity of thought. All this equals “smart.”

How does processing “smart” develop?

Processing develops primarily from birth to about seven years. The rate and degree it develops is a reflection of the targeted stimulation and opportunities that you receive. In general the more quality one-to-one interaction between a child and an involved adult, the faster and the further it develops. The more enriching the environment, the faster and the further it develops. With specific targeted input designed to build processing skills, processing not only can be accelerated, it can be developed to superior levels.

When does the development of processing abilities stop?

Without specific intervention, the development of processing abilities almost comes to a halt at about seven years of age. From seven into our twenties, it typically develops perhaps another ten to fifteen percent; and after our twenties, without specific intervention it goes into a slow decline. You can continue to learn more, but your ability to do so declines, as does your ability to manipulate the information. As you continue to learn, you can become wiser, but not necessarily smarter, unless you are stretching your processing through complex cognitive activities or actively working to preserve or develop it.

How can you build processing ability and get smarter?

Everyone, from infant to geriatric, with input that is targeted to them, can incrementally build and improve processing ability and get smarter. We at NACD have been developing methodologies and improving processing abilities for the full spectrum of children and adults for over forty years. NACD designs specific processing programs for families who are members of NACD and who wish to utilize comprehensive developmental and educational programs designed so that they can be implemented in the home by parents and caregivers. But as mentioned earlier, NACD also has developed a very comprehensive targeted program for all children five years old and older and for adults up to and including seniors—Simply Smarter.

What is Simply Smarter?

The Simply Smarter program is a dynamic online system that constantly develops and modifies itself, adapting to the individual user to help produce maximum change. Specific activities work progressively to address focus, attention, intensity, auditory and visual short-term and working memory, visualization, conceptualization, and visual-spatial abilities, all of the pieces that help make everyone learn, think, and function better. The program first assesses your baseline and then builds from there, tracking and graphing progress. It has the capability of adjusting from basic levels of a child to levels of incredible function.

What can you do with children under five?

Children at or functioning under five years of age generally need specific one-on-one activities that are designed as part of NACD’s individualized programs. But in addition children from toddlers to five years old can use NACD’s Cognition Coach apps to build processing skills.

How long does it take to get smarter?

With motivation and consistent use, measurable changes can occur in a couple of weeks; and with continued use of Simply Smarter, virtually unlimited improvements are possible. Over the course of the present lockdown, you have the potential to produce a significant change.

Who has used Simply Smarter and what have the results been?

The range of those who have used NACD’s processing activities and Simply Smarter is as broad as the population. NACD’s Simply Smarter and other processing programs have been used by thousands of typical and gifted children and adults, those with learning and attention issues, as well as those with significant developmental issues such as autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, and brain injuries. Most everyone working on our comprehensive home based programs not only knows about processing, but is actively working on processing every day and understands the correlation between their child’s processing and global function and abilities. We have seen exceptional changes along the path of many thousands of children’s development and are continually heartened as we see their potential being redefined. Processing is a huge key to success and potential.

Please take this opportunity to change your child’s life trajectory. My mission in life has been to help change the perception of potential and to help develop the tools to do it. Today with more parents and children at home than ever before, I see this as a unique chance to change many lives and potentially change the perception of what can be.

To read an incredible testimonial from a couple about Simply Smarter and see what incredible things even a child can do, please read the following article and watch the video.

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 33 No. 4, 2020 ©NACD

The post My Greatest Discovery – How to Make Everyone Smarter appeared first on NACD International | The National Association for Child Development.

Years ago, I saw a TV show on Discovery with an organization from England that transformed “typical” children into geniuses using programs close to what NACD is using. I was fascinated but frustrated because I believed that I would never have an opportunity to follow this type of program in Romania. After I registered my son in an NACD personalized program [NACD TDI Program] last year and saw how fast a brain-damaged child can learn to process information, I quickly understood that NACD was the key to success. My dream created by that TV show was about to come true. I read about Simply Smarter and registered immediately. When I first started the Simply Smarter program, I was processing 7 directions. Some studies show that “smart” people are able to process between 7 and 10. NACD said that if you are processing 10, you are doing very well. It has been more than one year since I started Simply Smarter and I can process 15-16 pieces of information at this point. This is huge, folks, very huge. I was in the dark a year ago. I started a discussion and after 2 minutes forgot where I was going with the conversation. I could not remember too many things, nor could I understand many important pieces of information because of my weak auditory processing. There are many of you out there in the same situation that I was experiencing. Now at a processing level of 15-16, things have changed so much. I can think, talk and learn faster, hear more, and write better. I have many good ideas. I can function better. I have improved my life and the life of my family also. I’ve started to remember things from my childhood, memories that I thought were lost!

Thinking gives you strength and you can achieve things that most people find impossible to achieve. For those of you who have children in NACD, you know what going from 7 to 16 means. For those of you who don’t know about NACD, let me try to explain it to you. It is like lifting weights. At the beginning, perhaps you can lift 10 kg. Then you start building your body and after one year you can lift 200 kg. In this case, however, you are building your intelligence which is so much more important. Much like those body builders who become addicted to growing muscle, I am addicted to building intelligence. I now am 36 years old and by the time I am 40 I want to process 25-30 pieces of information.

I love Simply Smarter and I will use it for the rest of my life. If you want to ask me questions about my experience with Simply Smarter, feel free to do so at roviancom@yahoo.com

—Razvan

P.S. My wife started Simply Smarter at a processing level of 8 last year. She can now process 20-21 pieces of information (However, I am still the boss in the house!).

The post Manole Family – A “Discovery” Leads to Success with NACD & Simply Smarter appeared first on NACD International | The National Association for Child Development.

As scientists and researchers continue their work to try to unravel how the various components of cognition function together and develop, NACD has been working to try to ascertain the most effective and efficient ways to positively impact that function. By working with thousands of individuals over many years, ranging in function from severely brain injured to accelerated learners and from newborn to geriatric, the staff of NACD has been able to assess firsthand how various neurological functions impact the whole person.

Short-Term Memory

Decades ago the founder of NACD, Robert J. Doman, Jr., was aware that a strong short-term memory could have a positive impact on the rest of cognitive function. He further discovered that once the short-term memory began to get stronger, higher-level cognitive function was able to expand, and more complex thinking improved. He and his staff began looking at ways to affect short-term memory as well as higher-level function. These strategies have evolved over the decades into a broader set of targeted interventions used to strengthen the generalization of improvement. As we review scientific studies in areas of cognition, we find an expanding vocabulary of neurological functions with a further breaking down of how researchers think these various functions work together and develop. What we find, however, is that the underlying premises upon which NACD was founded continue to be supported by this research into the structures of the brain.

The NACD Model

The NACD model of cognitive function recognizes various components of thinking and learning. Of all of these functions, working memory, including executive function, encompasses the areas that impact simple and complex behavior regulation and problem solving the most. The development of various parts of executive function appears to be a good indicator of future academic success, as well as future life success. Mathematics, reading, and critical thinking are all affected by how well various components of executive function develop and work.

Not only do these neurological functions impact academics, but NACD and researchers also find that they impact social skills, job skills, and the skills needed for a child or adult to navigate daily life independently. Time management, time awareness, goal setting and planning, organizational skills, social awareness, financial planning, running a household, writing a research paper, writing a paragraph, and forming thoughts into conversation are all functions that depend on this higher cognitive level referred to as working memory and executive function. Decades ago, Robert Doman realized that as these higher-level cognitive functions improved, it resulted in generalized functional improvement in the individual. As we investigate specific components of cognition, we need to keep in mind that the scientific community, as well as the NACD staff, is continuing to learn and explore how these various components affect each other.

Inhibition

A key component related to behavior and attention is inhibition. This ability to self-regulate is believed to start to develop in young children as an independent cognitive function that is later a part of working memory. Inhibition refers to the ability to stop a previously learned response or an impulsive response. An example of this might be a child stopping an action they were about to do in response to a parent saying, “no” or “don’t touch.” This very early level of inhibition is not yet working memory developing, but rather the development of inhibition as a separate function. When we think of very young children, individuals with delayed processing, and some individuals with sensory processing difficulties, we see that there is frequently a great deal of impulsivity and lack of sustained attention. Inhibition is the ability to stop that immediate, impulsive response, whether it means not grabbing something that you want or not throwing an object that you are not permitted to throw.

In children the ability to inhibit behavior that would cause errors is based on the strength of their “rule systems”(Zelazo et al 2003). The strength of these neurological processes determines a child’s ability to follow classroom rules, not run away from a parent in public, not scream when frustrated, not get up in the middle of a task or eat off of someone else’s plate. In adults inhibition at a higher level of complexity prevents the adult from failing to complete work tasks, spending the day on social media instead of doing assigned work, or even avoiding watching television when there is housework that needs to be done. Progress in inhibition continues into adulthood. Unlike children, adults become increasingly aware of their errors or inhibition failures. Adults will even slow down the pace of a timed task when they become aware of increased errors (Hogan, Vargha-Khadem, Kirkham, Baldeweg 2005).

Several decades ago NACD developed software and other targeted interventions to engage short-term memory and inhibition, as well as other executive functions. These activities continue to be expanded to include greater levels of varied cognitive functions. From intensity activities to higher level working memory capacity activities, the Simply Smarter System pushes the individual’s inhibition function as well as working memory. Studies have shown that specific computer-based tasks appear to have functional generalization, even with teens and adults, whereas some other forms of inhibition and working memory tasks did not generalize as well (Holmes, Gathercole, Dunning 2009, Klingberg et al 2005, Kraback, Kray2009). Working memory training that demanded a high level of working memory, according to Constantinidis and Klingberg (2016), improved functional conductivity between specific areas of the brain. This improved conductivity is believed to be the basis of plasticity, according to these researchers.

We know that inhibition becomes more complex when we add new rules and more required responses (Best, Miller 2010). Switching, which will be discussed further, and adding more rules to tasks work inhibition as well as other executive function skills (Miyake et al 2000). NACD discovered this several decades ago and added layers and levels of conflicting rules and added required manipulation of short-term memory information that rigorously works this part of cognitive function. In these activities, which are part of the Simply Smarter System, we are asking the individual to set aside, or inhibit, the first set of rules for an activity and apply a set of new rules. This requires greater inhibition and retention of a larger body of information, which is then being applied to specific sets of short-term memory storage. So as we add greater complexity to the inhibition tasks, we call on greater cognitive function (D’Esposito, Postle, Ballard, Lease 1999).

Working Memory & Executive Function

As the brain becomes better able to handle this greater level of complexity, how it functions changes. Studies have shown that as individuals become better able to complete these more complex tasks, the brain becomes more localized, or specific, in how it functions. In other words, as the brain is developing, it first tends to activate larger areas when trying to complete a specific task or respond to specific input. As the brain becomes more adept at completing more complex tasks, it begins to be able to localize the very specific areas of the brain needed to complete those tasks. The brain quite simply becomes more efficient. (Morton, Bosma and Ansari 2009).

NACD has dedicated many targeted activities to working memory due to its enormous neurological role. According to Robert Doman, “Working memory is the foundation for global neurological maturity and function.” It essentially encompasses most of what we think of as “thinking.” Working memory is what we use to put together relationships between new information and previously known information in new and novel ways. It is what we use not only to understand language spoken to us, or language we read, but also to combine our own thoughts into logical units of words to communicate those thoughts to others. Working memory allows us to form limitless new thoughts by allowing new combinations of information to be formed (Oberauer 2009).

In the case of reading, the working memory loads the information in units, which are chunked or condensed for meaning. The units are broken up based on sentences. The chunks are temporarily processed by the short-term memory and then stored and manipulated in the working memory. Pronouns within the text require that the brain rehearse the previous information to locate the subject of that pronoun. At times the working memory pulls in sensory information or visualization to help solidify and support the meaning of a chunk of words (Marchetti 2014).

The executive function related to the process of holding on to relevant information and changing it as needed as new relevant information is acquired is called updating. Updating allows the working memory to keep information in an organized way if it is pertinent and dropping it if it is not. Updating also allows the working memory to replace old information with new. Higher level Simply Smarter activities, which require reorganization of information introduced in the short-term memory, address the working memory so that information is sustained for a longer period of time, allowing for better assimilation of meaning and better recall. The activities work different components of working memory and executive function.

Many people have difficulty planning and setting goals, even simple goals such as what they are doing tomorrow. This too is a working memory function. The working memory allows individuals to think about hypothetical situations and imagine the future (Hill, Emery 2013). A poorly functioning working memory results in an individual who is unable to plan for a future that the brain cannot construct. The impact this has behaviorally is enormous. Our adult lives are so dependent upon our ability to set attainable goals and foresee future obstacles. Without a strong working memory, our ability to do this would be poor.

There are also many people, both children and adults, who have little sense of the passage of time. As a result their ability to manage their responsibilities is poor. For students the strategies needed to handle a timed test or get ready for school in a timely fashion may be severely impaired. Parents complain of their children and young adults having “no sense of time.” The working memory deals with multiple issues when it comes to understanding time. In order to have a sense of time, an individual must be able to compare one length of time with another. This is done by understanding or experiencing the length of time a task or event takes and holding it in recent memory, while experiencing or understanding how long another task or event is taking. This is quite a load for the working memory capacity to handle, as it requires holding on to information about one thing while experiencing another.

In 2011 researchers Broadway and Engle found that individuals with high working memory capacity, or WMC, were, in fact, quite good at comparing relative lengths of time. The better the working memory is at holding larger amounts of information, the easier it becomes to hold the length of time of one event and compare it to the amount of time it is taking to complete another event. So if we think of individuals who appear efficient and well organized, we speak of time-management “skills,” when what we are actually talking about is high working memory capacity with components such as inhibition and updating working well.

Using Simply Smarter for Working Memory

Decades ago as Robert Doman and the NACD staff began addressing short-term and working memory, the need for these functions to be strong was obvious. The fact that working memory capacity was key to a wide variety of day-to-day functions for children and adults was demonstrated over and over again with the individuals who were evaluated. Clearly if these children and adults had limited working memory capacity, the ability to rate how long they were taking to complete a task would be unknown or at least unclear to them. The reprimands of parents and teachers, of employers and co-workers would not be able to improve their function in this area. Broadway and Engle found that individuals with low working memory capacity found it difficult to judge relative times and were often inaccurate when they tried to do so. Many of the Simply Smarter System activities challenge working memory capacity in various ways. All effort has been made to ensure that the activities are not compromised, allowing the brain to turn them into simplistic memory tasks. They have been refined again and again to address the WMC efficiently and effectively.

This is certainly not all that the working memory controls. If you have ever wondered why some people have such an excellent ability to find their way to places with ease and other people get lost quickly, we must again look at the working memory capacity. Those who are excellent at finding their way and recalling a route are using both their visual spatial memory and their verbal working memory. The better those functions work, the more accurate the individuals are at finding their way (Weisberg, Newcombe 2016). Visual spatial activities are a part of the Simply Smarter System’s varied activities designed to address the many components of working memory.

All of the Simply Smarter activities progress to a level that engages the working memory, and the later activities go further in pushing the executive function and full working memory capacity. Some the activities do so by changing visual spatial input and asking for retention of more and more complex information. Some of the activities require reversing input, given visual or auditory input, or a combination of the two. Others require even more complex reorganizing of the information being given. Many of them require a function referred to as switching or shifting. Switching requires that previously used “rules” be set aside so that new rules can be applied in specific situations. This process also requires the use of inhibition to block the old information or rules. Shifting also requires outside information to prompt the shift, which, in the case of Simply Smarter, is triggered by a change within the activity or the introduction of a new activity. These activities each vary in difficulty based on a system that responds to the user’s performance, thereby consistently challenging the individual to use more of his or her working memory capacity, as well as greater levels of executive function.

Research points clearly to the importance of the development of strong working memory and executive function. As research continues to define how various neurological systems develop, work, and function together, we will continue to unravel how these systems impact the day-to-day life of all individuals. We continue to improve our understanding of how the brain responds to stimulation using working memory, short-term memory and visual spatial memory to hold on to and manipulate information, as well as inhibition, updating, and switching to handle new challenges. Simply Smarter is designed to work many different components of cognitive function in a way that continues to engage and challenge all of these areas.

Works Cited

Best, JR, Miller PH. “A developmental perspective on executive function.” Child Development. Nov-Dec.6(2010): 1641-1660. PubMed.gov. print. 4 August 2016.

Broadway, JM. , Engle, RW. “Lapsed attention to elapsed time? Individual differences in working memory capacity and temporal re.” Acta Psychologica. May.1(2011): 115-126. PubMed. print. 26 July 2016.

Constantinidis, Christos and Klingberg, Torkel. “The Neuroscience of Working Memory Capacity and Training.” Nature Reviews Neuroscience. May.17(2016): 438-49. online August 2016.

D’Esposito M, Postle BR, Ballard D, Lease J. “Maintenance versus manipulation of information held in working memory: an event-related fMRI study.” Brain and Cognition. 41.October(1999): 66-86. PubMed. print. 20 July 2016.

Hill PF, Emery LJ. “Episodic future thought: contributions from working memory.” Consciousness and Cognition. 22.Sept.(2013): 677-683. PubMed. print. 27 July 2016.

Hogan AM, Vargha-Khadem F, Kirkham FJ. Baldeweg T. “Maturation of action monitoring from adolescence to adulthood: an ERP study.” Developmental Science. 8.Nov(2005): 525-534. PubMed. print. 15 July 2016.

Holmes J, Gathercole SE, Dunning DL. “Adaptive training leads to sustained enhancement of poor working memory in children.” Developmental Science. 12.July(2009): 9-15. PubMed. print. 8 July 2016.

Karbach J, Kray J. “How useful is executive control training? Age differences in near and far transfer of task-switchin.” Developmental Science. Nov.6(2009): 978-90. PubMed. print. 16 July 2016.

Klingberg T, Fernell E, Olesen PJ, Johnson M, Gustafsson P, Dahlström K, Gillberg CG, Forssberg H,. “Computerized training of working memory in children with ADHD–a randomized, controlled trial.” Journal of the Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Feb.2(2005): 177-86. PubMed. online. 17 July 2016.

Marchetti G. “Attention and working memory: two basic mechanisms for constructing temporal experiences.” Frontiers in Psychology. August.5(2014): n.pag. PubMed. online. 20 July 2016.

Miyake A, Friedman NP, Emerson MJ, Witzki AH, Howerter A, Wager TD. “The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex “Frontal Lobe” ta.” Cognitive Psychology. August.1(2000): 49-100. PubMed. print. 15 July 2016.

Morton JB, Bosma R, Ansari D. “Age-related changes in brain activation associated with dimensional shifts of attention: an fMRI st.” NeuroImage. May.46(2009): 249-56. PubMed. print. 17 July 2016.

Oberauer K. “Declarative and Procedural Working Memory: Comm on Principles, Comm on Capacity Limits?.” Psychologica Belgica. 10.5334(2009): n.pag. google. print. 18 July 2016.

Weisberg SM, Newcombe NS. “How do (some) people make a cognitive map? Routes, places, and working memory.” Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory and Cognition. May.5(2016): 768-85. PubMed. print. 14 July 2016.

Zelazo PD1, Müller U, Frye D, Marcovitch S, Argitis G, Boseovski J, Chiang JK, Hongwanishkul D, Sch. “The development of executive function in early childhood.” Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development. 68.2(2003): n.pag. PubMed. print. 20 July 2016

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 29 No. 2, 2016 ©NACD

The post Discussion of the Relevant Perception, Structure, and Application of NACD’s Model of Working Memory and Cognition appeared first on NACD International | The National Association for Child Development.

One of the things I have learned and have had reinforced on an almost daily basis is that raising children is not an easy deal. In fact, for many of us it’s the toughest, most challenging thing we ever do. And we’re not just talking about raising kids with developmental issues. It’s the “typical” ones that have you pulling your hair out and keep you up at night worrying about tomorrow (let alone their futures), to which many of our parents will attest.

I have had many professional moms leave their careers for periods of time to concentrate on their kids, who discover that really doing the job with their child or children is tougher than being a doctor or a lawyer or running a company. Kids aren’t easy!

Sadly, kids are not only not easy, they also require and demand that we be the best we can be, and that we stay at the top of our game, day after day and week after week.

Unfortunately, unless we parents are doing something to maintain or build our own basic abilities, we start to lose our processing power. (Let’s hope it was really good to start with.) As supported by the data in our Simply Smarter Project and the work of other researchers, our short-term and working memory often begin to decline in our twenties. The exceptions are those whose work and lives keep presenting new challenging information and problems to solve and those who actively work to maintain and develop their basic mental/neurological foundation, including their short-term memory, working memory, and executive function.

I believe that our moms who are actively working with their kids on their NACD program are probably maintaining fairly well, except for those who can’t get 8 hours of sleep, maintain a good diet, get exercise at least three days a week, and have time to take care of their mental health and basic brain function. (Perhaps it is a rather short list after all.)

At NACD we look at digit spans as a measure of our sequential processing. Many of you have discovered the difference that even a part of a digit of improvement in digit span can make in your children. You can see your child change as they work from that digit span of 3 to a 3.1, a 3.2, working their way up to a four. Every incremental change up or down impacts your overall function, whether that is change for the better or worse. Most of you have seen it in your children, and most of you know how significant and dramatic the change can be. If you are at a six and you move to a seven, you have done something to change your life and the lives of those depending on you. Processing affects that many things! Hopefully each step you take will motivate you to take another. Better is better! And we all can stand to be better. There is no downside to having better processing, to being able to learn better, think better, communicate better, and enjoy a fuller richer life. Obtaining a digit span of 10 is realistic. At a 10 you are functioning very, very well.

The truth is that our NACD dads need to be 10s as well. A lot of dads whose processing ability isn’t quite up to snuff don’t have the mental reserves, the ability to really get their heads around the issues and problems at home and with the children so that they can be of a lot of help, or sadly, even be much of a moral support. Bringing in a little more money wouldn’t hurt either.

As many of you have hopefully seen from our announcements, our programmers are going to permit us to put new people on our new Simply Smarter System Beta online program, but only up to the end of June. I am really excited about this program, which literally has thirty years of development behind it. We have been testing and developing this specific program for the past five years, and we have used it with over 2,000 individuals. The results are really super.

I am really proud of the science we have done to make this possible. Most of our families do some form of processing work with themselves or their children and kind of take the importance of it and the activities for granted. Most of you don’t know that the science behind this has originated with us at NACD. We have developed the understanding and significance of the pieces and created many tools to address these pieces. In addition, we developed the first “brain” software back in the early 80s, which operated on a Commodore Pet Computer using a cassette drive. We’ve come a long way since then.

The Simply Smarter System creates a totally individualized program that addresses auditory and visual short-term memory, auditory and visual working memory, and executive function, as well as visualization and conceptualization, essentially all of the key pieces that permit us to learn, think, and communicate. The program can generally be used by anyone with a digit span of 5 or above, whether they are age 5 or 105. This program today is a beta version–we are still adding bells and whistles and evaluating results and feedback; but as mentioned, the program has been used with over 2,000 individuals. Those of you who know us know that we never settle for anything as being “good enough,” so we will continue to learn and continue to develop the program.

I really encourage all of our NACD parents to do the program. We can’t function too well, and the better your function, the better job you can do with your children and for that matter, your lives. As an example of what this program can do for an adult, you might want to read this article about one of our first adults to use the program. (Read more in our article NACD Makes Adults Smarter Too, Dec 2010)

It’s not at all unrealistic to think that we could all be 10s with our processing. We can, and we should, and we need to be. The truth is that we can be even better than that.

Ten or fifteen minutes 3-5 days a week could make a significant, and possibly even a dramatic, change in your global function. “Global function” means your lives, virtually all aspects of your lives. I’ll be anxious to hear what you see and what you think of the program.

Those of you with children who are not on the program way want to have them take the summer to build their brains as well.

Reprinted from the Journal of The NACD Foundation (formerly The National Academy for Child Development)

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 27 No. 2, 2014 ©NACD

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When I first started training with Bob back in the early to mid 1990s, I was fortunate to be able to sit through hundreds of evaluations with him. Hundreds of times I heard him ask the question, “So Johnny, what do you do for fun?” One evening over a working dinner meeting he went to great lengths to tell me how important that simple little question is in getting to understand what makes a kid “tick.” It allows us to see various obsessions or DSAs (Debilitating Sensory Additions) a child may have. It allows us to see gaps in global maturity that need to be addressed. It identifies who is at a loss of how to put their thoughts into words. It also provides a wealth of information when it comes to assisting the parent in how to guide the child’s day. In this particular article I want to address how to take a passion and use it to motivate a child in the advancement of his education.

In today’s mess that has been created by politicians pushing for grading a school based on how well they teach the kids to take a specific test at the end of the year, it has become even more important for parents to focus on motivating a child at home in order to enrich his ability to become an adult who is resourceful and knows how to obtain information. If you are homeschooling you have an opportunity to do education so much better. I am always shocked when I have parents, especially of young children, agonizing over which “curriculum” to purchase. When they ask I quickly respond, “It doesn’t really matter. It is all the same: the same degree of bad.” Why take what is working poorly in the schools and reproduce it in the home? With the exception of the high school years, which have to be looked at in more detail and individually based on the course their secondary education will take, there is much more to gain by using a child’s passion to create a rich learning environment. While I am in agreement that there are areas that a child should learn “just because,” even those will be more successful if you first turn them on to a quest for knowledge in an area of interest. I can remember one of my sons taking an interest in chemistry at a very early age. When asked why, it was evident to me. His “Poppy,” my father, was a chemistry teacher and Kenny loved his granddaddy. My dad was not a man of many words until you got him talking about either gardening or chemistry. Interestingly enough, one of my older sons gravitated towards an interest in gardening, the other in chemistry. At the age of about 12, Kenny was accelerated in both his auditory digit span and his reading comprehension, which by the way, go hand in hand. He was able to self teach from his grandfather’s teaching supplies in his “free time.” By the time he was in public school, and later in the work place, this head start really paid off for him to a much greater extent than had we progressed through Science Curriculum one year at a time.

If you are not homeschooling, then it seems you have an even bigger task to overcome. In the very little time that is left after a day of going through the motions of school and homework, it is important to take the time that is available to give them a passion for learning. In this case I strongly suggest giving as much input and assistance as needed to get homework over with ASAP so that the fun stuff can begin. I remember how Bob once told me about his son and how one of the first areas of passion in his life was basketball. Bob used the Utah Jazz to create an enjoyment in learning without him even knowing it. Together there wasn’t a stone left unturned in knowing statistics, sequencing and mental math with jersey numbers, going to games as rewards, and many other creative ways to work basketball into processing and academic advancement.

I am always shocked at some of the monotonous writing assignments given in school. The one that really pushes my buttons is when they assign the child to write a persuasive paper and give them a topic that they have no frame of reference for or don’t have any interest in. To become a good writer, it is much more productive to use a subject that the student already has a foundation of knowledge in and has a passion for. On program many of you will have “Fun Unit Studies” written on a line of your program. Truthfully, I wish we could make that one little line about 5 inches bigger than the rest of the academic activities. It seems to be an item left off more times than not and is a huge loss in opportunity. I think that most of the time it is because you really don’t grasp what we mean by “Fun Unit Study” to begin with. It is not meant to be a note to motivate you to purchase pre-packaged curriculum. How can anything be individualize and yet pre-packaged? While there are some wonderful tools that can be used for unit studies, we do not mean following a plan that is laid out without the interest of the child taken into consideration. Some of the best unit studies start with a simple question from the child. If it is fun to continue gathering information, then continue. If it loses its appeal, move on to something else. I can remember the first time one of my son’s saw a school history book. He was disgusted that Christopher Columbus got less than half of a page devoted to him. His comment was, “Didn’t we spend 6 months learning all about things to do with him?” Then he went on to list the things not covered in the history text. These were things he had learned approximately 6 years before. The reason he retained that information over the course of time was because he was interested in the first place and we proceeded in a fun way with the learning.

I want to let you observe two videos that have been sent to me by wonderfully smart boys on my caseload who inspired me to write this article. I will not go into their original challenges that brought them to us, but I will say that each of the mothers has done an amazing job of working to put pieces together so that their brilliance can shine through. These parents have an understanding of how to work on processing and make learning child-centered. As a result these boys have retained information in areas of interest that they have spent a lot of time gathering. They research their topics of interest and share with an enthusiasm that makes me want to learn more about what they are saying.

As you look towards a future for your children, let’s not bore them with meaningless memorization for tests only to have them forget most of what is drilled in to them. Let us explore their passions, research and expand knowledge, and work with them on ways to communicate to others in a way that makes the information come alive.

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 26 No. 2, 2013 ©NACD

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Bruce Haslam, PhD, Director of Research for The NACD Foundation, along with Tamara Knapp-Grosz, PhD, Director of Counseling and Support Services at Savannah College of Art & Design, presented “Brain Change: Simple Interventions to Dramatically Improve Student Functioning” at the 45th Southeast Conference of College Counseling Center Personnel held on November 5-7th in Chattanooga, TN. The presentation provided a glimpse of the preliminary findings of the Simply Smarter Software program, as implemented by Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) with counseling center students, administrative staff, and interns. Simply Smarter Software is the outgrowth of Robert J. Doman Jr.’s thirty-plus years of clinical work and application of a neurodevelopmental approach to cognitive development and function in both typical and atypical child and adult populations.

SCAD initiated the “Jump Start” Program as an elective offering during this current academic year (2008- 2009). This program was designed for incoming freshmen who identified themselves as having a disability impacting their learning ability. The goal of the program was to provide the students with the skills needed for a successful transition into college.

The program was designed specifically for students with any of the following diagnoses:

• ADD/ADHD
• A learning disability
• A psychiatric/psychological disability
• High functioning Autism/Asperger’s Syndrome
• A medical disability that might impact learning

Forty students signed up for the program: 23 males and 17 females. Most came in with more than two diagnoses. Their average SAT scores were:

• Verbal – 507
• Math – 476
• Writing – 490

Although the majority of the Jump Start students participated in baseline testing and used the Simply Smarter program a few times, the number of practice sessions (start of Fall 2008 semester to just before the conference in early November) was not enough to create sufficient data. The Counseling Center personnel are now looking into ways to overcome the lack of compliance and follow-through. Robert J. Doman commented, “You cannot expect organized function from a disorganized brain. They will need to have a good structure in place and adequate feedback to achieve the necessary compliance.”

The Counseling Center’s administrative staff and interns also utilized the software, achieving greater compliance than the students, although only averaging 14 sessions during the three-month period. However even this minimal amount of training produced significant improvement in processing and cognitive functioning. Dr. Knapp-Grosz reported:

My staff have expressed many positive outcomes as a result of participation in the Simply Smarter Program. Some of the changes we have noticed have been an increased ability to easily recall student information, like student ID numbers and demographic information, better concentration and attention, and increased confidence in retaining information. We really look forward to seeing how continued participation and regular practice will improve our overall functioning!

As a whole, the Counseling Center staff and interns were composed of the following:

• 20 total participants: 5 males; 15 females
• Ages ranging from 25 – 60
• 7 interns
• 1 administrative staff
• 11 professional staff
• 1 staff member chose not to participate

Each participant practiced four sets of activities. Those who had a qualifying auditory forward score practiced one additional activity, an auditory alphanumeric exercise. The number of practice sessions varied by individual within the 3-month trial period.

The mean pre- and post- scores for each of the exercises were as follows:

Auditory Forward Digit Span
Pre: 7.89
Post: 8.58
Change in Score: Increase of 0.69

Auditory Reverse Digit Span
Pre: 6.93
Post: 7.85
Change in Score: Increase of 0.92

Visual Forward Digit Span
Pre: 7.71
Post: 8.65
Change in Score: Increase of 0.94

Visual Reverse Digit Span
Pre: 6.49
Post: 7.56
Change in Score: Increase of 1.07

Alphanumeric Span (15 had the requisite Auditory Forward scores to participate)
Pre: 6.12
Post: 7.0
Change in Score: Increase of 0.88

In analyzing the available data from each of the trial areas, the t-test resulted in statistical significant values of p<.01, meaning that there was less than 1 chance in 100 of obtaining the improved results by chance alone.

The results of this short trial produced significant results that again confirm Robert J. Doman’s contention that these critical functions can be developed – and developed well past the age of what is typically considered a ceiling for improvement. Cognitive function does not have to decline or remain fixed as one gets older. Instead, with specific, targeted intervention one can continue to develop.

In summary, students with learning and attention issues require structure and feedback to achieve the necessary compliance in order to improve their short term and working memories. However, as evidenced by this short study, even with minimal compliance adults can significantly improve these functions. Further, similar programs utilizing Simply Smarter need to be devised and implemented both for college students and personnel to enhance their overall neurological function and performance.

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 22 No. 1, 2009 ©NACD

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Baddeley’s model of working memory was published in 1974 (Baddeley, Hitch 1974) and continues to be used by professionals today. Prior to their work, the only part of thinking that had been clearly defined was the short term memory (Atkininson, Shiffrin 1971). According to Baddeley and Hitch (1974), the working memory was responsible for processing information and it had various components that were used to handle information. The working memory was also describe as having a capacity regarding the amount of information that it could handle.

In a study completed Graesser, Singer and Trabasso (1994) their constructionist theory discussed how an individual’s working memory related information that he or she was reading to information that was already known and stored. This had also been discussed in a study done by Daneman and Carpenter ( Daneman, Carpenter,1979), who established that the working memory determined how much information could be stored related to reading comprehension work.

Studies done more recently support the role of the working memory in attention and processing verbal information which are key to reading comprehension (Carretti, Borella, Cornoldi, DeBeni2009). Further studies showed that the performance of the working memory was a good predictor of how well individuals could answer inferential questions in long reading passages if they were not permitted to go back and reread the material (Andreassen, Braten 2010). Working memory was also found to be the key factor in understanding sentences being read in a second language (Kashiwagi 2011). In students demonstrating learning difficulties or deficits in reading comprehension, Pimperton’s study showed that these issues were tied to the working memory function (Pimperton, Nation 2010). In fact, the verbal working memory was found to be the best indicator of reading comprehension difficulties (Macaruso, Shankweiler 2010).

All parts of the working memory were found to be related to and able to predict success in not only reading comprehension but also problem-solving abilities and math (Zheng, Swansen, Marcoulides 2011). This study was the followed by a study published in 2012 supporting that several areas of the working memory were involved in mathematics as well (Nyroos, Wikland-Hornquist 2012). Alloway (Alloway, Passolunghi 2011) had also completed a study finding that several areas of working memory impacted on achievement in mathematics.

Working memory was found to be able to predict which students would have difficulty learning how to do math operations (Toll, Van de Ven, Krostberger, Van Luit 2011). These findings were then supported by Proctor who found that there was a positive correlation between working memory and mathematical reasoning in students with learning disabilities (Proctor 2012).

We see that the working memory has been related to problem-solving, reading comprehension in native languages and in second languages as well as in the comprehension of mathematics. Problems in working memory have also been cited in many of these studies as an accurate predictor of learning problems in these areas. The importance of working memory not just in academics but also in daily problem-solving are clear. Recently a study done by Dahlen supported that working memory training had a positive effect on reading comprehension and literacy (Dahlen 2011). During the school year 2007-2008, NACD worked with the Wasatch Peak Academy using digit spans and reverse digit spans activities with students. Pre and post testing completed independently by the school as well as testing completed by NACD showed a positive correlation between improvement in working memory as produced by improved scores on reverse digit span activities and standardized test scores (NACDFoundation 2009). A study completed in 2012 which is being published by NACD also found a positive correlation between reverse digit spans and the Simply Smarter Kids App which are both working memory activities.

Works Cited

Baddeley, A.D., Hitch, G. (1974)
“Working Memory.” In G.H. Bower (Ed.) The Psychology of Learning and Motivation: Advances In Research and Theory. 1975: vol.8 47-89.

Atkinson, R.C., Shiffrin, R.N. “The Control Processes of Short Term Memory.” Technical Report 173 Psychology Series. 1971: Institute for Mathematical Studies in the Social Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.

Graesser, A.C., Singer,M., Trabasso, T. “Constructing Inferences During Narrative Text Comprehension.” Psychological Review 1974: Vol.101, Number 3, 391.

Daneman, M., Carpenter, P.” Individual Differences in Working Memory and Reading.”
Carnegie-Mellon Universtiy, USA
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5371(80)90312-6

Carretti, B., Borella, E., Cornoldi, C., DeBeni, R. “The Role of Working Memory in Explaining the Performance of Individuals with Specific Reading Comprehension Difficulites: A Meta-Analysis.” Learning and Individual Differences 2009: Vol.19,number 2, 246-251.

Andreassen, R., Braten, I. “Examining the Prediction of Reading Comprehension on Different Multiple Choice Tests.” Journal of Research in Reading 2010: Vol.33, Issue 3, 263-283
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5371(80)90312-6

Kashiwagi, A. “Relative Clauses in First and Second Language: A Case Study.” ProQuestLLC., Ph.D. Dissertation 2011: The Ohio State University.
http://udini.proquest.com/view/processing-relative-clauses-in-pqid:2328649871/

Pimperton, H. Nation, K. “Suppressing Irrelevant Information from Working Memory: Evidence For Domain Specific Deficits in Poor Comprehenders.” Journal of Memory and Language 2010: vol 62, n4, 380-391.

Macaruso, P., Shankweiler, D. “Expanding the Simpler View of Reading in Accounting for Reading Skills in Commuity College Students.” Reading Psychology 2010: vol.33, n5, 454-471.

Zheng X, Swanson, H.L., Marculides, G. “Working Memory Components as Predictors of Children’s Mathematical Word Processing Abilities.” Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. Dec 2011: 110 n4, 481-98.

Nyroos,M., Wiklund-Hornquist,C. “The Association between Working Memory and Educational Attainment as Measuared in Different Mathematical Subtopics in the Swedish National Assessment Primary Education.” Educational Psychology 2012: vol.32, n2, 239-256.

Alloway, T. P., Passolunghi, M. “The relations between working memory and arithmetical abilities: A comparison between Italian and British children.” Learning and Individual Differences 2011: vol 21, 133-137.

Toll, S.W.M., Van der Ven, S.H.G.,Kroesbergen, E.H., Van Luit, J.E.H. Executive Functions as Predictors of Math Learning Disabilities .Journal of Learning Disabilities 2011: vol.44, n6, 521-532.

Proctor, B. “Relationships between Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) Cognitive Abilities and Math Achievement within a Sample of College Students with Learning Disabilities.” Journal of Learning Disabilities 2012: vol.45, n3, 278-287.

Dahlen, K.I.E. “Effects of Working Memory Training on Reading in Children with Special Needs.” Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal 2011: vol 24, n 4, 479-491.

NACD/Wasatch Peak Academy School Model Program(The NACD Foundation 2009: vol.22 n9.
https://www.nacd.org/newsletter/0709_wpa.php

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 25 No. 9, 2012 ©NACD

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Working memory is generally defined as the ability to remember and use several pieces of information to make decisions or solve problems. Even listening to a sentence requires remembering several words until the meaning of the sentence is determined. Forward Auditory Digit Span refers to how many numbers can be heard and repeated back correctly. Forward Auditory Digit Span is considered to be a good estimate of the capability of working memory, and working memory has been shown to relate to the level of academic performance in several areas. The book Working Memory and Academic Learning, by Dehn, provides a good discussion of these points. Dehn (2008) also stated that Auditory Reverse Digit Span, repeating the numbers backwards, is a better estimate of working memory than Auditory Forward Digit Span because repeating the numbers as presented allows a person to chunk, or group, numbers to make them easier to remember, while repeating the numbers in reverse does not allow that to happen in most cases.

A study by Alloway and Alloway (2010) indicated that working memory is a better predictor of reading, spelling, and math scores than IQ is. They measured working memory in a group of 5-year-old children and compared that to reading, spelling, and math scores six years later. IQ scores were not a significant predictor of spelling, and working memory scores were better predictors in all three academic areas. They recognized the need to develop working memory in order to see gains in academic learning.

The present study was done with a group of thirty-eight people ages 5 to 60, with most between the ages of 9 and 20. Three scores were obtained, including Forward Auditory Digit Span (FADS), Reverse Auditory Digit Span (RADS), and the Simply Smarter Kids-Memory app, Classic Mode. The Simply Smarter Kids- Memory app is a fun, game-like app designed to help increase sequential processing, short-term and working memory.

The study showed a correlation of 0.89 between Reverse Auditory Digit Span (RADS) and the scores on the Simply Smarter Kids app. This correlation means that if people have high scores on one variable, they have high scores on the other variable; and if they have low scores on one variable, they have low scores on the other variable. Each person was very similar in their placement on both variables, high values with high values, low values with low values. The score on Simply Smarter Kids gives a very good indication of a person’s performance on the RADS. The mean on RADS was 4.46, and the mean on Simply Smarter Kids was 4.61.

The correlation between FADS and Simply Smarter Kids was 0.63. As expected this is a lower correlation than for the RADS, but it is still a substantial correlation. The mean on FADS was 6.13, and as expected this was higher than the mean for RADS. Finally, to round out the picture, note that the correlation between FADS and RADS was .68, a substantial relationship between performance on one and performance on the other. Scores on the Simply Smarter Kids app should give a good indication of working memory capability. It would follow that one would then surmise that increases in Simply Smarter Kids app scores should reflect an improvement in working memory.

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 25 No. 8, 2012 ©NACD

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Founder and Director of the National Association for Child Development

2nd Annual International Congress of Developmental Psychology
University of Aguascalientes
Aguascalientes, Mexico
October 2008

The International Congress of Developmental Psychology, held at the University of Aguascalientes, was the site of Bob Doman’s first opportunity to present the initial ground breaking data from NACD’s Simply Smarter Project. NACD’s Director of Research, Dr. Bruce Haslam, and NACD’s Development Director, Carol Estrada, accompanied Bob to Mexico, assisting Bob and translating throughout the presentation.
The data Bob presented represent the first definitive information on the development of short term and working memory, and they provide some very significant insights into the understanding and development of cognitive ability and thought.

Most of the new insights provided by the Project verified NACD’s clinical experiences and expectations and provided the first concrete analysis of the development of these critical functions. One of the more relevant aspects of the study was the confirmation of Bob’s belief that auditory processing–the basis of most conceptual thought–was lower than previous assumed and lower than visual processing. Bob strongly believes that this critical function has diminished as a reflection of societal changes in the last 50- 100 years. Furthermore, he believes that lower auditory processing has created serious problems, both for individuals and society as a whole, as we lack the skills to think, learn, and communicate as effectively as we need.

Another significant aspect of NACD’s Project was discovering that visual forward (short term) processing skills tend to develop with age into the 30’s, while auditory forward skills and reverse (working memory) processing skills typically continue to develop into the 20’s. And not surprisingly, after peaking, without specific intervention these critical functions (particularly the auditory and working memory skills) start a slow but steady decline. (see figure 1 – project graph with 4 lines)

Part of Bob’s presentation was to refute the beliefs of the majority of researchers, which is that short term and working memory functions are fixed. As Bob explained, neuro-plasticity is such that, “If it develops, it changes” and that, “If it develops, then it can be changed.” As evidenced by Bob’s work, not only can these critical functions be developed, they can be developed at an accelerated rate, developed to levels far superior to the norm, and then maintained.

The mass of new information that Bob presented included a scale representing the complexity of thought. The scale demonstrates how improvement in sequential processing permits an increase in more complex mental processes. Bob also demonstrated, as evidenced through the Simply Smarter software data, that to develop working memory and cognitive thought, one must not only use or exercise the brain, but also apply TDI Targeted Developmental Intervention® in an organized manner.

Additionally, Bob presented his new model of the Neurodevelopmental Construct of Thought and Memory. Bob’s model shows the correlations and relationships between short term memory, working memory, and long term memory, explaining how all of these pieces not only inter-relate but also how they can be influenced and developed.

Bob’s work was very well received, and his keynote speech helped to insure his position at the forefront of human development.

Reprinted from the Journal of The NACD Foundation (formerly The National Academy for Child Development)

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 21 No. 17, 2008 ©NACD

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