Tag: thinking skills

Great Book on Processing Speed

ADHD, Executive Functioning, Learning, Processing Speed, working memory

 

 

 

Bright Kids Who Can’t Keep Up by Ellen Braaten, Ph.D. and Brian Willoughby, Ph.D. (2014) is the first book I have found that gives both an overview of processing speed and advice to help parents and schools provide intervention. The authors have done a great job of explaining a very complex issue. Here are excerpts from the book that I think can help you gain an understanding of processing speed. I highly recommend the book.

 

 

Processing Speed Overview

In general processing speed involves the amount of time it takes a person to perform one or more of the following functions:

  1. Perceive information
    1. This can be to any of the senses, but is usually through visual and auditory
  2. Process information
  3. Formulate or enact a response.

* Simply put processing speed can be defined as how long it takes to get stuff done.

Kids and adults who are slower at these types of processing tasks are sometimes assumed to be lacking in intelligence, but this really isn’t the case. However, processing speed does interact with other areas of cognitive functioning by negatively impacting the ability to quickly come up with an answer, retrieve information from long-­‐term memory, and remember what you’re supposed to be doing at a given time. In other words, it’s possible that someone with slow processing speed will, as a result, be impaired in other areas of thinking and may even score lower on tests of intelligence.

How do I know if my child has a slow processing speed?

To assess processing speed deficits a formal assessment by professional is recommended. Many times students with processing speed issues will also demonstrate signs of another underlying problem, the most common being attention problems. The second largest category of children with processing speed deficits are those with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, nonverbal learning disabilities, language-­‐based learning disabilities, and autism spectrum disorders (including pervasive developmental disorder and Asperger’s syndrome). Other children may suffer more transient processing speed deficits with psychological issues such as depression, anxiety, or psychosocial stressors. A final category of children with processing issues are those who don’t fall into any of these categories but who perform poorly on time tests as compared to untimed tests. This category of children has are sometimes diagnosed with something called a “ learning disorder, not otherwise specified”. More recent terminology refers to it as a learning disability with this specific impairment in reading, writing or math fluency.

Types of processing speed

Processing speed isn’t a one-­‐dimensional concept. It’s not just how fast we see, how fast we write, or how fast we can process what we heard; it’s really a combination of all those factors. In fact processing speed deficits can be observed in visual processing, verbal processing, and motor speed. Problems in one or more of these areas can manifest in problems with academic fluency and general difficulties.

 

Will my child ever get any faster?

 

  1. Changes in processing speed are likely related to the impact of practice and experience. Research on processing speed has shown that the more time someone repeats the task, the more automatic and thus quicker the response becomes.
  1. The speed increases are also due to structural changes in the brain that happen naturally as it develops during childhood.

 

These two factors, experience and growth, are crucial to increasing processing speed during the childhood and adolescent years.

 

Processing Speed and Executive Functioning

 

Processing speed is considered an important executive function skill. Executive function skills allow us to successfully use our intelligence and problem-­solving abilities. These skills include abilities such as goal setting, planning, organizing, prioritizing, remembering information in working memory, monitoring our behavior, and shifting back and forth between different tasks are typically. Imagine that executive function is the car and processing speed is the engine. Having a faster engine or more powerful engine means the car can go faster, good executive function depends on the quality of the engine. More efficient engines allow the car to function at a higher level of efficacy.

 

Is processing speed just another term for reaction time?

 

The answer is no. Reaction time is part of processing speed. Processing speed also includes how quickly a child can integrate new information, retrieve information from memory, and perform certain tasks. It can be visual, verbal, motoric, or a combination of all three; and it can be content specific in reading, writing, motor, or math. Although a child with slow processing speed will often show problems across a number of areas.

 

Practical strategies for accommodating slow processing speed at school

 

  • Advocate for extra time
  • Teach time management skills
  • Keep an extra set a textbook at home
  • Take advantage of technology is a timesaver
    • Use of the computer
  • Ask for examples of completed homework for your child to review before doing a assignment
  • Make sure assignments are clearly structured and uncluttered
    • Clear beginning and end points
    • No redundancy: allow students to only do enough problems to demonstrate that they understand the concepts rather than do many practice problems after they understand.
    • Simple uncluttered visuals
  • Avoid multitasking
    • Ask for alternatives to notetaking during lectures: getting notes in advance, getting an outline, getting an auto recording

 

Processing speed in social relationships

 

There is a big association between processing speed and social skills. Regardless of any diagnosis, children with slow processing speed are at greater risk for social deficits. They have higher rates of social and language delays in early childhood. We also found that nearly half of children with slow processing speed had some problem with communication in early childhood i.e. being slow to talk. This combination of slow processing speed and language delays is a recipe for social problems at an early age. The most frequently reported problems were difficulties with social communication, social awareness, and social cognition. These problems included things such as difficulty spontaneously complementing others, problems quickly picking up on social cues from peers, and a reluctance to join group activities.

 

How does slow processing speed affect the child’s friendships?

 

  • Children with slow processing speed take longer to pick up on social cues in general, thus missing the point of the social exchange
  • Interactions can seem stilted or awkward because it takes them a long time to figure out a response
  • They lose track of what’s happening during pretend player games, causing their peers to become frustrated with them
  • They are disorganized in relating stories are reporting events, causing peers to lose interest in what they are
  • Reactions to jokes and sarcasm can be just a few seconds behind, which can make them seem a bit off to their peers
  • Slow work performance makes it difficult when working with a group and on group assignments

Provide support for organization and communication

In addition to general interventions, kids with slow processing speed often need help organizing their thoughts so they can communicate better. They frequently have difficulty expressing themselves clearly and concisely and may make comments that are poorly organized and sequenced. Their frequent problems with quick word retrieval and verbal organization cause them to talk around the subject and make it difficult for the listener to know what they’re trying to say.

Read the book to learn more about processing speed. I found the information to be thoughtful, relevant and easy to understand. The area of processing speed and how it is impacting students in the classroom needs to given more attention.

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Building Executive Functioning Skills May Be The Best Intervention For Increasing Processing Speed.

Executive Functioning, Learning, Learning differences, Processing Speed, Thinking Skills, Visual Processing

 

Processing speed is becoming a stumbling block for many students. The number of students who are requesting extra time on tests has increased tremendously over the years. What does it mean to have a processing speed dysfunction?  The case studies below are examples of how processing speed issues can vary from student to student.

  • Don is a quiet shy boy who loves skateboarding and hanging out with his family. He is sweet and everyone likes him, however he has no close friends. Don does not initiate conversations or join in conversations with friends at school, which keeps him from being part of the “group”.  Don moves at his own pace and cannot be rushed. Don’s slow processing is global. He is slow moving (except on a skateboard!), slow reading and writing, slow to take in verbal information and to respond verbally to questions.  Don can now read and write at grade level, but his reading and writing fluency are slow. Don continues to have difficulty finding the right words to express his ideas and still would rather sit back and watch a group than join in. Don needs extra time to take in, process and organize his ideas before responding regardless of the type of task presented. 
  • Sara is 8 years year old and quick as quick can be to let you know her opinions. She is highly social and very verbal. Her reading and reading comprehension skills are strong. Sara struggles with slowing down when she is writing. Her handwriting skills are poor and her spelling is weak. She makes careless errors on math problems, which causes her to lose points and get low grades. When asked to write for school Sara quickly becomes upset. Homework is a stressful and prolonged activity. Sara’s fine motor skills are weak and she hates writing. Her weakness in handwriting and organizing her thoughts cause her to avoid writing and she often turns in incomplete work. Sara needs extra time to allow her to stop and think, organize her thoughts and narrow them down in to a manageable amount of information to write down. She also needs extra time to allow her to slowly and carefully write the words on paper.
  • Alex has been diagnosed with a Nonverbal Learning Disability (NLD). One of the main components of NLD is a lack of organizational skills. This means that Alex has a hard time putting all the pieces of information he gathers together to allow him to come to a meaningful conclusion. Breaking down instructions in order to follow them is a challenge, so Alex often just guesses at what he is supposed to do based on pictures or looking at what other are doing. Alex needs extra time to circle and highlight the important information in texts and worksheets so that he can focus on the most important part. He also needs extra time to contemplate the information and come to meaningful conclusion.

Each of these children struggle with processing speed, but the cause of their struggle is different. Weak fine motor skills and/or organizational skills are common factors in processing speed issues. While for many students the fine motor skills are a chief cause of frustration, I am beginning to consider weak executive functioning skills a key factor affecting processing speed.

Young children can work to improve their fine motor skills and therefore increase their processing speed, if that is the main cause of the processing speed deficit. However, for older children and those whose processing speed deficit is cognitively based, building executive functioning skills will be the best intervention for increasing processing speed.

I invite you to take our free executive functioning quiz and find out what skills are strong, and which are weak for you or your child.

Here is a list of Executive Functioning skills:

Initiation

•

 starting work

Inhibition

•

 stopping off-task behavior

Shift

•

 moving from one activity to another

Working Memory

•

 remembering information for immediate use

Planning

•

 setting goals and the steps to accomplish them

Organizing Materials

•

 tracking items in work spaces

Time Management

•

 allotting appropriate time for each task

Monitoring

•

 judging the quality and pace of work

Emotional Control

•

 regulating stress and distractibility

For many of the students I see with a processing speed issue, the executive functioning skills of initiate, shift, plan, time management and emotional control are difficult for them. I consider the ability to shift as the most important skill to develop. If a child gets stuck on an idea and can’t let go of it to consider a new idea, nothing can change. If a child gets frustrated and shuts down he can’t find solution to the problem, rather he becomes overwhelmed and defeated. Many students with this profile need to learn new ways to approach tasks so that they can hone in on the most important part. To help them save time and therefore speed up, these students can learn new organization skills that will help them start and finish work in a timely manner. However, they need to be flexible thinkers to do this.

For students with this profile I suggest they build flexible thinking skills first and then organization skills. You can read my blog article on building flexible thinking skills to learn more. I also created The Flexible Thinking Workbook to help students build these very important skills.

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Processing speed issues are challenging at all ages

ADHD, Executive Functioning, Learning, Learning differences, Processing Speed, Thinking Skills, Visual Processing

Sara is now 22 years old and still struggling with processing speed issues.  Here is Sara’s story:

When I was 12 years old, I was diagnosed with slow processing speed, given a 504 plan, and told this was a part of my life that 1) would not go away and 2) I would have to get used to. I thought I was mentally handicapped. My mom is a special education teacher, and she explained to me that this did not mean I lacked intelligence, but that it took longer for me to process information. This proved true when, in seventh grade, with an influx in work and sport activity, I stayed up until 1 or 2 every night finishing my homework.

I have always been motivated to not only complete assignments, but to do the best I can on them. However, this diagnosis became an excuse for any mistakes I made – so if ever I did not understand something right away, I laughed it off to slow processing. But, inside I was an emotional wreck questioning myself and my abilities. I know you’ve worked with a lot of children who have this, so I’m sure you see when they first come in your office that their confidence is very low. Confidence has always been a struggle for me, and it wasn’t until I really pursued writing (I wrote a 250 page novel when I was 14, still hidden away on my bookshelf) that I gained a little confidence in myself. But my confidence level is a roller coaster ride, and varies all the time.

 Now that I have given you a bit of background, I would like to ask you a question. I am 22 years old, and very unhappy with my processing abilities. I recently read a book by Joshua Foer titled Moonwalking with Einstein about Foer’s yearlong journey to improve his memory that concluded in his winning the United States Memory Championship. This book was an inspiration to me because it made me finally realize that the brain can change – something no one had educated me on when I was a 12-year-old, scared, recently diagnosed kid.

I graduated from college a little less than a year ago now with a degree in English and minor in Psychology. I currently work at a publishing company in New York, and am incredibly happy with how my life has gone. I have “compensated” for my disability – as my mom always said I would, but I want more than that. I want to be able to change my processing abilities. I want to have intelligent, abstract conversations with people that don’t end with me saying, “let me think about that a little more.”

 So, finally my question is, what do you recommend I do to improve my processing abilities? I know the process will be difficult, but I also know how beneficial it will be for the rest of my life. It has taken me a lot to get to the point I am at now, admitting that I am faulted in my processing abilities, but there is hope on the horizon if there is something I can do about it. Please let me know if you have any advice for me. I would much appreciate it.

 Thank you for your time and consideration. I admire what you are doing for children and parents, and only hope that one day I can share my experiences and help out someone just like me.

Sara’s story is inspirational. While she still struggles to think quickly on her feet, she has dealt with her slow processing speed, graduated from college and landed a great job that makes her happy. What more do we want for our children? It shows that with support and guidance the diagnoses of a processing speed issue is not a reason to despair.

Sara’s mother believed in Sara and was practical and realistic in her advice. I think this is a key factor in Sara’s success. Her mother explained that being slow is not the same as being dumb. If you are reading this because your child is slow, please find out about your child’s intellectual strengths and highlight those strengths when you talk to your child. Remind him often of what he is good at. The strengths you pick need to real; children know the truth about themselves even if they can’t articulate it. So, be real and encouraging.

Now to Sara’s question, what can she do to continue to increase her processing speed? Sara is referring to cognitive processing speed, how fast she can take in and process information, organize it and then respond. This is different than visual-motor processing speed that refers to how quickly you can take in visual information and then draw or write it. Sara wants to be an active participant in a fast paced, intellectual conversation.

Processing speed (PS) training has been found to be effective in adults.  One study, Effects of Training of Processing Speed on Neural Systems investigated the effects of PS training on the PS of young adults and on neural mechanisms. The results demonstrate that PS training increased brain plasticity (the brain’s ability to change).  The results of the study also found that a wide range of cognitive interventions involving speeded training tasks led to an improvement in cognitive functioning.

It is worthwhile to note that the PS training improved PS but not working memory, reasoning, or creativity. To achieve Sara’s goal of participating in fluid conversation, she may need to build her processing speed as well as her working memory. There are programs that are designed to do just that. At the K&M Center we use:

  • Cogmed to build working memory skills
  • PACE (Processing and Cognitive Enhancement) to build visual and auditory processing
  • Flexible Thinking Program to build cognitive flexibility

Other Programs I have not used but are available and look effective, include:

  • Brain HQ:  exercises your memory, attention, and more
  • Lumosity:  trains a range of cognitive functions, from working memory to fluid intelligence
  • Brain Training 101 Program: training exposes each student to a customized series of intense mental workouts

These training programs are designed to build neuro-pathways that help information flow around the brain faster. Studies show beneficial results. Research continues to investigate the methods, amount of time and results of processing speed interventions. It can be presumed that actively engaging the part of the brain you want to develop will strengthen it. The term “build the brain” refers to the brain as a mental muscle and we know exercising muscles makes them stronger and more effective.

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Mastering Executive Functioning Skills Requires Grit and Resilience

ADHD, Behavioral Regulation, Executive Functioning, Learning, Learning differences, Thinking Skills

 by Melissa Mullin Ph.D.

Executive functioning skills enable students to manage their workload and plan for the future. These skills allow students to break down a task and organize it as well as create a time lime for completion. Grit  is defined as a passion to achieve a long-term goal, along with a powerful motivation to achieve the goal. Grit entails working strenuously toward challenges, maintaining effort and interest over years despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress. Research has demonstrated that grit may be a more accurate predictor of future success than IQ or talent.

Take a moment to think about how executive functioning and grit play an important role in learning. Executive functioning skills provide the path the student needs to tackle a task while grit provides the driving force to complete the task. Executive functioning skills are the map and grit is the motor that propels the car.

There has been a tremendous amount of information and conversation about executive functioning skills and success. Executive functioning skills are often discussed as the CEO or manager of your thought processes. Here is a quick overview of executive functioning components:

  • Initiate: start
  • Plan and Organize: stop, think and plan a strategy
  • Organize Material: materials available and organized
  • Inhibit: able to stay on task and avoid distractions
  • Emotional Control: resilient when frustrated and overwhelmed
  • Working Memory: able to hold and work on two mental concepts at once
  • Shift: can move from one activity to another easily
  • Monitor:  can check work and make changes as needed

While teaching executive functioning skills is important for any student that lacks them, a common complaint I hear from parents is that students aren’t using the skills they are taught. So, what is missing? There is the old saying, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.”  I have found that executive functioning skills can be taught successfully, but for some students it takes more than teaching the skills to get the students to use them.  This brings us to grit.

Angela Duckworth was a middle and high school math teacher before she became a psychology professor. She noticed that the students who tried the hardest did the best in her class. When she became an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania,  she focused her work on a personality trait she calls “grit.” She writes that “the gritty individual approaches achievement as a marathon; his or her advantage is stamina.” The research results suggest that grit may be as essential as intelligence to achievement. Take Dr. Duckworth’s Grit quiz at the end of this article to discover your child’s grit level.

Paul Tough, the author of How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character, believes the most valuable thing that parents can do to help their children develop their character, and therefore “grit”—may be to do nothing. He believes that we should let our children face some adversity on their own. Children will learn to persevere when they fall down and are not helped back up. Paul Tough writes: “Overcoming adversity is what produces character. And character, even more than IQ, is what leads to real and lasting success.”

I have seen many students with learning difficulties who struggle, fail, work  hard to learn, develop a tremendous amount of grit and go on to do well very in school. I have also seen bright children with learning challenges give up and not develop grit. Building grit is not as simple as letting your child fail. Research on resilience and praise adds another dimension to this issue. Parents and educators can help build resilience, and therefore “grit” by making sure to praise effort towards a task rather than the results.

The American Psychological Association article, Using Praise to Enhance Student Resilience and Learning Outcomes , found that students whose teachers praise effort and work strategies rather than praising intelligence will:

  • Apply more, not less, effort when material is difficult for them
  • Seek challenges
  • Set higher goals for themselves
  • Look at failures as opportunities to learn
  • Increase their efforts rather than withdraw effort and attention

Learning is a complicated and individual process. Knowing what a child needs to develop to help him succeed can be difficult. The relationship between executive functioning skills, grit, resilience and praise is important when creating a holistic educational plan for students. Teachers, parents and children all need to work together to create the challenges, opportunities and supports necessary to encourage the development of a child’s potential to its maximum level.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

8- Item Children’s Grit Scale

Directions for taking the Grit Scale: Please respond to the following 8 items. Be honest – there are no right or wrong answers.

  1. New ideas and projects sometimes distract me from previous ones.*
  • Very much like me
  • Mostly like me
  • Somewhat like me
  • Not much like me
  • Not like me at all

2. Setbacks (delays and obstacles) don’t discourage me.

  • Very much like me
  • Mostly like me
  • Somewhat like me
  • Not much like me
  • Not like me at all

3. I have been obsessed with a certain idea or project for a short time but later lost interest.*

  • Very much like me
  • Mostly like me
  • Somewhat like me
  • Not much like me
  • Not like me at all

4. I am a hard worker.

  • Very much like me
  • Mostly like me
  • Somewhat like me
  • Not much like me
  • Not like me at all

5. I often set a goal but later choose to pursue (follow) a different one. *

  • Very much like me
  • Mostly like me
  • Somewhat like me
  • Not much like me
  • Not like me at all

6. I have difficulty maintaining (keeping) my focus on projects that take more than a few months to complete. *

  • Very much like me
  • Mostly like me
  • Somewhat like me
  •             Not much like me
  • Not like me at all

7. I finish whatever I begin.

  • Very much like me
  • Mostly like me
  • Somewhat like me
  • Not much like me
  • Not like me at all

8. I am diligent (hard working and careful).

  • Very much like me
  • Mostly like me
  • Somewhat like me
  • Not much like me
  • Not like me at all

Scoring:

  • For questions 2, 4, 7 and 8 assign the following points:
    5 = Very much like me.
    4 = Mostly like me.
    3 = Somewhat like me.
    2 = Not much like me.
    1 = Not like me at all
  • For questions 1, 3, 5 and 6 assign the following points:
    1 = Very much like me
    2 = Mostly like me
    3 = Somewhat like me
    4 = Not much like me
    5 = Not like me at all
  • Add up all the points and divide by 8. The maximum score on this scale is 5 (extremely gritty), and the lowest scale on this scale is 1 (not at all gritty).

Duckworth, A.L, & Quinn, P.D. (2009). Development and validation of the Short Grit Scale (GritS). Journal of Personality Assessment, 91, 166-174. http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~duckwort/images/Duckworth%20and%20Quinn.pdf

Duckworth, A.L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M.D., & Kelly, D.R. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 9, 1087-1101. http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~duckwort/images/Grit%20JPSP.pdf

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Metacognition Helps Build Self Regulation and Executive Functioning Skills

ADHD, Behavioral Regulation, Executive Functioning, Learning, Thinking Skills

Metacognition is thinking about thinking, knowing “what we know” and “what we don’t know.”  This means students take time to think about what needs to be done and how to do it. These students understand how the mind works and use this knowledge to help them. They take control over their learning process.

Building Metacognition skills can help build Self-Regulation skills by helping the student focus well. Building Self-Regulation skills can then help build Executive Functioning skills, which will allow the student to plan and organize better.

Gaskins & Pressley’s chapter in Executive Function in Education, 2007 presents a curriculum that teaches metacognitive skills. They describe how a child with strong metacognitive skills approaches a task. Metacognitive Learners:

  • Continually assess what they know.
  • As they read, write and problem-solve they:
    • Predict
    • Question
    • Create images
    • Clarify
    • Summarize
  • They are persistent; if the first strategy doesn’t work they try something else.
  • Have concrete strategies for approaching tasks.
  • Know success is the result of smart effort not just working hard.

Creating a mantra that children can memorize and use when they approach a task is very helpful to building metacognitive skills. Here are 4 steps to help teach metacognition skills:

  1.  STOP
  2. THINK: What am I supposed to do? Create a plan.
  3. DO: How do I do it? Follow the plan.
  4. CHECK: Did I do it? Check the plan.

Once they have memorized and begun using the mantra. Children will be asking themselves questions and talking themselves through tasks, thereby using metacognition strategies to help build executive functioning skills and behavior regulation skills.

Here are some examples of extended questions children can begin to ask themselves.

First, STOP!

Then, THINK. Make a plan before I start the task: When I am beginning a task, ask myself:

  • Why am I doing this?
  • Do I already know something that will help me?
  • What will the finished product look like?
  • What is my first step?
  • How much time do I have?

Next DO. During the task:  When I am monitoring the plan of action, ask myself:

  • How am I doing?
  • Am I following the directions?
  • What do I need to do next?
  • Does this match what I planned?
  • Am I getting enough done in the time I am spending?
  • Is there something I don’t understand?
  • Do I need to ask for help?

Finally, CHECK. After the task: When I am evaluating the plan of action, ask myself:

  • Did the product match the picture I had for it?
  • Is this better or worse than I expected?
  • What could I have done differently?
  • Is there anything missing?

Metacognitive strategies are teaching a child to be aware of his thoughts and control them. We are therefore trying to build behavioral regulation skills and executive functioning skills, which will in turn, activate the frontal lobe and hopefully build it. Brain research has shown that activity in the brain builds synapses, so we are taking a leap of faith (based on research and experience) that this will allow the child to attend better to tasks.

This is not easy; it requires constant reinforcement. Will it be successful? That depends on how well the plan is implemented.  What I have noticed at our learning center is that we get a number of middle school boys (along with some girls) who have weak executive functioning skills. There is a developmental growth in middle school that helps develop executive functioning skills which is evident by around 9th grade. My expectation is that many students who need help with executive functioning in middle school will build (with guidance and support) the skills they need to be successful when they enter high school.

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Easy Family Science Experiments: Just for Fun!

Executive Functioning, Learning, Thinking Skills

Check this out: Scientific American is posting a month-long series of family science experiments. My son and I watched the video of the first experiment and he exclaimed. “Cool, can we make that?” Have some fun and start experimenting!

Science experiments, like cooking, can help children learn to plan, follow directions and understand the value of math.

Watch the video on how to make Oobleck. Then go to the website for more fun activites.

 
It’s a Solid…
It’s a Liquid…
It’s Oobleck!
(With Video)

>> See Activity Instructions

Visit ScientificAmerican.com/education to see all SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN education programs.
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Fun Educational Games

Learning, Thinking Skills

Fun Games that Promote Thinking

While researching educational products to help students learn thinking skills, I came across some great games. Since this is the time of year parents search for great gifts, I thought I would share my findings with you.

In order to make my list of great games, a product must require skill, not luck to win. There must be some strategy and planning involved. Finally, it must be fun and engaging.

All of these games can be found at Mindware: www.mindware.com and/or Toys R Us: www.toyrus.com

Games that build visual imaging skills, flexible thinking, and visual discrimination skills:

Q-bitz : Anyone who has taken the WISC IQ test will recognize this game as the Block Design test. I played it with my two children last night and they had lots of fun. My son who has some mild visual issues was a bit frustrated until I showed him how to “see” the relationship between the individual blocks and the design on the cards. Once he understood that he took off. We allowed a handicap for the youngest player of a four block head start to even out the skills difference.

Blik Blok provides 3-D dimensional puzzles to be solved. Visual imaging skills are important for math, writing and reading comprehension. The ability to mentally rotate and “see” how the pieces go together develops the internal visualizations skills used to imagine how to create and develop novel ideas.

Games that build planning and strategy skills. Excellent to help children learn to Stop-Think-Plan-Do.

Gobblet is a hyped up tic-tac-toe game. The goal is the same as tic-tac-toe, to get four in a row, or three in a row on Gobblet Jr. The twist is that you have 4 (or 3) sizes of pieces that can “gobble” up another piece smaller than it. This game is quick to start playing, but your skills can continue to develop as you discover more strategies to win. I think that Gobblet Jr is best for 10 year olds and under. Gobblet is a game everyone can have fun playing.

Mastermind has been around for a while, but it continues to be a favorite. To win quickly, deductive reasoning skills are needed.

Rush Hour is a wonderful one person game. There are a number of puzzle cards, in increasing order of difficulty, to solve.

Connect 4 has become a classic at our office. The challenge of winning depends on the skills of your opponent.

Labyrinth is one of my favorites. I love the way paths are changed when players push their cards on the board. The constantly changing mazes challenge players to re-evaluate their plan after each move.

Othello’s outcome can change at the last minute of the game. Othello rewards players who can think ahead and gain access to key positions on the board.

Games that build flexible thinking skills:

Pix Mix requires players to quickly see visual options available. It is fun to try to see what objects are in the holders. My family laughed out loud at some of the things we thought we saw!

Set requires quick thinking and visual processing. Set builds categorization skills as the players try to get rid of all of their cards by matching them to target cards.

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