Drug-free interventions for attention problems
What Help Is There for ADHD?
Help for Kids and Teens (and Adults!) in Dublin with ADHD
Having ADHD Makes It Difficult To Focus and Control Impulses
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The good news? Attention skills can absolutely be strengthened with the right kind of targeted brain training intervention.
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​Interventions for ADHD often begin and end with a one-track approach: powerful drug use in the first instance - with a high rate of failure in many, unfortunately. The problem with this approach is that it ignores the underlying cognitive weaknesses that are usually present in ADHD... and drugs do not address most of them (even when they have the intended effect!).
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In fact, most interventions that target ADHD by only focusing on attention are missing the boat on how to holistically help a student overcome the learning challenges inherent to it.
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Research Shows Us The Way...
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There are several different cognitive skills are often problematic/weak in those with ADHD diagnoses (and even those with ADHD symptoms without diagnoses!). The most common cognitive skills that are weak in ADHD are working memory, long-term memory, and processing speed. It's our experience that pronounced auditory processing issues are quite common in ADHD students as well, despite students possessing perfect hearing test results.​​​
How does it work? Three Steps. That's All It Takes. Our expert team guides every student (and their parents/partners!) through a three-step process: Assessment, engagement about the Results, and then Training for Strength. Each step is entirely personalized and crafted to the student's specific learning needs as identified by our world-class assessment. This process allows us cater to individual cognitive skill combinations that are unique to each individual. The outcomes our students enjoy as a result of completing our brain training programs include: increased processing speed, memory, attention, and all aspects of the cognitive learning process -- benefits that group work and private tuition can never meaningfully offer. Most students also get the secondary advantage of a measurable increase in reading proficiency!
We Do Things Differently At Thinkable!
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Step One
Assessment is key. We evaluate every student's auditory, visual, memory, attention, language, & critical thinking skills. The cognitive skills results will outline their core strengths and areas for improvement (qualitatively & quantitatively), often validating concerns in specific & measurable ways.
Step Two
Programs are personalized. What you need -- nothing less, nothing more. Once skill differences are identified, we customize the brain training program that can target learning challenges. Interactive sessions keep students motivated and engaged, slowly building confidence in their new abilities.
Step Three
Train the brain! Repetition and intensity are the key to achieving a neuroplastic effect from brain training. Our trainers work with a singular focus of creating lasting outcomes by using the best neurocognitive methods available in our programs. Our activities are fun, engaging, and challenging.
No Two Brains Are The Same!
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Because no two brains are the same (not even in identical twins!), no two programs will be either!
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Thinkable specializes in creating bespoke programs that address this reality, but even moreso for students with ADHD challenges. Our brain training focuses on using evidence-based interventions associated with attention and focus issues, backed by years of robust neurocognitive research. One of our favorite program offerings, BrainRx cognitive skills training, has become quite popular among private academy IB/Leaving Cert students and tech professionals in Dublin. Thinkable is the only fully-licensed and expertly-trained BrainRx provider in Dublin. Accept no substitutes!
In addition to BrainRx programs, Thinkable also offers several of our ADHD students a special auxiliary reading program (ReadRx) to assist with reading challenges that are commonly associated with attention issues. Thinkable is the only provider of ReadRx in Ireland - there are no direct comparisons to it on the island! Parents and teachers that may be familiar with Orton-Gillingham methods, which are foundational, teacher-led, and take a multisensory approach to teaching reading and spelling, may be happy to learn that ReadRx combines these structured literacy principles with simultaneous cognitive skills training for better outcomes than either intervention alone can provide. The result is a confident and capable reader!
Attention Help!
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You might be wondering why we offer ADHD students brain training instead of private tuition, curriculum revision, or grinds. Your student might have already tried both and still struggles. We get it. That's why we recommend brain training as the foundation.
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By strengthening attention skills, it becomes easier to stay focused, avoid distractions, and juggle different tasks.
We help students:
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Focus on specific tasks for longer periods
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Block out distractions when concentrating
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Perform multiple tasks at the same time​
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In addition to working on concentration skills, our unique approach allows us to also target related skills like memory, visualization, and the various cognitive processing abilities. Students rapidly build mental connections and strengthen attention skills when we do this.
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​Our cognitive brain training programs have helped thousands of children and teens (and adults!) practice their focus and concentration skills. Every year that Thinkable has been in operation, we have exceeded the average percentile gains expected for each student. What does that mean? The average is to improve attention skills by 3.2 years. Our students surpass that.
Primary & Secondary Benefits of Brain Training
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Attention gains may be the primary benefit you are looking to achieve with a brain training program for ADHD students, but their are a myriad of secondary benefits -- from increases in IQ (Thinkable exceeds the average IQ increases!), to significant improvements in emotional regulation and/or impulse control.
None of these may seem secondary for the students (or parents) currently navigating these struggles, but they are just a few of the additional perks you are likely to experience from completing one of our brain training programs. We mask challenging with fun, repetition with play, and we keep students engaged with interesting tasks that they look forward to in their sessions. Don't get us wrong -- our programs are hard work and our students earn every single success that they achieve. We celebrate those successes with them every step of the way. Of course individual results may vary. We’d love the opportunity to work with you and your student see what successes lie ahead.
Getting the attention help your child needs starts with a cognitive skills assessment. The rest is as easy as 1-2-3 for us. Really.
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We can help. We mean it.
