Brain Gym?

[Anonymous]

So while my discussion team (composed entirely of student with ADHD, how ever did we get off topic I wonder?) was supposed to be discussing shared planning time or some such nonsense a peer of mine brought up brain gym in relation to some of the students she works with at the Autism Society of Edmonton and mentioned that she had some great experience with it in terms of her ADHD. She brought a short guide for me to look at but I could only flip through it because she handed it to me mid-lecture and wanted it back at the end of class (I really am a good student, honest! Just have moments like these on occasion) so I didn’t really get a good chance to look at it. But what I did see was certainly interesting and enough to pique my interest.

I was just wondering if anyone here had any experience with it at all or had heard anything positive or negative about it. I respect this girl’s opinion but I want to get as many second/third/forth/Nth opinions as I can before I waste any time/energy/money as I don’t have a lot of any of those. LOL I’m always skeptical of treatments like this one. I’m more looking at it as a component of a treatment plan, not a be-all/end-all.

Link: http://www.braingym.org/

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[Rick Green – Founder of TotallyADD]

I’ve read a bit about these things after my kids bought me a portable Nintendo gadget with a couple of the Brain exercise games. They do seem to help, according to studies. But what other studies have shown is that they really help improve your ability … to do Brain exercise games.

Kind of like practicing golf builds muscles and strength and coordination, which would also be strengths if you wanted say, take up tennis. But practicing golf doesn’t teach you tennis.

And then there’s studies that have shown that seniors who do crosswords have healthier minds.

One thing every ADHD expert has told us is that going to a real gym, or just starting exercising on your own, can do wonders for ADHD. As long as you don’t make exercising and working out into another addiction.

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[Rick Green – Founder of TotallyADD]

As a follow up to this, there is something actually called Brain Gym, and it’s actually quite interesting. It involves movement and the brain, and there are specific exercises that do seem to make quite a difference. Much like Yoga, Tai Chi and any kind of exercise.

The idea is to link the brain to movement and prepare the mind for learning or taking in information.

I’m going to be doing a workshop in October and some people from the Brain Works company are going to be there to do some exercises before I start to warm people up, and then on either end of the break, and again at the end of the evening. I’m very curious to see how it works. I do know that there is all kinds of interesting therapy being done for people with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) involving moving the limbs, eyes, and so on to increase the flow of information between the left and right brain. And it seems to dramatically reduce the stress and pain of these peoples memories.

The jury is still out on things like video games or Tetris or whatever.

But none of it can hurt.

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[Anonymous]

Rick wrote: “One thing every ADHD expert has told us is that going to a real gym, or just starting exercising on your own, can do wonders for ADHD”

I’ve lost count how many people I’ve told – to their great relief – to start exercising (ESPECIALLY to join a gym and get a decent personal trainer to keep them motivated) as part of their ADHD management strategy.

Quite a while before the studies started hitting the media, I ALWAYS found that I could control my attention (and physiology) better after a rigorous exercise session. I also found that in the case of, say, using a sitting exercise bike machine, I could READ better while burning a few hundred calories.

It’s as though the physical exertion redirects physical impulsiveness and burns off the excess – it doesn’t go interfering with my cognitive processes.

The BEST tactic I’ve used is to do a long distance walk (I despise jogging) with a heavy backpack out in beautiful scenery. In Washington State, there’s no shortage of stunning views. The reason I’ve found that combo best when it comes to using physical exercise as part of an ADHD management strategy is underscored by contemporary studies showing that exposure to the great outdoors has an effect on ADHD symptoms.

T. Lavon Lawrence

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[Anonymous]

I used to do brain gym “hook ups” to help before exams – apparently it is to help the left & right sides of your brain link together..AN old teacher of mine gave me a copy of the book – its geared for kids – but i’m a big kid…. They helped sometimes, but not always & they didnt help with the fidgetting – real exercise was the only thing that helped with that – that & being comfortable where & with whom you were with..

I have the nin. ds brain games – just made me better at grade school math (and I still use my fingers to count) & kept me “quiet” for a while (made hubbie happy in airports & the truck)

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[Anonymous]

We have used Brain Gym exercises at home (we homeschool) All of us in my family (children and adults) are ADD/HD. We used the brain gym primarily to get both halves of the brain working together. It doesn’t help with the fidgiting, but it does help with the focus. My children also exercise with dance and gymnastics which helps them tremendously. We also found a book called ” Fidget to Focus ” (don’t remember the author and I can’t find the book right now, surprise surprise) and have since begun to make “quiet” fidgets that we keep with us to allow us to fidget with out distracting others. We also do a lot of sitting on exercise balls (and rolling around the house)

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