Ask This One Question Before You Pay for a Focus-Training Program

Does a brain that changes mean the program works?

The webinar builds its pitch on brain change. That part points the right way. Brains change with what they practice. Brain scans of children in reading lessons show shifts in activity. A 2022 review (Perdue and colleagues) found those scan studies did not agree.

A changing brain is not the same as a child doing better in class. Fast ForWord shows why. It is a computer program for listening and language skills. In one study (Temple, 2003), children’s brain scans changed after using it. Then in 2011, Strong and colleagues pooled the controlled trials of that same program. They found no evidence it helped children’s language or reading.

A scan that lights up is not a child who reads better. The same logic holds for focus. “The brain changes” is where your question starts. It is not the answer.

What do the big reviews say about brain games?

The webinar names the worry itself. “You get better at the games,” the host says, “but not necessarily in life.” Then she says this program gets past it. That worry is the right one to bring to any focus program.

In 2016, Simons and colleagues reviewed the major brain-training claims. They found good evidence that programs improve the trained task. They found less for closely related tasks. They found little evidence of gains on distant tasks or in everyday life. The same year, Melby-Lervåg, Redick and Hulme pooled the studies of memory-training apps. People got better at memory tasks. The review found no convincing carryover to reading or math. The app makes you better at the app.

Scientists still argue about this. In 2014, two open letters from scientists took opposite sides. So nobody should tell you the question is closed. But the burden of proof sits with the program. In 2016, the FTC acted against the maker of Lumosity. The claims at issue promised gains “in school, at work, and in athletics.”

Hope plays a part too. One 2016 study tested adults (Foroughi and colleagues). Some signed up from an ad that promised brain training. After one hour of training, they scored higher on a reasoning test. People who did the same hour after a plain ad did not. That study did not test children. It is still a reason to ask how results were scored. We go deeper on why focus grows from practicing the real schoolwork. This picture of practice versus brain games sums it up.

What should I ask before I pay for a focus program?

This is not a review of one product. It is a set of questions for any of them. Ask on the phone, or look for the answers on the website.

• What got better? The game score, or schoolwork and focus in class?
• Who was studied? Children like yours, or a different group?
• Who checked? Has anyone outside the company repeated the result?
• Who scored it? Did the people rating the results know who got the program?

Here is why the second question matters. The webinar’s main evidence is one study it credits to Tufts. By the host’s own account, all three groups were “identified as ADHD.” Yet the same talk names dementia, Alzheimer’s and stroke among its “amazing results.” Ask which study tested those groups.

The webinar also tells one story that points the right way. A teacher wore the armband while grading real papers. The practice happened on the real work. That fits what the reviews found: gains show up on what was practiced.

So if the goal is focus on homework, practice focus on homework. Tonight, sit near your child for ten minutes of real work. When attention drifts, name it kindly and help them come back. A points system makes a child feel like they’re learning. Real mastery makes them feel capable.