LearningRX | ADHD Information

About a year ago I came on here to see if anyone could recommend LearningRX.  I was thinking about doing it with my son and wanted to know if anyone had tried it.  At first, nobody had, but several people also wanted to know about it.  Finally one lady replied and said that she had great success. 

I put my son through it July - October.  I think at the time I posted something on here about being in the middle of it and having high hopes.  Now that several months have passed I can say that I wholeheartedly recommend it.  His grades have improved a little bit, but his attitude and homework behavior have drastically improved.  It was worth the price just to end the homework trauma!

If some of you are reading this and wondering what LearningRX is, I will briefly explain.  It is "brain training".  They evaluate different aspects of IQ (like processing speed, long term memory, short term memory, etc.), give you exercises to improve your brain's function (3 hrs a week at their center, 4 hrs a week at home) and then after 12-18 weeks they re-test you and show you how much better your brain is doing.  Most importantly, they seem to get some good results in practical situations like school and life skills.  It is a franchised system, in it's pre-franchised form it is called PACE. 

I have been happy enough with our results that I am going to go get certified as a PACE trainer soon.  I hope this info is useful to some of you.  They have a web site, but of course I can't remember what it is.  Just do a search for LearningRX and you should find it.  Good luck to you all.

I hear brain training works great. Only time for this in summer and off school days. This is same problem for us to also continue with VT for our son. Must commit 20 daily. After noons her are to crazy. A lady I met who's daughter had this can't get SE help anymore. Doesn't qualify anymore. RN

medmom,

Thank you very much for relating your experience with LearningRx.  I have a daughter that is 8, soon to be 9, and we have struggled with school since she was 4 years old.  She was diagnosed with ADD or ADHD and instead of treating her with drugs we started doing bio-feedback.  She started to read better but still was struggling.  We discovered that she was having silent seizures, and no longer did we think that she had ADD.  Again, didn't want to put her on medication, but the bio-feedback wasn't working.  So, we put her on medication to take care of the seizures thinking that her attention and concentration would be much better.  It wasn't, although she isn't having the seizures anymore.  We have looked into tutoring programs, and LearningRx was one of them.  Of all the programs out there, the LearningRX (PACE/MTC) program sounds the most promising.  However, it is very expensive, and they also don't have any references.

Do you know of anyone else who has done this program?

Do you think if you had been certified as a trainer and trained your son that you would have gotten the same results?

Again, thank you for relating your experience,

Wally

I will try to answer your questions koko and wallyn.

One of my son's weaknesses was processing speed when he was first tested at LearningRX.  (They pre-test them and give them an age equivalent score on about 8 things.)  However, I can't really say that we thought he was slow to do his schoolwork, it was more like he did it too fast, or wouldn't do it at all.  I think he was just so distractible that things like oral instructions took a while to sink in.  He would have to filter out all the distractions, remember the words he had just heard, think about what they meant, and formulate his answer to them.  But in schoolwork if it wasn't something he could do automatically (like easy math) he didn't have the patience to think throught the instructions he was getting, and so before he even tried to do the work he was frustrated.  He was just demoralized in school, and didn't want to try.

The way I think LearningRX helped him with this is that it helped him learn to filter out distractions and really comprehend the instructions as they are heard or read.  There are a couple of specific exercises they use to accomplish this, and if I hadn't signed the parent's confidentiality agreement I would love to tell you about them because they are really good! 

The improvement was very gradual, though, because they start out very easy and move ahead just enough to challenge the student, but not to frustrate him or her.  Actually, I was a little worried by the end of the 12 weeks that the improvement would show up only on his post-test, but never make a difference in his life.  The assistant director of the center told me to have patience and over the course of the coming months I would see him begin to assimilate the new information and abilities in his life and in his schoolwork.  Now, about five months later, I see what she means. 

A couple of examples of his improvement:

He used to consistently forget his homework, not know what he was supposed to do on it, leave it at home after doing it, or lose it before it was turned in.  Now that is practically unheard of.  He has had one missing assignment in the last two grading periods!

He used to have to be instructed step by step all through getting ready for school or for bed, because it was just very confusing to him to go in his room, put pajamas on, go brush his teeth and go back to his room, especially with younger siblings around.  Now if we nag him it is because he is being defiant, not because he can't handle the complexity of the task.

There used to be tears, arguements, and tantrums about homework most nights.  Now he generally gets out his backpack without being asked and just does it.  He knows what to do, and feels capable of doing it.  He used to ask for help and then argue with my helpful suggestions, now if he asks for help he will also accept it. 

He really floored me last night when we couldn't find his english packet.  He thought he had left it home but it wasn't in any of my piles.  I thought he had put it in his backpack but it wasn't there.  I said, "I'm sorry, I just can't find it." And he said, "It's not your fault, mom."  I wanted to shout for joy at the maturity I thought I would never see from him!  (By the way, it was on the floor near the backpack.)

My daughter has more of a problem with speed on schoolwork.  I am going to do the LearningRX program with her, and I am confident it will help.

Now, for Wallyn's questions, I don't personally know anyone else who had done LearningRX.  However, I did ask other parents in the waiting room, and everyone was happy with it.  I also have talked to a couple of PACE trainers and they have only had positive experiences.  I even called back our LearningRX center a couple of weeks ago and asked the assistant director if they ever had anyone who was not satisfied.  She said the only people who are ever unhappy are those who didn't do the work at home between sessions at the center.

You asked if I thought I would have the same results if I had done it all myself.  Because of my son's personality, I don't think so.  It was a battle to get him to do the home part of it, and a battle to get him to go to the center.  At least once we were there, we had someone he liked and respected who held him accountable, gave him rewards, encouraged me, etc.  We actually moved part way through and I did do the final 5-6 weeks all alone, but we still called the center every week and reported in.  We even went back for the post-test. 

Now that I know the program I feel like I could train my other children, but they are more compliant than my oldest.  My daughter has been begging me to do it with her.

I hope this lengthy response answers the questions you had thoroughly.  I hate to sound like a LearningRX commercial, but I really think it's great!  It's expensive, but what could be more important than my kid's ability to learn?  Good luck.

Does this really cost 00 per child?  I thought I might be interested, but I might have to rethink this!!! 

medmom,

Thank you very much for your reply.  I appreciate it.  Yes, it is expensive, and that is the biggest problem I have with it.  If I am going to put my daughter through it, why not put my 6 year old twin booys through it too.  But, at a cost of 00+ per child, I think it makes more sense to become a trainer.  To become a trainer do you have to go to Colorado for classes?

Again, thanks ;)

Wally

I don't know what VT is or what SE is, so I can't really understand anything you said. 

I do want to mention, though, that we did it during part of the school year.  It was with my oldest, so we just waited until the others were in bed and he stayed up an hour later every night.

medmom,
I just learned that they are about to open a LearningRX in my city in the next few months. Did you find an increase in your son's processing speed? Do things get completed any faster for him at school?
Thanks for telling us about his experiences - Koko

Thanks again MedMom.

I am going to contact them next week and see what we can do.  By the way have you ever heard about Interactive Metronome or for that matter Neuro Feed-back?

I am so glad that someone has had success with LearningRX, I have been thinking about putting my 6 year old through it this summer he will be 7 then. He is failing all of his classes, but is on the right medication, and his school system, finally put him in special education classes for Language Arts, in the morning.

Wow!  00!  Where do you live?  In Cleveland we paid about 00.  Of course, we didn't need the reading component, which would have added six more weeks, I was assuming about 00 more.  And they did have the option of taking your kid five days a week instead of three, which would have cost more. 

Becoming a trainer involves paying 00 and spending two days in Colorado.  Then you leave with enough materials to do a couple of people in your family.  Anyone beyond that you need to pay 0-300 for the materials.  You have to have a college degree to become a trainer, I don't know if it matters what your degree is in.

You may want to look for a PACE provider.  They generally charge -80 an hour.   That's for 36 or 54 hours, depending on if you need the reading component.  (Apparently most do.)  It's the same program, only they don't work in a LearningRX center.  It could be substantially cheaper.  I think you can request a list of providers in your area.

Glad I can help.

Medmom

MedMom,

Thanks again for the information.

I live in Southern CA, and yes it is expensive.

They recommended:

LearningRx (24 Week Programs) Mental Skills & Reading Training:

ReadRx Pro:

Session hours per week: 5

Total # of sessions: 122

Home hours per week: 0

Results Guaranteed: Yes

Fee: ,790

ReadRx Directed:

Session hours per week: 1

Total # of sessions: 24

Home hours per week: 6+

Results Guaranteed: No

Fee: ,330

So, when I said 00 I really meant 90 but it is for 24 weeks and not 12 but it is still expensive.  I would be interested in finding a PACE provider just to see what the difference would be, but how do I find a PACE provider?

Wally

MemMom,

Are you kidding me?  So, because there is a LearningRx center just down the street I can't get trained in the PACE and MTC process?

Wally

That's my understanding.  It's because as a franchise, they have the rights to a certain area.  Nobody will be allowed to open another LearningRX center or do pace training within a certain number of miles of them.  It's to protect their territory.  I think it's pretty common in franchises.

You could always ask at headquarters.  Maybe they would train you if you promise to only train your own kids. 

Another thing you might want to do is go to LearningRX and say "I have 00 (or whatever your amount is) to spend, and I'm willing to do an hour a day at home, what can we get for that?"  Maybe they are trying to sell you more than just the basics, and maybe they will scale it back if they see that they need to.

The way I found them was to contact the LearningRX people in Colorado.  I have a phone number for one of their guys, but I hesitate to post it on here.  I think on the web site they probalby have a phone number, or a way to send questions.  I think that's how I got the number.  If you can't figure it out from their web site let me know and I will private message you the # or call the guy for you.

It is possible that you will have a hard time getting them to give you the name of a PACE provider because of their agreement with the franchise near you.  They probably like to send you to LearningRX first because they make more money that way, but maybe not. 

Wallyn

I just remembered something important.  If you live close to a LearningRX they will not train you to be a PACE provider.  It's part of their franchise agreement.  Those who already do PACE can continue, but they will not train any new people.

medmom