10 Brain Games That will Help Your Child with ADHD Thrive
I took one of my then 8-year-old daughter for therapy a couple of years ago. It was a therapy for ADHD that was meant to help her with concentration, attention, and flexibility.
I was rather surprised to see that the entire therapy consisted of playing games!How Fun!But not just any game. Brain games! Each game is meant to help with one or more of the following issues
Flexibility
Awareness
Attention
Concentration
Seeing the whole picture
Perseverance with monotonous work
Most of the games are some form of puzzle that needs to get worked out, and that involves using a lot of flexibility. Floor or table puzzles involve being able to see the big picture, not just each individual piece.
You see as I’ve learned many times over, intelligence is not something we’re born with and that’s the end of the story.
Brain power can be developed. It’s called brain elasticity. Glenn Doman speaks about it extensively in his book, How Smart is Your Baby.So there I was, bringing my daughter to this therapy every week. But not only did she play games in therapy, there was homework to do as well.
AND – guess who got to sit with her and do the homework every day?
You guessed it!
Me!
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The therapist explained that it was very important that she play these games every single day – and that I sit there and encourage her to think out of the box. And not allow her to mess up the whole thing that she’s working on and start all over again. The therapist wanted her to work each step, one at a time and not get frustrated when things got hard.
But to be flexible. Which of course was a big part of the therapy. Teaching flexible thinking.
It was fascinating to watch this therapy, and it was fascinating to watch my daughter do her games every day. It became our daily bonding time as I encouraged her to keep going and celebrated her wins with her.
And slowly but surely, I started to see a difference in her ability to stay on task, to pay attention with full concentration and above all else I started to see the flexible thinking sneaking in the back door.I think that above all else is one of the most important skills that any person needs in daily life.
Flexibility.
Which is lacking in people with ADHD. Trust me, I get it. I've got ADHD too!
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Things don’t go your way? People don’t listen to you? You can’t figure out how to use your new gadget? Being flexible is the key to survival in this world. In relationships, in the workplace and especially in the home.
I say? You might not need this therapy. If you can manage to play these games with your child consistently, I bet you’ll start to see the changes that I’ve seen in my daughter.
P.S. Since then I have numerous kids loving these games – due of course to the fact that they saw these games as the ticket to having special mommy time…. Ah the power of special attention from mommy!So here you have them.
10 Brain Games to increase your child’s Attention, concentration and flexibility:
Trucky 3
This one is my own personal favorite. It has lower levels so you can play it with even very young kids but the higher levels are advanced enough to even stump me.
Cobra Twist
This one is not for your average preschooler but my 8-year-old could manage it. There's only 4 pieces so it feels like it's not so hard but it can definitely get tricky. Best part is when the kids figure it out before me... LOL!
Ghost Hunters
This one I've never played myself. They had an earlier version with airport traffic control which is the one we played, but I think the ghost idea is even better!/
Penguins on Ice
This is also a great one for the younger kids. Those penguins are so cute and the whole game is brilliant.//
Quadrillion
I happen to find this one rather challenging myself - especially since my oldest daughter can do it in the blink of an eye!
The colors make it so much fun for the kids and of course the best part is spending time with you!//
Tantrix
I have to say that this is the game that the therapist was most concerned that we play every single day. But the good thing is that it's also the one game that my kids pick up to play all on their own - the most.
Color Code
Another brilliant game that teaches attention, concentration and flexibility. Another favorite of the whole family!/
Sudoku
I have another daughter who loves doing Sudokus just for fun. And I must add that she's much better at it than me.
This game especially necessitates your brain to be extremely flexible. Great to get into these from a young age!//
Rush Hour
This happened to have been a game that we already had in the house and loved and played.
But.
Playing it as a therapy was slightly different.You know how when you get stumped, you just change the card and do another one? Well, not when you're using this game as a therapy. You need to make sure your child keeps at it until he/she sees how to unjam the traffic.
Puzzles
Yes puzzles. Plain and simple puzzles. Any kind really. Puzzles develop a child's brain. Help them see the bigger picture, help them use their flexibility when a piece doesn't seem to fit where you think it should.We started doing a lot more puzzles since this therapy. Good for the brain!
No matter the games that you choose, the importance is the consistency. Do it every day and you'll start to see a change. It won't happen overnight. It will take weeks.
But slowly but surely you'll start to see more paying attention, more concentration, and more flexibility. And that means impulse control!
And remember that this is supposed to be FUN!I mean they are games, right? Fun time spent with Mom or Dad! Enjoy!
Can't wait to hear which one is your personal favorite!
