Computer software for adhd kids

Pictures come alive, games make the exercises fun, and, on the whole, the classroom experience is complemented in a compelling way. Read on to discover our picks for the best reading software for kids. Online Not all reading software must be installed on your computer — more and more websites are popping up, letting kids do their reading online. By selecting a word, choosing a missing letter, or matching a sound, the reader gets to advance the plot of these simple Clifford tales.

Kids can follow a regimented word-for-every-letter routine or else explore a variety of activities at their own pace. Reading is taught via sounding words out and memorizing sight words. The four-disc CD-ROM set weaves phonic rules, consonant sounds, short and long vowels, and other key concepts into a collection of entertaining activities.

Kids eventually move up to synonyms and homonyms, creative thinking skills, and writing proficiency. Windows This multimedia CD-ROM was designed for children 6 and older, reading at a preschool to fourth-grade reading level.

As I was putting the final touches on this column, I stumbled across MindManager. At least it does for me. I can picture ideas, concepts, and places with ease. Instead of text-based lists or outlines, MindManager organizes your tasks using highly intuitive visual maps. Once everything is laid out in map form, you can easily see and remember all the steps that might otherwise have gotten lost or overlooked.

The tasks were visually leaping off the page. The more you use MindManager, the more cool stuff you start to do with it. You can insert pictures to represent tasks such as a photo of a friend you want to call or flag tasks with detailed notes, icons, smiley faces, or directional arrows. You can link tasks to e-mails, phone numbers, or Web sites. Finally, the software provides an on-screen countdown timer to help you stick to a schedule and remind you to keep moving from one item to the next.

CrazyBusy , by Edward M. Hallowell, M. Scattered Minds , by Lenard Adler, M. Conquering Chronic Disorganization , by Judith Kolberg. Another exercise requires a player to load a truck in less than five minutes — without getting distracted. A challenging exercise involves sitting at the controls of a spaceship, deflecting the white asteroids that are flying toward it. This helps develop discriminatory processing and impulse control. While a teacher, therapist, or coach can only describe what focus feels like to someone with ADHD, Play Attention lets the user experience what being attentive actually feels like.

A student can even play the game while doing homework. Wearing the armband and choosing, say, the dolphin game, the student can do an assignment and gauge his attention level by looking at how many gold coins the dolphin collected over time. For more information, log on to playattention.

A free demo CD is available. Sitting behind the wheel of a car can be a dangerous place for someone with impulsive or inattentive behavior, especially a teenage driver without much experience. SmartDriver 3 helps any driver, or future driver, with focus problems to keep his thoughts on the road. The game works with a USB steering wheel and pedal set that plugs into your computer.

Unlike the typical driving video game, SmartDriver requires patience and responsibility, not a love of hairpin turns. Financing options are available. Instead of designing games for building concentration skills, the S.

T BrainGames system converts any home video or computer game into a neurofeedback device. It looks and works like any other game controller, with one exception — it receives brain wave signals from a headset worn by the player.

When the player exhibits low-frequency patterns during, say, a car race at the track, his car slows and other cars pass him.

That gets his attention, so he concentrates, producing higher-frequency brain waves. His car then speeds up — positive reinforcement for his cerebral change.