TALI Health Tackling Attention Difficulties with the Latest Technology and Research
Published 2018
It is typical for children to forget things or daydream when they should be concentrating. It is frequent inattention, impulsiveness and hyperactivity that can indicate an attention disorder. In Australia, around 450,000 children are identified as having severe attention difficulties, with the number at around seven per cent worldwide. For parents, this often means a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the child being prescribed medication. Medication will treat the symptoms of an attention disorder, however, it won't address the issues at the heart of the problem.
TALI Train is a cognitive training program proven to improve childhood attention and learning outcomes, with exercises designed by neuroscientists. These exercises treat the underlying causes of a child's attention difficulties, not simply mollify the symptoms. The medication used to treat attention disorders is generally an amphetamine, most commonly Ritalin and Adderall, and comes with a variety of side effects, which can replace one challenge with others. If inadequately treated,
inattentive behaviour can spiral into lifelong problems, from criminality in adolescence to anxiety and depression in adulthood.
Aimed at children aged three to eight and downloadable onto everyday tablet devices, TALI Train is designed to target core attention skills such as selection, focus, control and inhibition. The program has been proven, through scientifically validated clinical trials, to improve attention by strengthening the underlying attentional processes. Using a special algorithm, each TALI exercise adapts in difficulty as the child undertakes them, to ensure that they are always working at the optimum level.
The program has been scientifically proven through clinical trials to improve attention in children. The trials showed these exercises, done regularly and correctly, facilitated improvements in a child's selective attention abilities — their ability to attend to relevant information and filter out distracting information. We also saw improvements in children's numeracy abilities, indicating that by improving attentional foundations, there is transfer to the academic environment. Most importantly, improvements were retained after treatment had stopped, which indicates that the exercises conveyed long term benefits that will help children in their future learning and employment.
The program uses a tablet-based interface to engage children, with touchscreen exercises focussing on the child's core attentional skills. The proprietary algorithm that powers the TALI Train program means that each exercise adapts in difficulty, in real-time, and ensures that children are challenged at each step of the system. The parameters can be customised, avoiding a one size fits all approach, and enabling providers to address the individual needs of each child.
TALI Health has providers throughout Australia, with more being added regularly. Find your nearest TALI Provider through the TALI Health website and contact them to discover more about the program and how your child could benefit from this revolutionary approach to attention disorders.
