For children and adults with ADHD, it’s no secret that struggling to focus and pay attention can impact many areas of life.

And according to a new report from LearningRx, it’s possible to improve the weak cognitive skills contributing to these life struggles using brain training programs. The report identified that it’s best to work on several cognitive skills at once, because of the way that ADHD-related learning struggles are interconnected.

“Although one weak cognitive skill, in particular, may be steering the direction of the learning struggle, other brain skills are usually weak,” Tanya Mitchell, chief research & development officer at LearningRx, said. “The good news is, once we identify which cognitive skills are weak, we can customize a program to train those skills.”

The report from LearningRx analyzed 5,416 children and adults who came to their brain-training centers having already been diagnosed with ADHD. The most common cognitive deficits measured among these individuals, in addition to weak broad attention skills, were processing speed, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

Mitchell said these types of cognitive skills can be targeted with personal brain training like is offered at their centers.

“We measured the cognitive performance of these clients before and after brain training, and the largest gains were seen in IQ, auditory processing, long-term memory, and broad attention,” Mitchell said.

Following brain training, Mitchell said that IQ scores improved by an average of 15 points and broad attention skills improved by an average of 24 points.

One local mother, Jeanine S., said her son Jordan experienced similar successes after bringing him to LearningRx in Chattanooga.

Jeanine said that the assessment Jordan took before beginning brain training confirmed things the family already knew but also revealed weaknesses that explained some of Jordan’s difficulties with school work.

“[ADHD led to trouble] in the classroom with concentration, following directions [and] doing tasks,” she said.

But since completing training, Jeanine says she has seen improvement in Jordan’s memory of facts and data, as well as his ability to focus on and finish projects or tasks. She said they had tried tutoring and private schools, but none of it worked.

“His self-esteem is back ... [and] doesn’t get frustrated [or] stressed with situations at school.”

Because parents are often the first to notice when their child is struggling, it’s often helpful for them to know the warning signs of a cognitive skills weakness so they can recognize them and have their child’s brain skills assessed.

Take this online test to assess whether your child shows the warning signs of weak cognitive skills.