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Cognitive and Social Skills (CSTS) Training Program in Patients with Schizophrenia.

A.B. Kholmogorova, N.G. Garanyan, A.A. Dolnykova, A.B. Shmukler (Ministry of Psychiatry)

This program was developed by the Laboratory of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy (head A.B. Kholmogorova) together with the Department of Community Psychiatry and Organization of Psychiatric Care of the Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (head I.Ya. Gurovich), as well as the Department of the First Episode of the Disease of the Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry (head A. B. Schmukler).

Relevance. Schizophrenia is the most expensive of all mental disorders. In the United States, the treatment and maintenance of patients costs 7 billion dollars annually, which is 2% of the gross national product. Although the discovery of antipsychotics in the 1950s greatly facilitated the treatment of schizophrenia, the problem of social adaptation and rehabilitation of these patients is still extremely acute. To date, there is no doubt that the most effective approach to rehabilitation is a comprehensive psychopharmacological and psychosocial assistance. Psychosocial methods have proven to be a necessary part of the rehabilitation process and continue to be intensively developed and improved.(Gurovich, Storozhakova, 1998; Gurovich, Strozhakova, Shmukler, 2004; Kholmogorova, 1993, 2000).The proposed program is based on data from numerous scientific research, including the most up-to-date and reliable scientific data on the psychological mechanisms of cognitive and social dysfunctions in patients with schizophrenia.

General characteristics of cognitive dysfunctions in patients with schizophrenia.As was revealed by numerous experimental psychological studies of mental functions (attention, thinking, memory), the processing of information in patients with schizophrenia is extremely inefficient. Metaphorically speaking, their brain and consciousness are, as it were, "overwhelmed" with numerous stimuli from the external environment, since selection is violated, i.e. inhibition of "unnecessary" stimuli.

Selective attention disorders in the form of "filter breakage" have been studied and described in the psychological "filter model" (Mc Chie, Chapman, 1961, Payn, 1966). The consequences are violations of concentration, distractibility, rapid fatigue, and in behavior - uncertainty, fearfulness, since there is no protection against overstimulation.

Attention is not only a filter, but also a willingness to perceive and process information, i.e. a kind of expectant behavior or readiness for reactions, coordinating protection from stimuli, maintaining concentration. In this sense, D. Zhakov ( Shakow, 1962, 1971 ) speaks of subordinate installations. Zhakov's setup model ("set-modell") arose on the basis of the so-called "cross-over" effect, the essence of which is the reduced ability of patients to anticipate events in a probabilistic environment. Such features of the organization of attention can largely explain the well-known phenomenon of unfocused attention and behavior, i.e. the difficulty of subordinating the latter to any goal. For example, preparing breakfast can become a super task for the patient, since all the preparatory steps are poorly coordinated with each other. On the other hand, patients perform much worse tasks that require flexibility and restructuring of learned schemes and patterns ( Kholmogorova, 1983 ). Rigidity is noted as the most important characteristic higher mental functions of patients ( Savina, 1982).

Many researchers have written about the destruction of concepts - the blurring of their boundaries, the combination of excessive concreteness with excessive symbolization, starting with E. Bleuler (K. Goldstein, N. Cameron, L. S. Vygotsky, S. Piro). This becomes an important barrier in intellectual activity and interaction with other people.

IN domestic psychology Zeigarnik and her followers attempted to link disorders of thinking and other cognitive processes with impaired motivation in patients with schizophrenia (Zeigarnik, 1962; Kochenov and Nikolaeva, 1978; E.T.Sokolova, 1976). Motivation disorders are manifested in a decrease in the voluntary regulation of mental functions - attention, memory, thinking, which is an important mechanism for reducing mental activity in these patients. The psychological mechanisms of violation of voluntary regulation (violation of mediation and goal formation, adequate response to success and stimulation of achievement motivation) were studied and described in detail by the team of the laboratory of the VSC PZ AMS (Kritskaya, Meleshko, Polyakov, 1991; Savina 1982, Kurek 1996).

Violations of social motivation are also expressed in a decrease in the communicative orientation of thinking, i.e. in a situation that involves taking into account the position of another person, patients experience significant difficulties; when operating with stimulus material, they often ignore this position (Kritskaya, Meleshko, Polyakov, 1991, Kholmogorova, 1983).

Despite the debatability of any research in the field of schizophrenia, most researchers agree that cognitive impairments play a very important role and may underlie other disorders in schizophrenia. Therefore, cognitive impairment in schizophrenia is called the central psychological deficit ( core psychological deficiency).

From the studies described above, a very important conclusion follows about the danger of overstimulation for patients with schizophrenia, about the need for a very clear organization and, if possible, limitation of information and stimulation addressed to the patient. Since attention disorders manifest themselves primarily in conditions of overload, then K. Neuchterlein and co-authors ( Neuchterlein et all, 1986 ) concluded that attention disorders in patients are reduced to limited possibilities for processing information.

The described studies play an important role in the development of goals and general principles for the organization of psycho-correctional work with patients.

General characteristics of disorders of social functioning in patients with schizophrenia.

Numerous studies show that patients have impaired social skills: the adequacy of social perception, verbal communication, the ability to solve interpersonal problems and difficult life situations (see review by Kholmogorov, 2000). So, in patients, the ability to recognize the emotions of another person, to adequately express their own emotions, to accurately convey the verbal information received by them, and the verbal expression of their own feelings and thoughts is reduced.

Patients with schizophrenia show increased anxiety in relation to social emotionally significant stimuli, their activity is easily disorganized under the influence of emotional stress. They can hardly tolerate competitive situations. The main violation of the emotional sphere of patients is anhedonia - a reduced ability to experience pleasure (Garanyan, 1986; Kurek, 1996). Anhedonia reduces the taste for life, impairs the ability to interact with other people, weakens positive feelings of self-esteem, reduces social achievement motivation and interest in activities.

Modern research shows the important role of the social environment in the course of schizophrenia. An important role is played by the nature of emotional communications with the immediate environment, especially with the family. Research has shown that high level negative emotions in the family, an overly critical and hostile attitude towards the patient sharply worsens the course of the disease. Studies have also shown heightened sensitivity to criticism from other people (Voughn and Leff 1976; Leff, 1989).

Unlike patients with other mental disorders, such as depression, patients with schizophrenia feel more insecure and changed after an attack, and relatives and friends are often very wary and distrustful - these patients are especially often labeled "crazy" ( Scheff, 1973 ). Thus, these patients are particularly likely to be deficient in social support when they need it ( Brugha, 1995).

The attention deficit and information processing difficulties that are characteristic of patients with schizophrenia, as well as their often heightened sensitivity to emotional influences, increase the likelihood of developing emotional stress with overstimulation or with a carelessly planned, insufficiently structured lesson. Such overstimulation leads, as a rule, to a deterioration in the patient's condition. The "targets" of influence in training sessions are a lack of social perception, failure in solving everyday problems, poorly formed non-verbal behavior.

Existing approaches to compensation for cognitive and social dysfunctions.

For the first time, a program for the normalization of information processing functions was proposed by D. Maikhenbaum and R. Cameron ( Meichenbaum, Cameron, 1973 ). It is based on self-instructions and self-instructions, which are used by patients to focus attention, self-encouragement in difficult situations, and even reduce delusions and hallucinations. Then other more specific programs were developed.

The most common model of group work with schizophrenic patients, from the 70s to the present day, is social skills training.(Wallace et al., 1980) . American psychiatrist A. Bellak ( Bellack, 1986 ) defines social skills training as a structured training program that builds the social behavior skills necessary to create a certain network of social contacts and reduce the stress that has developed as a result of interpersonal conflicts and failures.

Lieberman with co-authors ( Lieberman et al., 1986) believe that the effectiveness of the use of social skills training is directly dependent on the strict adherence to the principle of an individual approach. Thus, for patients capable of learning strategies for solving problems related to social behavior, he recommends training focused on optimizing the information processing process. In accordance with the stages of information processing in the training, three stages are distinguished: 1) working out methods for receiving information; 2) choice of response; 3) choosing the appropriate form of response. At all stages, the therapist stimulates the analysis of the problem situation with leading questions and gives the patient constant feedback, encouraging any correct action.

Summarizing the results of more than fifty studies conducted over the past 15 years and described in relevant reviews ( Wallace, 1984; Tarrier, 1989 ), R.P. Lieberman and T.A. Ekman ( Lieberman & Eckman, 1989 ) note that, firstly, social training is an effective means of optimizing social behavior in psychotic patients and, secondly, as a result of training, clinical symptoms are reduced and the likelihood of exacerbation of the disease is reduced. Such results stimulate further active use of the method of social training in modern psychotherapy of schizophrenia.

One of the most important rehabilitation tasks that the training of social skills solves is overcoming the social isolation of the patient and including him in a wider social network.

Violations of social functioning in patients with schizophrenia are closely associated with cognitive dysfunctions. In part, this connection is direct and obvious. Violations of attention, memory, thinking lead to a decrease in the working capacity of patients, and, ultimately, can lead to disability and social maladaptation. There is, however, a more complex relationship: the violations of social perception, communicative orientation of thinking, and attributive style described above lead to constant social distress due to the general inadequacy of behavior. So, for example, the failure in social interaction of patients with paranoid symptoms is most often attributed to the hostility of other people. As a result of special training in social perception, combined with cognitive training, they begin to interpret their past failures as the result of an inability to adequately behave and they become motivated to compensate for the corresponding deficits.

Violations of the recognition of the emotional states of other people, the communicative orientation of thinking also leads to inadequate social behavior and, ultimately, social maladaptation.

Thus, the idea of ​​combining training of cognitive function and social skills follows logically from existing research.

It was first carried out by Swiss researchers - a group of three psychologists and one psychiatrist, employees of the university psychiatric clinics of Bern and Münsterlingen. They developed a multi-stage IPT program (Integratieves Psychologisches Terapieprogramm) - an integrative psychological therapeutic program(Brenner et al., 1987), combining training of cognitive functions and social skills. The program includes 5 steps: 1) cognitive differentiation; 2) social perception 3) verbal communication 4) social skills; 5) solving interpersonal problems. This program has been tested in various clinics for 15 years.

Controlled studies have proven the effectiveness of IPT. Patients with schizophrenia who completed this program showed an overall improvement in cognitive and social functioning. These patients significantly differed in the mentioned indicators from the control group of patients who received nonspecific maintenance therapy in the same volume.

The basic principles of the integrative Swiss program described above formed the basis of the TKSN program. However, the goals and objectives of TKSN are expanded and modified on the basis of data from domestic studies on violations of voluntary regulation of cognitive functions, communicative orientation of thinking, intellectual and social anhedonia (Garanyan, 1986; Zeigarnik and Kholmogorova, 1985; Zeigarnik, Kholmogorova, Mazur, 1989; Kritskaya, Meleshko, Polyakov, 1991; Kurek, 1996;; Kholmogorova, 1983).

Training of cognitive functions and social skills

Goals:

1) strengthening the voluntary regulation of memory and attention by teaching the use of special means (training in switching and holding attention, selecting information, using mnemonic techniques);

2) strengthening the communicative orientation and cognitive differentiation of thinking (operating with concepts with a focus on another person, joint activities in pairs and groups to achieve a common goal);

3) development of cognitive accuracy and differentiation of social perception (training in recognizing non-verbal communications - facial expressions, postures, gestures, analysis and qualification of interpersonal situations, accuracy of reproduction of the partner's speech behavior);

4) reduction of intellectual anhedonia (association of intellectual activity with the gaming component and success);

5) development of the regulation of one's emotional states, thinking and behavior through the development of the ability for self-observation, self-instruction and coping dialogue;

6) development of social behavior skills (training in communication on various topics in a group, modeling and acting out real life situations);

7) teaching effective strategies for solving interpersonal problems (dividing the problem into smaller ones, highlighting the stages of its solution and specific tasks, ways to solve these problems).

Group selection principles:

1. awareness by patients of the corresponding deficits and the presence of motivation to overcome them;

The effectiveness of the work directly depends on the motivation of the participants, which consists of awareness of their problems and characteristics and interest in cognitive, intellectual, communicative activities in general.

1. patients close in age, intelligence level and condition are selected in the group;

If the group breaks up into parts (more secure, less secure, younger - older, etc.), it is difficult for the leaders to offer tasks that correspond to the whole group and maintain an atmosphere of interest and pleasure from the activity. The situation is also unfavorable when there is one person in the group who differs from everyone in some quality (for example, one woman among men).

3) composition of the group of 6-8 people.

The number of participants is determined by the need to ensure group interaction and, at the same time, keep all participants in the field of attention, it should not cause much stress for people with communication problems, give each of them the time they need to complete all the exercises. While the limitations of the upper limit of participants in the schizophrenic groups seem fairly obvious, the limitations of the lower limit should be noted. Many exercises are “technically” impossible to do in a group of less than 4 people. In a group that is too small, it is more difficult for the subject to choose a partner for the exercise and it is more difficult for the facilitator to direct this choice. Finally, all positive group effects disappear.

Setting.

The training includes two stages - 1) intensive in a closed group; 2) supporting in the so-called slow open (partially open) group. Intensive training is carried out during the stay in the clinic or day hospital with a frequency of at least 2 times a week. The duration of each lesson is no more than 60 minutes. Longer sessions are tiring for patients. It is important to strictly observe the start and end time of the lesson. The lesson starts on time, even if not all participants are present. This emphasizes the importance of set time limits and encourages participants to stop being late. The system of "penalties" is also aimed at this - a late participant must complete an exercise intended only for him.

The total number of classes at the intensive training stage is 16-20. The support stage is aimed at maintaining and consolidating the cognitive and social skills developed during the intensive stage, as well as strengthening social connections and providing social support. So that patients after discharge, as well as those who got a job, can participate in it, it is held in the evening once a week, the duration of each lesson is 60-90 minutes. At the support stage, the group may include a larger number of people from different groups (10-14) who have passed the stage of intensive training. The total duration of both stages is at least six months. Individual variations are possible.

An important factor influencing the effectiveness of classes in a closed group is the constancy of the composition of the group or the regularity of attending classes. New members can join the group no later than the second session (subject to an individual conversation with the leader about the group and its rules). Intermittent attendance makes it impossible to clearly plan a lesson, reduces the effectiveness of group interaction, reduces the motivation of other participants and makes the group obviously heterogeneous - because a person who missed classes does not know and does not know how to do something that other participants can do. In addition, skipping a lesson means skipping some stage of the interaction of group members. The necessary gradual rapprochement and experience of communication with other group members is interrupted, while the rest of the group members are already at another stage of group interaction.

Lesson structure

Classes begin and end with the same procedure. Each participant says two words about his mood at the moment and the exercise that he most remembers from the last session (at the beginning of the session) or from the session that just ended (at the end of the session). At the end of the session, you can also perform some kind of motor ritual of the end of the session. One of the facilitators is the first to answer these questions, thereby setting the model for these statements. This ritual gives the facilitators information about the emotional state of the participants and its dynamics, makes the participants remember all the exercises done once again. Then, as a rule, a short exercise is carried out aimed at activating, “getting into work”. This may be a "repetition of the past" - the consolidation of an already worked out stage. Then more time-consuming exercises follow, which continue what has been started or introduce a new training subroutine. The results of these exercises are usually discussed. Often, after such discussions, when ways are identified that improve the performance of the exercise, the exercise is repeated again (in the same or modified form) to master and consolidate these methods. Longer exercises that require concentration alternate with short, often motor exercises. At the end of the lesson, a short exercise is carried out, which should support a positive emotional atmosphere, create a feeling of success, pleasure. Participants are asked to complete their homework after each session. It can in some form repeat what was done in the lesson or, conversely, prepare material for the next lesson. Homework saves time in class and encourages participants to be active between sessions.

The sequence of the exercise by the participants may be different. As a rule, exercises are performed in a circle or, in a more complex version, the queue is determined by throwing an object (ball, soft toys). Many of the exercises are done in pairs.

At the first lesson, the facilitators once again inform the participants of all the necessary information about the training, including the enumeration of its goals, emphasize the importance of complex treatment, which includes both drug treatment and psychological training, and list the rules for the group's work. Participants are given a memo with a brief listing of the goals of the training, the rules of the group (with a small comment) and, if necessary, the schedule of classes.

Subroutines TKSN.

The stage of intensive training includes 6 subprograms:

1. memory and attention training;
2. training of the communicative orientation of thinking and the ability to cooperate;
3. developing the accuracy of social perception;
4. development of verbal communication;
5. development of social skills;
6. development of problem solving skills.

Group principles:

1) a clear, structured style of conducting - all classes are clearly planned, held on strictly defined days and hours, the duration of one lesson is fixed, should not exceed 60 minutes, all instructions for the exercises are very clearly formulated;

2) avoidance of emotional and information overload;

3) a gradual transition from rigid structuredness with a task orientation to increasing spontaneity in intergroup interaction;

4) a gradual transition from a more directive style to a less directive;

5) a gradual transition from emotionally neutral material to emotionally loaded;

6) phased introduction of new material and transition to more complex goals and objectives;

7) constant repetition and development of the previous steps;

8) clear feedback from the leaders when performing exercises in terms of correct execution;

9) a ban on criticism - mistakes are fixed calmly, as an obligatory and inevitable element of training, in the most benevolent form;

10) saturation of the lesson with positive emotions - the exercises are carried out in a playful way, everything is noted, even small achievements and successes;

11) exchange of feelings, observations and experiences at all stages of work (the key question after each exercise is “What helped, what hindered? What techniques did you use?”);

12) activation and unloading by alternating mental and physical exercises;

13) the group is led by two trained cotherapists, which allows using the principle of modeling, monitoring the performance of exercises and the emotional state of each of the participants, and giving the most complete feedback.

Known principles are also used in the process of training social skills. social learning, which have proven to be effective when working with this contingent: 1) instructing how to behave in a given situation; 2) feedback - analysis and reinforcement of certain types of behavior; 3) modeling - reproduction of a behavior model, live (with the participation of a therapist) or symbolic (using a film or video recording); 4) role playing; 5) social reinforcement - the use of praise when the desired behavior is observed; 6) homework to practice the desired behavior ( Corey, 1986).

Principles of interaction between cotherapists.It is assumed that the functions will be divided between the main host and co-host. The main facilitator gives instructions for the exercises and guides the overall sequence of work. The co-host helps the facilitator in demonstrating exercises, in situations where modeling is necessary, he distributes game material, cards with tasks to patients. Both facilitators monitor the performance of the exercises and the dynamics of the emotional state of the participants, give the necessary feedback to the members of the group. Both cotherapists constantly keep a diary of classes, record transitions to new subprograms, the goals of each lesson and exercise, the reactions and dynamics of group members' achievements. Cotherapists jointly discuss each session: to what extent the goals of the session were achieved, what were the individual dynamics of its participants, how the exercises were performed, how successful their interaction was. Each subsequent session is carefully planned based on the strategy of the program and the analysis of the previous session. It is recommended to conduct testing on the main functions and abilities, the development of which is aimed at the training, before and after it.

Testing should be carried out before and after the training.

1st block (self-assessment of dysfunctions and symptoms):

1. Self-assessment of cognitive and social dysfunctions (Kholmogorova's cognitive deficit questionnaire, Goldstein's social skills questionnaire adapted by Khlomov, Baklushinsky);
2. Psychopathological symptoms (symptomatic questionnaire SCL-90 Derogatis);
3. Emotional disorders (Beck Anxiety and Depression Inventory);

2nd block (cognitive functions):

1. Attention (account with Platonov's switching, Savina's word search);
2. Memory (10 words);
3. Formal intelligence (Raven's progressive matrices);
4. Predisposition - latent signs (comparison of concepts, a variant of Polyakov's laboratory);
5. Communicative orientation of thinking (definition of concepts by Kholmogorova, Cowell-Meleshko method);

3rd block (social functioning):

1. Social perception (Kurek's emotion recognition);
2. Self-assessment (variant of Dembo - Rubinshtein);
3. The level of activity, the adequacy of goal formation (the level of Kurek's claims);
4. Requirements for oneself, quality standards, features of processing socially significant information (questionnaire of perfectionism Garanyan, Kholmogorova);
5. Social functioning (abbreviated version of the Moscow Integrative Social Network Questionnaire, Social Support Questionnaire Sommer, Fudrik)

Description of training subroutines.

Subroutine 1. Memory and attention training

Tasks: 1) motivation, problematization, acquaintance; 2) creating a safe atmosphere and positive attitude, 3) introduction of elements of group interaction; 4) working out on game models of mnemonic techniques (reliance on semantic connections) and methods of concentration of attention (performing exercises that require tracking the process, readiness for quick response), information selection (for example, respond only to certain stimuli, do not call “black and white” etc.) and information ordering (drawing up a hierarchy of concepts and features of concepts, building a meaningless set of sentences into a story, etc.); 5) discussion of difficulties, as well as developed techniques and ways to overcome them.

Subroutine 2. Development of a communicative orientation of thinking and the ability to cooperate(2-3 classes go as the main one).

Tasks: 1) the introduction of interaction in pairs on the material of past classes (joint memorization, assistance in holding attention); 2) work with concepts (definition of given concepts for another, guessing of conceived concepts, joint identification of the most informative features of concepts, obtaining feedback on the difficulties encountered by partners); 3) interaction in pairs in order to jointly achieve a certain result (joint drawing of figures, overcoming obstacles, etc.); 4) discussion of difficulties and means of overcoming them.

Subroutine 3. social perception(2-3 classes go as the main one).

Tasks: 1) training in the interpretation of non-verbal expression - recognition of emotions, expression of various emotions, recognition of the emotional state by facial expressions and gestures; 2) training in the analysis of social situations on the material of pictures and slides - collecting information about the emotional state of the characters, the situation and other details; 3) training in the interpretation of the collected information; 4) training in the classification and qualification of various interpersonal situations; 5) discussion of difficulties and ways to overcome them.

Subroutine 4. Verbal communications(2-3 classes go as the main one).

Tasks: 1) training in the accuracy of reproducing the received verbal information, for example, a small fragment of a test or little story; 2) training in the preparation of proposals, questions and answers on a given topic; 3) joint interviewing of one or two members of the group on a given topic; 4) free communication on a given topic; 5) discussion of difficulties and ways to overcome them.

Subroutine 5. social skills(2-3 classes go as the main one).

Tasks: 1) isolating difficulties in everyday life and self-service; 2) development of self-reliance skills (for example, planning fees before going out; planning actions when going to the store, planning breakfast, etc.); 3) isolating and discussing real interpersonal situations that cause difficulty; 4) discussion of possible options for behavior and dialogue in these situations; 5) conducting a role-playing game (at first, a cotherapist can act as a model);

6) discussion of the results of the role-playing game, singling out ways to overcome difficulties.

(ends intensive training phase).

Tasks: 1) development of self-observation skills using a diary to record situations and related emotions and thoughts (the "three columns" technique); 2) subtracting the reasons that affect mood - provocative situations (for example, the need to leave the house), negative thoughts (for example, “I won’t succeed”, “people look unfriendly”, etc.), dysfunctional beliefs (for example, “everything must be done well or not done at all”, “people are unfriendly”, etc.); 3) development of skills of alternative thinking and cooperative dialogue; 4) isolating typical problem situations, their concretization and division into smaller ones (for example, getting a job); 5) identification of stages and discussion of possible ways to solve them.

Examples of lessons for training subprograms.

Subroutine 1. Memory and attention training

Sample lesson plan.

1 Exercise "Black and white".

2..Exercise "10 words".

3.. Option "10 words" - memorization with strong and weak associations. Discussion.

4. Exercise "Meticulous investigator".

5. Exercise "Dog-Dog".

Homework - come up with questions for the exercise "Black and White"

Exercise 1. "Introduction"

The first memory exercise, which is also the beginning of contact between group members, is to memorize the names of the participants and call them by name. First, all participants in a circle call themselves. Then the host calls himself again, followed by one of the group members and throws the ball to him. And so on, until all the names are called quickly and confidently.

You can also get acquainted using the lengthening memorization procedure (when each next participant repeats the names of all those sitting in a circle before him and adds his name), but this is a much more difficult procedure, it puts the participants in an unequal position.

The acquaintance procedure is carried out, as a rule, not only at the first, but also at the second lesson. Participants should not only remember the names, but also get the skill of addressing each other by name: throw the ball with the words “Your name is Masha”, “Your name is Sasha”, etc.

Exercise 2. "Two texts"

The exercise is addressed to a greater extent to attention (the ability to select information), to a lesser extent - to memory. It is used to problematize. With its help it is very easy to show that it is impossible to perceive and remember two texts at the same time and that there are ways that facilitate perception and memorization.

It requires four approximately equal in complexity of the text.

Two presenters read each text aloud at the same time. First, participants are instructed to listen to both texts, and then play them back. Then the group is divided in half, each half listens to only one text while reading both at the same time.

It is discussed to what extent the second text interferes with concentration and perception of "one's own", which is perceived from each text.

Exercise 3. "Text and count"

If there is only one facilitator in the group, the goals of problematization can be a modification of the previous exercise, when the facilitator reads the text, and the participants must listen and simultaneously count in their minds (or invent words for one letter of the alphabet).

Exercise 4

The exercise requires attention, but to a greater extent it is aimed at creating a fun atmosphere and a game mood.

It is child's play. The facilitator asks questions, the participants must answer them, observing the condition: “do not call black and white, do not say “yes” and “no”. As a complicating condition, you can introduce a requirement not to tell lies.

For this exercise, you need to have a pre-prepared list of provocative questions (for example, what color are the stripes of a zebra, has the lesson already begun).

This exercise, after completing it in class, can be used as one of the first homework assignments. Participants are encouraged to come up with suitable questions to ask each other in the next session.

The exercise 5. "Male-female names"

Participants must name names - the first and second are male, the third is female, the fourth is again male, etc. Full names are required. The exercise can be repeated and the difficulty can be varied by setting other concepts (two animals - one plant, etc.) In this exercise, it is important that the participants understand the full breadth of the task proposed to them and not foreign names, exotic plants). After the exercise, it is discussed how you can make it easier for yourself to complete this task. For example, introduce your relatives, the heroes of the film, the zoo.

Exercise 6

An exercise in attention, quite light, introducing elements of movement.

The leader tells a story. Participants must respond in a certain way to a given type of concept - clap if the story mentions something on four legs (dog, bus) and stomp on the mention of emotion.

Exercise 7 "Electricity"

The exercise requires motor coordination. It can be performed if the facilitator is sure that the participants do not have specific problems with tactile contact and the first stage of entering into psychological contact has already been completed.

Participants sit in a tight circle, put their hands on the knees of their neighbors (the left hand on the right knee of the neighbor on the right, the right hand on the left knee of the neighbor on the left) and begin to clap their hands on the knee, so that the sequence of knees through which the "electric current" is transmitted is observed. . It is complicated by acceleration, movement and a change in the direction of the "current".

Exercise 8

Some version of "Electric Current" that does not require tactile contact with other people, but requires more concentration. Each participant places their hands on their knees. Consistently, just as if passing a current, the participant slaps his knee with his right hand, then stomps his left foot. Then the next one slaps himself on the knee, and so on. The exercise becomes more difficult when changing direction and sides - clap with the left hand, stomp with the right foot.

Exercise 9

This common exercise is aimed at training attention and creating a fun game atmosphere. The letters that make up a pre-prepared phrase are distributed among the participants (2,3,4 letters each). The phrase is posted or written on the board. The rules instruct the participants to clap their hands one by one, as if someone is pressing the keys and typing letter by letter. Clap - hit on the corresponding letter). The end of a word is marked by stomping, the period is marked by standing up. Composing or selecting phrases can become homework.

Exercise 10

Exercise from the book by N. Tszen and A. Pakhomov "Psychotechnical games in sports"

Tell about something in reverse order, as if rewinding a film (for example, how I spent the day, how I arrived here, a fairy tale familiar to everyone). The exercise is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. For example, even telling in reverse order such a simple fairy tale as "Turnip" requires a certain concentration and is fraught with errors.

Exercise 11

The participant is asked to describe in detail the part of the room behind him, which he does not see at the moment. The exercise requires a certain technical organization so that everyone has their own “invisible” area. It must be applied to the specific conditions of the room where the lesson is held. To give this exercise a game element, you can set a game instruction, for example, “detective”, as if the investigator describes in detail the scene of the crime

Exercise 12 "Picture Description"

The facilitator shows the participants a picture with a sufficient number of various objects on it for a short time, then the picture is removed, each participant must write a list of all the objects depicted in the picture.

Exercise 13

It looks like the "Meticulous Investigator", but makes much greater demands on the adequacy of interaction and contact between the participants. In the presence of such adequacy, it contributes to the contact between the participants, the cohesion of the group. It can be carried out only in a group where there are no participants with severe disorders of communication and social perception.

Participants are instructed to turn away from each other and write down a description of the clothes of all group members, while not using evaluation categories.

Exercise 14

Along with memory and attention, the exercise is also aimed at the ability to interact, to decenter, the ability to focus on instructions.

One of the participants leaves the room, the rest must agree and change the position of a predetermined number of objects (3-5) in the room. The outgoer returns and his task is to find all the changes. The rest of the participants help him, accompanying his actions with the words “cold”, “warmer”, “hot”, etc.

In this exercise, it can be important to encourage those left in the room to help someone who is looking for change.

Exercise 15

This exercise is effective for discharge, raising the energy level. Each participant names an animal. Everyone should remember who named which animal. The first one simultaneously claps his hands twice and calls “his” animal twice, then he claps his knees twice and calls “someone else's” animal twice. The one whose animal was named follows the same procedure and names someone else. Gradually, the speed of clapping and naming should increase.

Exercise 16

One of the participants assumes a certain posture, while the others turn away or close their eyes. Then, for a few seconds, everyone looks at this pose, after which the pose changes and everyone except the “author” must repeat as accurately as possible the position of the body, limbs, facial expressions, and finger positions. This exercise can be effectively complicated for the development of social perception. It is necessary to depict some emotion with a pose, those who look at and repeat the pose need to guess this emotion.

Exercise 17

You can invite participants to memorize 10 one-two-syllable words, then also memorize 10 words each, but in different options- using strong and weak associations, emotionally charged and neutral words, using mnemonics (for example, mentally hanging words on an imaginary street). As a result of comparing the results obtained and discussing them, the participant can see which conditions improve his ability to memorize.

Exercise 18

Participants take turns coming up with words (in a circle or with a ball) corresponding to certain condition(on a certain topic, starting with one letter, etc.). In a more complex version, he comes up with a second word in response to the first (opposite in meaning, starting with the last letter of the previous word, associated associatively with the first) or a phrase using the first word and with some other condition. For example, the phrase must include the word given by the previous participant and the word denoting color. You can ask participants to come up with phrases that would make up a story. After that, the participants are asked to remember and write down all the named words. During the discussion, it is revealed what helps, what hinders memorization, how this information can be used for memorization in everyday life.

Exercise 19

First, the subjects must memorize 10 one- and two-digit numbers that do not carry an obvious associative color, then the facilitator suggests memorizing numbers that have certain cultural associations (31 - New Year, 18 - age of majority, etc.) and names these associations. Then it is discussed how it is easier to remember what associations everyone can come up with. This exercise is convenient to use to demonstrate "egocentric thinking" - which associations are clear to all people belonging to this culture, which - only to some group, which - only to the author who invented the association. To do this, in the list of numbers with explicit associations, you can enter a number that is significant for the members of the group, for example, the number of the room where the classes are held, the number of the bus that goes to the place of classes, etc.

Subprogram 2. Development of a communicative orientation of thinking and the ability to cooperate.

Sample lesson plan.

1. Exercise "Memorization with a condition."

2. Exercise "Definition of the concept." Discussion. The choice of the most successful definitions.

4. Description of the picture. Discussion. Selection of significant features.

3. Exercise "Unmanned aircraft". Discussion.

5. Exercise "Electric current"

Homework - to prepare descriptions, definitions for the exercise "Watching to whom".

Possible exercises.

Exercise 1. "Defining concepts"

The exercise is addressed to the communicative component of thinking.

Each participant defines and describes the concept given to him by the leader so that all other participants guess as quickly and accurately as possible what he describes. If a concept has remained unguessed for a long time, it is important to discuss why this happened and if there are any ways to describe it differently.

As a variation of this exercise, you can do the exercise"Picture definition".This requires a picture with a sufficient number of similar items (for example, an interior with different pieces of furniture) or several similar pictures. The facilitator names the signs of the object he has conceived until the participants guess which object is conceived. Then it is discussed what features distinguish this object from others. Participants can also act as facilitators.

Exercise 2. "Strong and Weak Signs"

To illustrate the idea of ​​significant and insignificant features, the facilitator can describe the concepts to the participants according to the most significant, “strong” features and according to “weak”, insignificant ones. You can calculate how many signs it took to guess what was at stake in the first case and in the second. You can give examples of signs that are significant for some people and incomprehensible to others. After that, the subjects come up with definitions of concepts given by the leader or invented by themselves. You can set a topic, for example, describe a concept related to autumn.

Exercise 3 "Half Description"

Participants are given similar pictures cut in half, each must describe the half he got so that the owner of the second half guesses the missing half in the description.

Exercise 4. "Automatic"

Exercise is a well-known game. One of the participants (“machine”) guesses a concept, others ask him questions, to which he can only answer “yes”, “no”. We introduced a third option - "I can not answer" for those cases when it is impossible to clearly agree or reject the question. Comparison with the automaton helps the respondent not to stray into detailed answers. Askers of questions are penalized with one minute of silence if they ask a question that requires an answer greater than "yes" and "no" and for expressing a specific guess that turned out to be incorrect. It is discussed - what questions and why help to reach the goal faster, what answers were inaccurate and confused the questioners.

Exercise 5

It is necessary to single out the main features of certain concepts proposed by the moderator, without which they cannot be accurately defined. For example, there is no school without a teacher and students.

As a result of these exercises, one way or another connected with the selection of essential features of concepts, a list of significant features of concepts is compiled.

Exercise 6

The exercise requires decentration, the ability to look at the situation from the perspective of another. Highlighting the essential features of concepts, it is important to emphasize that they can change depending on a particular partner in interaction. Participants are given the task to explain the same thing to different people. For example, explain the way to a visitor or a local resident. A variant of this exercise is the exercise"Bird cat" . It is necessary to describe the room from two positions - a bird that flew in here and a wandering cat.

Exercise 7. "Circus"

The exercise is directly aimed at decentration. At first, the participants come up with associations that some well-known and “culturally unambiguous” concept evokes in them, for example, a circus. And then they have to figure out what associations the circus evokes in different people (and not only people) - a child, a parent, a director, a veterinarian, a trainer, a tiger.

Exercise 8 "Unmanned aircraft".

Participants are paired up. Each pair receives a piece of paper on which 2 "bases" and "obstacles" are drawn. One participant takes on the role of "controller", the other - "aircraft". "Airplane" puts the pen on one "base" and closes his eyes. The controller gives commands to guide the “aircraft” to the second “base” without hitting the “obstacles”. "Airplane" leads with a pen along the sheet in accordance with the instructions of the "controller". Then the participants switch roles. It is discussed which role was easier, why, what feelings they experienced, whether the “aircraft” could completely trust the “controllers”.

Exercise 9 "Blind and guide"

Common exercise. It is similar to the previous one, but makes greater demands on interaction. The exercise is done in pairs. One of the participants closes his eyes, “obstacles” are placed around the room (chairs, other large, but not dangerous objects). The second partner (“guide”) directs the actions of the “blind” with words so that he bypasses all obstacles and reaches the “goal”. Then the partners switch roles. As a variant of this exercise, we used the exercise"Shunting locomotive".Participants stand in a chain, holding each other by the waist. The "dispatcher" gives commands to the first in the chain - the "locomotive". It is important to discuss what the "cars" were more oriented towards - the commands of the "dispatcher" or the movement of the previous "car".

Exercise 10 "Drawing in parts"

Participants are invited to draw a picture, for example, a little man. Everyone draws only part of the little man, starting from the head and from the top of the sheet of paper, then wraps the paper so that the next participant can see only the most Bottom part drawing and sends it. The next participant must guess which parts of the little man he should continue to draw. The drawing is then passed on to the next. This simple task can turn out to be unexpectedly difficult if the first participant does not leave "tails" to which the second can attach their parts, or if the second does not think about what the first has already depicted (in other words, if the participant does not focus on a partner).

Exercise 11

Participants are given the theme of the drawing or some of its details. The exercise can be done in pairs, in which case it is important to guide and discuss the distribution of roles. You can complicate it by requiring silence.

The second option, if it is impossible to split the group into pairs, is performed in a circle. In this option, it is interesting to set not only the topic, or not to set the topic at all, but to set a part of the picture (for example, a circle). The first participant must somehow beat this detail, and the rest only develop the idea laid down by the first. But for this, the first must leave enough space for them.

Sub-program 3. Social perception

Sample lesson plan.

1. Exercise "10 words" with memorizing two lists - neutral and emotionally colored words. Participants are asked to identify what is the difference between the lists.

2. Exercise "Who is going through what." Discussion.

3. Making a list “How do we know about the emotional state of another person?”

4. Exercise "Dumb secretary." Discussion

Homework - inventing a pose that expresses some kind of feeling.

Possible exercises.

Exercise 1. "List of emotions"

At the beginning of this routine, it can be helpful to make a list of emotions. It can be used over multiple sessions. Participants name all the emotions that come to mind, a general list is compiled, which is posted for everyone to see.

If it turns out that the participants remember overwhelmingly negative emotions, and begin to attribute this to their global predominance in the world, you can do the exercise"Exotic fruits". Participants are asked to write down the fruits and vegetables they know in a fairly short time. As a rule, it turns out that more ordinary species are written than exotic ones. One can draw a parallel with the fact that the feelings that prevail at the moment are remembered more easily, as are the fruits that we eat and see more often. But this does not mean that we are not familiar with other fruits. As well as in other moments of life, we can experience more positive feelings.

Exercise 2. "Who's worried?"

A well-known work of art is chosen (as a rule, these are fairy tales or cartoons), for example, “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish”, “Cinderella” and the participants name the emotions that the characters can feel. Particular attention is paid to moments where the hero can simultaneously feel different feelings or says one thing, but actually feels another.

Exercise 3 "Stupid secretary"

The situation is set: the visitors in the boss's waiting room really want to know what mood he is in, but the secretary cannot name a single emotional state ("does not know Russian well"), she can only answer questions about external manifestations of emotions. Participants ask questions that can guess the emotional state of another person. A list of signs is compiled by which we judge the emotional state of a person (words, facial expressions, gestures, physiological manifestations of emotions, movements).

Exercise 4. "Drawing emotions"

Participants are invited to draw on paper the face or figure of a person experiencing a particular feeling. Then these leaves are started in a circle, and everyone signs what feeling he sees in this drawing and wraps up his inscription so that others cannot see it. It is discussed whether the views of the audience coincided with each other and with the feeling conceived by the author, what contributed and what prevented this coincidence.

Exercise 5 "Broken Phone Poses"

One participant conceives and depicts some kind of emotion in posture and facial expressions - shows it to the next (the rest have their eyes closed), the next must assume what kind of emotion is conceived and show the same pose to the next participant. Then it is compared what happened at the beginning and what happened at the end, everyone calls the emotion that the pose expressed.

Exercise 6 "The emotion of the picture"

The facilitator shows the participants several reproductions and offers to determine what feelings he associates with each of them. Another option is to choose an appropriate picture for the named leading emotions. This allows one to realize how similar or different feelings can be caused by the same stimulus, and to discuss how this manifests itself in real life and what behaviors follow from this.

Sub-program 4. Verbal communications

Sample lesson plan.

1. Inventing associations. Participants come up with associations or all - for one concept given by the leader, or in a circle, for the previous concept. At the end of inventing, you need to remember all the associations.

2. Exercise "Detective". Discussion of difficulties. Think of other story endings.

3. Exercise "Clap-top".

4. Exercise "Bird-cat" with instructions to come up with a monologue on behalf of the heroine.

4. Exercise "Emotion of the picture."

Homework - exercise "Renaming"

Possible exercises.

Exercise 1. "Detective"

Drawing up a story from pictures - each participant chooses a certain number of pictures for himself and, using them, comes up with a “detective” - a complete story with some kind of “detective” plot.

Exercise 2. "Different Definitions"

The concept is guessed. Participants take turns defining this concept so that the next participant understands what it is about. Each participant must whisper the same concept for the next, but be sure to give a different definition than he heard. Then all the definitions are pronounced aloud, it is discussed which were closest to the concept, what helped and what prevented guessing.

Exercise 3 "Compiling a Story"

Participants are presented with a list of words that contains words that are not too closely related to each other. Need to compose short story in which to use all these words. You can set the topic of the story. At the same time, one participant can come up with a whole story or take turns - everyone comes up with a sentence in a general story.

Exercise 4 "Rename"

Give new names to well-known works (books, films) that would reflect their essence and be understandable to others. It is discussed how other participants perceive these names, the "author" explains his reasons for the new name. It is important that these works are really familiar to everyone. At first, the leader can offer a list for renaming, then the participants themselves can rename the works they have conceived, and the rest can guess the original name.

Subroutine 5. social skills

Sample lesson plan.

1. Exercise "Remembering with a condition" with the topic of social interaction (for example, a meeting).
2. Exercise "Why moved?" Discussion.
3. Exercise "Foreigner". Discussion of the difficulties encountered.
4. Exercise "Why are you late?"

Homework - exercise "Fares on the road."

Possible exercises.

Exercise 1

Several situations are set, real or unreal trips, participants make lists of things that need to be taken with them on each of the trips, it is discussed what needs to be taken on this particular trip, what equipment is different for each trip and why. At the end, the facilitator names important forgotten things (for example, they took all the equipment, but did not take any of the clothes).

Exercise 2. "What happened?"

The facilitator tells the emergence and end of a situation and asks to come up with what could happen in the interval, the motives of the hero's actions. The facilitator may offer some not very obvious motive for the hero's behavior (for example, one person roughly pushes another out of the tram - maybe this other person attacked someone). The possibility of guessing about the motives of another person's actions, standard and non-standard connections between motives and behavior is discussed.

Exercise 3. "Why did you move?".

The situation is set - a person enters the bus, sits in an empty seat, and at this moment the neighbor sits down from him - why did the neighbor move? It is necessary to come up with as many reasons as possible, and it is important to highlight the reasons that are not related to the passenger who has just landed.

Variant of this exercise"Why are you late?" -name 10 possible causes being late for work.

Exercise 4. "Foreigner"

An exercise in non-verbal communication skills - you need to explain yourself to your partner without words. Depending on the state of the group as a whole and each patient individually, the task can be made more or less difficult. Participants can do it in pairs, in teams, all together. You can set one task (for example, find out the time) or several (someone finds out the time, and someone asks to give way). In the latter case, you need to specify a specific situation (a trip in a trolleybus).

Exercise 5

A well-known unpleasant situation is set (for example, "Evil traffic cop"). You can choose a situation that is significant for the participants, but in this case it should not be an actual severe psychotraumatic situation (loss of a loved one, etc.). One takes on the role of an unfortunate person who has fallen into this unpleasant situation. Everyone else should express sympathy to him, and he gives feedback - whether this sympathy helped him and in what way.

Sub-program 6. Emotional self-regulation and problem solving

Sample lesson plan.

1. Compilation and discussion of a list of difficult situations. Choosing a situation for a role-play.

2. Role-playing game "Difficult situation". Discussion.

3. Remembering the sculptural pose (the “theme” of the pose is set, reflecting something that happened in the role-playing game).

Homework - exercise "Help yourself."

Possible exercises.

Exercise 1. Role-playing game "Difficult situation"

It turns out which social situations are difficult, unpleasant for the participants. A situation is chosen that is significant for the majority, which can be played out. Such a situation can be an ordinary everyday situation. For most people, these are situations of communication with sellers, cashiers. The facilitator plays the role of a negative character or the one who generates this complexity. Members interact with it. Typical ways of behaving and evaluating this situation are analyzed and played. The presenter can play an internal monologue of a negative character, from which the reasons for his impoliteness, rudeness, etc. become clear. It is important to emphasize those reasons that are not related to buyers, clients. Then a constructive way or several ways of responding to this situation are chosen. The same situation is played out in a "constructive way".

Exercise 2. "Help yourself"

May be a continuation of the previous exercise or a separate exercise. It starts in the same way as the previous exercise, but the situation of failure is considered, when it is impossible to resolve the situation in a constructive way, when there is no way to influence the source of unpleasant experiences. A phrase is invented that the participant can help himself, even if he is unable to change the situation (“I am right”, “I can do it”, “I behave with dignity”).

Exercise 3. "Stigma"

In an effectively working group, in which a trusting relationship has developed and a high level of mutual understanding between the participants, a situation of stigmatization can be played out. Analyze whether the participants are afraid that others will find out about their mental illness, what exactly they are afraid of, how they can react to such a situation.

Exercise 4. "Shipwreck"

The exercise is aimed at increasing self-esteem, self-awareness. Everyone should name his own merits, thanks to which he can be useful, valuable, worthy of attention in some situation. The situation is set to a certain extent critical. You can start not by naming qualities, but by mentioning specific useful action that the participant can commit in this situation.

Exercise 5. "Compliment"

The exercise is aimed at increasing self-esteem. Each participant draws his self-portrait and writes the quality that he appreciates in himself, good wishes to myself. This sheet is passed from one participant to another, and everyone writes something positive to the author - a good wish, notes some positive quality that was pleasant in communicating with this person. This exercise can complete the group.

CogniFit: The leader in smart games and cognitive stimulation exercises for children and young people

The development of children's cognitive abilities is essential to improve their learning and school performance during childhood and adolescence. With brain-stimulating exercises for kids, you can train and strengthen over 20 core cognitive abilities associated with such cognitive processes as: , or . How to start using the program? It's very simple, all you need is .

This program of cognitive stimulation, training and rehabilitation consists of various which can be played online on any computer or mobile device. CogniFit ("CogniFit") uses our brain, which manifests itself already at the first stages of neurodevelopment, in order to stimulate and strengthen the intellectual development of children and adolescents. Brain exercises are the most exciting therapeutic tasks, rehabilitation and educational techniques aimed at training and improving the mental abilities of the child.

The level of complexity of neurodidactic exercises, tasks and intellectual games automatically adapts as the child trains. The program automatically adjusts the complexity and type of tasks and exercises according to the unique characteristics of each child (age, learning difficulties, cognitive deficits and impairments, etc.).

All mental exercises, games and tasks for children and youth are systematized, and their effectiveness has been scientifically proven. CogniFit is a reliable neurodidactic tool for cognitive stimulation for both healthy children and children with learning difficulties, cognitive or neurodevelopmental disorders (dyslexia or ADHD). With this tool, you can also compare the results of the child with the results of other children of his age.

Smart games and tasks for cognitive stimulation from CogniFit is used by families, schools and medical centers around the world. The program demonstrates high efficiency among children, especially among children with special needs and those with learning difficulties. This neuroeducational platform was developed to help identify the neurological cause of school failure and improve basic cognitive function in childhood.

How do smart games and cognitive stimulation programs for children from CogniFit work?

In childhood and adolescence, it is especially plastic, in other words, it has great ability to adapt to environmental requirements. This simplifies learning and makes children very sensitive to cognitive stimulation.

Keeping in mind this feature of the brain of children and youth, it is very important to use high-quality cognitive stimulation tools. Various studies have shown that personalized brain training from CogniFit helps stimulate and improve various cognitive abilities due to neural plasticity.

The CogniFit children's cognitive training program allows you to stimulate various patterns of neural activation. The repeated activation of these patterns due to training can, on the one hand, strengthen existing neural connections, and on the other hand, contribute to the creation of new synapses and neural networks.

Thus, CogniFit's mental exercises for children use the adaptive capacity of the nervous system, which helps the brain train its cognitive functions. This can help the child recover or minimize the effects of brain damage or learning disabilities (such as dyslexia or dyscalculia), which impair various cognitive abilities. In addition, CogniFit's smart games for kids also help test and optimize their cognitive skills.

Cognitive improvement in children. Why choose brain games from CogniFit?

The CogniFit Cognitive Tests and Workouts for Children and Youth were created by neuroplasticity scientists to improve the cognitive state of those who use them. Cognitive Stimulation Platform CogniFit has a number of benefits which makes it unique:

• The design of the CogniFit platform ("CogniFit") is very intuitive, which allows you to easily and conveniently manage both your own training and the training of children, patients and students.
• Game design very attractive. This greatly increases motivation, especially for children who find it difficult to endure boring tasks.
• CogniFit ("CogniFit") evaluates and tests 23 with tasks and exercises for the brain. This allows you to create a complete cognitive profile of the user and compare his results with other people of his age and gender.
• Instructions and results presented in an interactive visual format, which makes it easier to understand the information provided by the program.
• CogniFit Tests and Training through a wealth of research conducted in different countries.
• After testing or after each training session, the program sends accurate and reliable results workout. Thus we get feedback with a report on our cognitive state.
• In addition to training, the cognitive stimulation program from CogniFit evaluates our performance in each session. This allows the program to understand which cognitive abilities are better or worse developed in order to better adapt to our individual needs during a workout.
• The process of choosing the type and level of difficulty of training is fully automated. You just need to start the session and click on the "start training" button. The program will make decisions based on data from our current cognitive profile.
• Data is automatically logged during exercise. This saves us from having to record the results and allows you to fully concentrate on training.
• Since the platform is presented online in 18 languages, she is very accessible to most people. All you need is internet access and a computer, tablet or smartphone. Thanks to its ease of use, the CogniFit software allows remote cognitive stimulation for children.
• CogniFit is recommended for use by children 7 years of age and older. This means that there is no age at which this platform ceases to be effective: studies have shown that CogniFit can help improve the cognitive state of children, adults and older people.
• This intelligence training platform can help restore or improve cognitive performance in certain situations. diseases or disorders, but it is also very useful for healthy people who want to optimize their cognitive functions.

Who are the CogniFit cognitive stimulation tasks and tools for?

The childhood of a child is often a difficult period for parents: various kinds of complications, diseases and disorders can appear, which are not always easy to cope with. Due to the lack of information and concern about the health of the child, parents may not have the best of times, because we always want the best for children.

CogniFit Cognitive Training is recommended for children who, even if they do not have problems with school, want to improve any cognitive ability that is slightly less developed than necessary for their age. In addition, CogniFit may help improve cognitive performance. children with certain disorders and disorders. Whether a child was diagnosed with a disorder at or after 7 years of age, or whether early intervention has been completed by that age, CogniFit is an excellent opportunity to begin or continue cognitive remediation.

In this way, CogniFit is suitable for almost every child:

• This brain training tool can help improve the cognitive state of children suffering from mental or neurodevelopmental disorders such as dyslexia, ADHD, dyscalculia or insomnia.
• CogniFit is also useful for training or restoration of some cognitive abilities impaired due to acquired brain injury as, for example, in the case of traumatic brain injury.
• However, training is useful not only for a child with any disorders, illnesses or lesions, it also helps to improve and optimize less developed cognitive functions in healthy children.

Who can use the cognitive stimulation program for children?

Despite its simple design, the CogniFit program is not designed to allow children to manage their workouts on their own. This can be done by adults through various platforms.

• Family platformFor cognitive stimulation of children: this perfect tool, which allows parents to control the type of tests and exercises that a child can do at home.

• Professional platform for doctors and psychologists: CogniFit allows you to easily manage and monitor the cognitive development of patients. Cognitive training is an excellent auxiliary tool for correction, they can be used both at the consultation and at the child's home.

• Professional platform for teachers and educators: Educators and caregivers can conveniently manage the cognitive training of children with learning difficulties using CogniFit.

• Professional platform for researchers: In addition, CogniFit allows you to manage research involving children using the platform for scientific researchers.

Special cognitive tests and programs

In addition to comprehensive, CogniFit ("KogniFit") also offers specific programs for the correction most common disorder in children. These workouts are designed to improve cognitive performance in the following disorders:

• Children with dyslexiaA: Dyslexia is a learning disorder in which the ability to read is impaired. Dyslexia is very important to correct, as it can negatively affect the child's studies and his future work. CogniFit offers a specific workout for those with this disorder.

• Children with ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a disorder that interferes with a child's ability to focus on any activity for long periods of time, causing the child to appear restless and disobedient. With CogniFit training for ADHD sufferers, you can work on correcting impaired cognitive abilities.

• Children with dyscalculia: With dyscalculia, cognitive abilities associated with counting are impaired. CogniFit offers a specific workout to stimulate these cognitive abilities. 3 times a week on different days, not in a row. This allows you to adapt the workout to the schedule and needs of children, making it easier to correct.

  The session consists of two brain stimulation games and one test. This simple and attractive structure makes it possible to evaluate child cognitive development as he trains. Thanks to this, the program CogniFit automatically selects game type and difficulty so that the child can optimize cognitive abilities that need improvement.

It has long been believed among scientists that some games - such as, for example, puzzles - and exercise can help prevent the negative aspects of aging. Is that true, let's find out! Let's see if such cognitive games can actually have a beneficial effect on the functioning of our brain - especially in older people?
Mental exercise could help improve older adults' cognitive function by as much as 38% by 2050, according to a large study. Moreover, training of this nature will lead to improvements not only in areas related to daily functioning, but also in many others (in the long term). In some participants, improvements in mental functions were recorded even after 10 years.

"Previous results from this clinical study showed that the effect could last up to five years.", - explained Dr. Richard Y. Hodes, director of the US National Institutes of Health. - “Now, these results show that certain types of cognitive training can provide long-term benefits – for at least ten years. It can be concluded that we should continue cognitive training as a therapy, because it can help preserve the mental abilities of older people so that they can remain independent and socialized for longer.. The US National Institutes of Health supported these findings.

In a study called ACTIVE (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly), 2832 people over the age of 65 took part in a 10-year study. Participants were trained to reason, process and remember information, while the control group did not receive such training. From the results of earlier studies, scientists have suggested that these are three key areas that are primarily affected by aging, and violations in which affect most areas of a person's daily life.

The average age of the participants in this study was almost 74 years old (at the beginning of the experiment). The training sessions were held in small groups; participants were asked to attend 10 sessions of approximately 60 to 75 minutes each. They performed the necessary exercises using touch screens - this was done in order to increase the speed of the exercises - and special lists, the use of which helps to memorize information.

The effect of exercise on brain function

So what impact does this cognitive learning have? The researchers found that the participants who received the training experienced improvements in daily activities, areas that typically involve the exact cognitive abilities they trained. Memory improvements - speaking of real facts - are assessed, for example, by the ability to remember on your own when to find medicines and what products you had to buy in the store, while the speed of information processing is measured by the speed of reactions to what is happening around.

Is the effect really long term? Five years after training, participants from all three groups continued to show improvement in the areas in which they were trained. The only thing is that over time, the effect of training in the field of memorization has decreased. Ten years later, no further improvements in memory were recorded, although otherwise the learning outcomes were still valid. The results also showed that after 10 years, nearly 74% of those who practiced reasoning showed improvement from baseline. Those who trained to process information quickly showed an improvement almost 62% of the time. But in the group that developed memory, as mentioned earlier, no improvement was observed compared to the initial level.

The authors of the study suggest that these results will allow other researchers to further study how these processes function and develop effective training programs for training cognitive skills. The authors also assume that “If measures were taken to slow down the onset of functional disorders by at least 6 years, the number of people suffering from them would decrease by 38% by 2050; it would be of great public health importance". Given the large percentage of older people, this improvement could have a significant impact on the mental health and functioning of the general population.