Tuition to train the brain

The following article by Natasha Ann Zachariah is from the Sunday Times dated 30 January 2011.
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Maths tuition. Chinese tuition. And now, brain tuition. Not content with getting their kids to be high- fliers in just core school subjects, some gung-ho parents are signing their children up for brain-training classes.

Various centres have sprung up claiming they can build up brain power to help kids better concentrate, focus and memorise things over time.

A quick check by LifeStyle found several such centres. They include the Singapore Brain Development Centre, which uses specially developed card and board games and toys to make the brain learn faster and more easily.

Then there is BrainFit Studio, which uses computer programmes and physical activities to improve children's attention spans, motor coordination, sound, image processing and emotional skills.

Prices can range from $1,000 to $10,000 for a customised programme lasting between two months and two years.

The newest player on the brain training market is seven-month-old Genius Mind Academy (GMA). The company, which has its office in Mountbatten Road, is the master licensee of what is termed a 'midbrain activation' programme that uses loud sounds. There are other franchises in Indonesia, Hong Kong, Australia and Taiwan.

It offers courses costing $1,480 a child for a two-day workshop of a minimum of 25 and maximum of 45 children each session. A total of 633 children have attended the workshops since they started.

GMA claims that midbrain activation will improve children's memories and concentration and even improve their hormonal balance with its 'revolutionary brain development programme'.
It also says the workshops help kids with autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia to focus and become calmer. As an added bonus, they will be able to 'see' blindfolded as well.

The midbrain is said to act like a relay system carrying sound and visual information to the right and left brain.

However, the centre's methods are not without controversy.

Associate Professor Ong Hian Tat, a senior consultant at the division of paediatric neurology and developmental paediatrics at National University Hospital, says that the benefits of the programme are not medically proven and what they claim to do - activate the midbrain with soundwaves - occurs naturally.

'The midbrain is stimulated all the time,' he said. 'As long as soundwaves are registered, the midbrain is activated. It is like a pathway for these sound waves to reach the brain. If there is no sound, the midbrain is not activated.'

He adds, of the loud sounds: 'No one knows if there are any harmful side effects unless tests are done, so they could potentially be harmful.'

GMA chief operating officer Yao Shih Lien, 46, declined to elaborate on the programme software used to create the sounds. He says that while it is difficult to reproduce, if stolen, then it would be easy to run a similar programme.

He would only say that a trainer leads the children in playing games, singing songs and watching funny videos. This is meant to create a happy environment so the children can be relaxed and receptive to these sounds that are played to them.

Mr Yao also said he is unable to explain why children react that way to the stimulation: 'I can't explain it scientifically, it's a mystery. What we are doing is a structured and consistent way to activate the brain.'

GMA takes in only children between five and 12 years old, as Mr Yao says that is the optimal age when they are 'receptive, cheerful and open'. Older children, up to 15 years old, have to go through an interview to see if they are suitable for the programme.

Mrs Jayasree Pillai, 46, signed her eight-year-old son, Girish, up for the programme last week.
In the days after, the referral marketing consultant says that aside from being able to read paragraphs in books blindfolded, she has seen a change in his personality.

'He is more direct in the way he speaks, rather than in a childish manner. He is also completing his homework faster.'

The method was created by Malaysian David Ting, who has a Doctor Of Business Administration degree from the United Business Institutes in Brussels. Dr Ting, who runs the head company, Genius Mind Consultancy, has also been operating childcare centres for about 20 years.

Another parent, Mrs Carine Khong, says that the excitement of her children Gabriel, nine, and Cheyne, five, over the other kids' blindfold reading ability was what made her sign up.

The 39-year-old training coordinator says that they have no problem with their school work but wanted to see if this would help them improve their academic results.

While she has yet to see any academic improvement as school has just started, she says her son's confidence in doing his homework has improved.

Mrs Khong was so impressed with the programme that she signed on to be an ambassador for the company. The company has 150 ambassadors who get 12 per cent commission of one child's fees if they make a successful referral.

But Dr Catherine Cox, senior neuropsychologist from the KK Women's and Children's Hospital, points out that children can improve with practice and quality family time.

'Children will practise things they need to learn such as walking and talking,' she says.

'Having a stimulating environment is best for learning, but it can be quite simple such as talking to children, reading them books and encouraging their interests and friendships. If they are really struggling at school, and teachers are concerned, then it is recommended that they talk to a doctor or psychologist.'