Learning RX

[goofy's friends]

Does anyone care to share their experiences--good and bad? We really need to get some help for our 2nd grader and are really impressed with what we were told at the testing. However, it is INCREDIBLY expensive and before we commit to so much money, we'd like to hear from people who have actually used it. So, anyone have a story? thanks!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I had a friend who had much success with her dd who was probably 2/3rd grade when she did it. She was their ADHD child and she benefitted.

They didn't pay for the program themselves though. Grandma did.

I have no doubt in what they can do. The price tag just scares the bejeebies out of me. I think my child would benefit, but I just do not have the money.

 

[goofy's friends]

Yeah, the price is If it really will do what they say it will do, then it would be life-changing for my son (and probably us). That makes me willing to invest in it at the sacrifice of many things. I just want to be sure it will really work! Thanks for your imput!

 

[goofy's friends]

bumping--hoping someone has a comment

 

[Help4LD]

bumping--hoping someone has a comment

Hi...

I'd really love to help you, if I can.

I work for LearningRx (the corporate office) so I don't think I'm who you're looking for a reply from. But I noticed your question and I didn't want it to just sit there unanswered.

If you would like me to reply, or answer any questions you have, I am available and willing to help... but out of respect for the forum, I won't say anything unless you ask me specifically.

Good luck!

- Help4LD

 

[goofy's friends]

Thank you Help4LD! I appreciate you consideration of everyone here. I would really like to hear what you have to say. I know the company has lots of successful stories, but we have some concerns about the required $$ compared to the "guarantee". If we really KNEW that it was going to help our son, we wouldn't hesitate, but what if he's one that it doesn't help or it only helps a little bit but enough to cover the guarantee--then, we are out of the $$ and stuck with the same problem. Does that make sense? One concern we have is that the testing done at the end could somehow be construed to give the wanted result leaving us without options. Another concern is that all the cognitive training may not show visible results at school and he remains as frustrated as he is now. None of these concerns are meant as any disrespect for the company (I am a teacher and brain training is fascinating to me), just valid for me as a parent wanting the best for my kid

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Thank you Help4LD! I appreciate you consideration of everyone here. I would really like to hear what you have to say. I know the company has lots of successful stories, but we have some concerns about the required $$ compared to the "guarantee". If we really KNEW that it was going to help our son, we wouldn't hesitate, but what if he's one that it doesn't help or it only helps a little bit but enough to cover the guarantee--then, we are out of the $$ and stuck with the same problem. Does that make sense? One concern we have is that the testing done at the end could somehow be construed to give the wanted result leaving us without options. Another concern is that all the cognitive training may not show visible results at school and he remains as frustrated as he is now. None of these concerns are meant as any disrespect for the company (I am a teacher and brain training is fascinating to me), just valid for me as a parent wanting the best for my kid

I just wanted to comment that for my friends daughter--she noticed an improvement academically and behaviorally and that was without test results. I didn't know that they tested at the end until you mentioned it and she was commenting throughougt her daughters therapy or whatever they call it that she was seeing her daughter make strides.

OT, but another avenue you might look into...

My son goes to speech therapy. The speech path actually offers some programs as well for academics. Kind of along the lines of Learning Rx, but not the same thing at all. It helps address issues, that can feed into behavioral and academic problems. I have no idea how it compares, but it was certainly another avenue I considered.

IT too was expensive. Cheaper tha Learning Rx, but still pricey. (hundreds instead of a couple thousand)

So you might also look into other places like that just so that you can compare services as well.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Help4D, I too am interested in what you have to say.

 

[Help4LD]

Good morning!
Thanks for inviting me to speak up.

goofy's friends, you said... "we have some concerns about the required $$ compared to the "guarantee". If we really KNEW that it was going to help our son, we wouldn't hesitate, but what if he's one that it doesn't help or it only helps a little bit but enough to cover the guarantee--then, we are out of the $$ and stuck with the same problem. Does that make sense?"

YES it totally makes sense. In fact, I went to the dr. the other day with a little problem and he told me "here's this $$$$ surgery and it will help". He was very confident that it would fix the problem. But I thought the same exact thing you are saying. "Yeah, but what if it doesn't help? What if I'm the exception?" So, I know it's scary...

Here are a few thoughts of mine that might help you process things:

LearningRx does work. It really does. But it's also true that some kids see more gains than others, because all kids are different. What are your son's symptoms, by the way? How long has he been struggling in school?

Here's how you should think of the guarantee: I have scrawny arms. But that's just because I don't go to the gym. But my arms are healthy, there isn't anything wrong with them, they are just weak. So, if I went to the gym and worked out consistently, it would be a guarantee that my arms would get stronger. That's just how LearningRx works. That's the kind of guarantee it is. If you work out, you get stronger, whether it is your arms or your brain!

Imagine your son was in my position and had some kind of physical problem that required surgery. Not something life-threatening, but something that would really hinder his quality of life if left alone. Now, the surgery is expensive, but the doctor kindly tells you "this will help, and he'll feel so much better". The doctor doesn't guarantee you anything, but I would be willing to bet you'd trust him and get the surgery. Because it's either that or deal with the symptoms.

What I mean to say is (and I'm trying to be as candid as possible here) that I suppose it is possible that the program's guarantee would fall flat in your case, even though it's worked for thousands of other kids. But it's highly unlikely. Nothing in life is an absolute sure bet - but I will tell you what IS a sure bet: if your son continues to struggle in school, college may not be an option for him, and then what will happen? What job will he get? What kind of success will he be able to have in life? I don't want to scare you, but the fact is that if he's unable to progress academically, his options may become very limited very quickly.

We don't want this. It's hard to express how much this company and its franchisees care about families and kids. But we really do!

Another thing you said...
One concern we have is that the testing done at the end could somehow be construed to give the wanted result leaving us without options.

This isn't the case, I promise. The testing is very honest, and besides, it's standardized. It would be so rotten of us to misconstrue the test results, and since the program works so well, there's really no motive to do that anyway. Seriously, don't worry about that.

One last comment of yours was...
Another concern is that all the cognitive training may not show visible results at school and he remains as frustrated as he is now.

Go back to the gym analogy. If you go to the gym and your arms get strong, it isn't very likely that you'll go try to lift something and suddenly find that all your work in the gym didn't help you in the real world. If you see a man with big muscles, you know you can ask him to help you carry a couch. Same thing with brain training. If the kid's brain is stronger, school will be easier for him.

Does any of that help at all? Please let me know. I sincerely hope you try the program, and that you get great results and send me a fabulous testimonial.

- Help4LD

 

[goofy's friends]

Thank you for your response! It really does help to see things in perspective. My son is in 2nd grade and actually makes pretty good grades and is on grade level but struggles to stay there! He works way harder at it than peers. His testing shows what I already knew--he struggles because of memory skill mainly, but everything was low. So, how specifically do they train memory? They want to put him on the READ RX. If he continues as is and the curriculum just gets harder, he's going to fall behind. I just want to put him in the best program for him and his needs. The cost is sooo much! But, you are right, the cost not to for him could be so much more.

Are there statistics somewhere that show the number of kids helped vs. number of kids with no change? How often does it happen?

One more question: do the trainers have to have a particular degree? The facility we would go to is brand new, I'm a little concerned that we could invest this money and be the guinnea pigs!

Thank you for your responses and helping us to understand a little better. It's appreciated more than you know!!

 

[Help4LD]

Oh, you are so welcome! It feels really good to be able to help.

Yes, it sounds like, from what you've described, your son is definitely a candidate for doing great in the program! And, yep, you are right: the harder the material gets and the faster the pace, the more frustrating it will likely become for him. So, I'm glad you're looking into getting help early!

You mentioned your son is frustrated with school. The single most common "side-effect" of brain training is increased confidence - and that's because school becomes easier, and the student starts to fit in and feel normal and all that good stuff.

There IS a control group study that was done just recently at the University of Colorado in Boulder. It's called "Testing the Effects of LearningRx" and was conducted by Dr. Dick Carpenter, who is a Professor of Educational Research up at CU Boulder. I think that might be helpful for you to take a look at. They won't let me post links yet, so I'll just tell you how to find it. Go to the center page of the center that you were tested at... for instance, if it was Cary, North Carolina, it would be www dot learningrx dot com forward slash Cary. Then, on the right side of the page there is a button called "Research and Reports". Click on that. The study you want to look at is the first link in the list and has the following text under the link... Independent analyses of LearningRx Cognitive Skills Training Procedures including a control group (12-pgs) .

Which new center are you going to (I'm just curious)?

As for your questions about trainers... the training we do is very specific, it isn't something you can learn in school. We "train how to train" here at the Home office (corporate) in Colorado. The directors and "team leaders" are trained directly by the creators of the program (which is kind of neat!) and they in turn train their team of trainers.

Also, centers are careful to choose people who will be good at
training - they put them through lots of tests in the interview process to make sure they are a good fit for LearningRx, both personality-wise and skills-wise.

And remember: we want our students to be comfortable and enjoy training and have a great rapport with their trainers. So, if you enroll, but then at any point you should feel that your son isn't connecting well with his trainer, all you would need to do is mention that to the center director, and they should be happy to switch him to another trainer.

Please let me know if there is anything else I can do. I'm happy to continue answering any more questions if you have them.

-Help4LD

 

[Help4LD]

Oh, and if you can't find that Control Group Study, let me know, and I'll figure out another way to get it to you.

 

[theposte]

Did you ask the person at Learning Rx that you spoke with for contact with other parents who have had their child go through the program? or to see others results? I think you might gain some insight doing either of those. Learning Rx is usually very forthright in sharing results from what I've heard.

 

[AtlanticMermaid]

Hello everyone,

In the mail a few days ago I received a newsletter style piece of mail from Learning Rx. It couldn't have come at a more timely moment: my 1st grader is really struggling in school and on her last report card the teacher indicated possible retention for next year. I had a conference with her to discuss everything and we agreed to have the school psychologist test my daughter - mainly to rule out any processing problems. Our meeting was only a week ago but the test still hasn't been scheduled. I am hoping it will be in the next week.

My daughter is in the lowest reading group in her class and she is so far behind in her basic math skills. She can't count by 2s, 5s, and 10s. She still struggles with 1 to 1 correspondence. We just don't even bother with the word problems on her homework because we're still trying to work on the fundamentals.

When I read this Learning Rx newsletter everything they had to say made perfect sense. I decided I wanted to send her there despite what the school test results indicate (when they are taken). I turned to the last page of the newsletter and there was a coupon for $100 on the testing, alone!!! (Plus receive a $50 Cognitive Assessment). I can't seem to find anywhere online that people had to pay just to be tested. It seems their children were tested and THEN presented with the monstrous fees.

So my questions are:
1) how much is the testing BEFORE you save $100?
2) Why is there such a range in cost? It seems cost ranges between $2000 and $8000. I imagine it depends on the combination of Rx trainings and whether you do a 12 or 24 week program. (The newsletter mentioned nothing of a 12 week program - my guess is that they tell you the price of 24 weeks, you flip a lid, then they tell you there's a 12 week program to lower the price.)
3) What are the breakdowns of price for each of the programs (Reading Rx, Math Rx, etc.) at both the 12 week and 24 week levels?
4) After you complete their 24 week program is your child then fully prepared to take on the next 16 years of schooling without any followup trainings? Do these 24 weeks really prepare you for the rest of your educational career or is it just a small enough improvement that in a year or two you decide to go through the program again and pay it all over again in hopes of another small improvement?

Thanks!!!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Thread is from November 2009. Second grader in first post is likely graduating this year of next; first grader in subsequent post within a couple of years, as well.