The Formula for Academic Success for ALL children
SMART intellectual skills brain training was developed across two decades by educational psychologists from university research specifically to establish the basic skills required for effective learning in the areas of reading, vocabulary and mathematics. All children need to learn the same basic skills sets in order to learn well and thrive in school. We call these essential skills “relational skills”. In numerous published studies, these skills have been implicated in creative problem solving, reading and mathematical ability. But SMART is not just for kids with learning problems. SMART allows every child to reach their full intellectual potential.
Used in 100’s Schools
SMART training has grown from controlled trials within schools from the Irish educational system to be used by 100’s schools across the globe. RaiseYourIQ continues to support schools by publishing results in the areas of IQ improvements, general intellectual functioning of the children involved in clinical trials, and in their performance in specific subject areas.
Some Children need more help than others
Of course, some children are at an advantage in that they have acquired good relational skills at home before the age of four, or because of natural talent. However, any child can be taught these “relational skills” that underlie all academic ability. Because the same relational skills are required by every child for reading, vocabulary and mathematics, all children can benefit from relational skills training, whether they are normally developing or struggling with learning difficulties. While individual children may have individual needs that require professional assistance (e.g., attention difficulties), the same basic skill sets are required by all children in order to do well at school.
SMART intellectual skills brain training adapts to the learning needs of each child
SMART brain training proceeds at the pace of the child, and adapts so that the child is always slightly challenged and always learning. Whether the child has an IQ of 70 or 120, they will be carried to higher levels of intellectual functioning at a steady and enjoyable pace. Students who complete the SMART course will see an IQ improve of 10 points and upwards with grade improvements in Math, Science, English and Reading.
Educators can contact us directly for support and advice.
Special Needs, Autism & Learning Difficulties
The Gold Standard Approach to Special Needs Learning
The RaiseYourIQ relational skills brain training course was developed by educational psychologists and published authors in the field of “relational frame theory” using the approach of applied behavior analysis (ABA), which is the gold standard approach to improving educational performance in struggling children. It is usually employed for the successful treatment of Autism spectrum disorders and attention deficit problems. Several studies have shown that verbal competence of children with Autism is associated with poor relational skills, and SMART brain training provides a simple online intervention to help with those relational skills deficits.
While individual children may have individual needs that require professional and personal assistance (e.g., attention difficulties, challenging behavior), the same basic skill sets are required by all children in order to do well at school. Once a child can be facilitated in their online SMART training, they can begin catching up to their expected level of IQ, relational skill, and intellectual performance. If they are already performing well, their IQ other cognitive skills can be boosted so that they exceed their current levels of intellectual and educational functioning.
Reading Difficulties, Dyslexia & ADHD
SMART brain training makes users expert in what psychologists call “speed of visual processing”. The SMART brain training sharpens the ability of children and students to carefully and quickly attend to the individual letters in words, and to tell visual stimuli (e.g., words and letters) apart, as well as to pay careful attention to the sequences of letters in a word, and words in a sentence. Parents of many children are reporting satisfactory improvements in reading, particularly for children with dyslexia. Users of SMART find that their reading speed increases following training. We are finding that, following SMART brain training, reading speed, reading comprehension and reading accuracy can increase to the point where diagnoses of dyslexia have to be revised.
Educators can contact us directly for support and advice.
Further Reading for Educational Specialists
General reviews of the SMART relational skills training approach
Cassidy, S., Roche, B. & O’Hora, D. (2010).
Relational Frame Theory and human intelligence. European Journal of Behavior Analysis, 11, 37-51.
Roche, B., Cassidy, S. & Stewart, I. (2013).
Nurturing genius: Realizing a foundational aim of Psychology, In Kashdan, T & Ciarrochi, J. (Eds.), Cultivating well-being: Treatment innovations in Positive Psychology, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and beyond, pp. 267-302. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
Stewart, I., Tarbox, J., Roche, B., & O’Hora, D. (2013).
Education, intellectual development, and Relational Frame Theory. In Dymond, S. & Roche, B. (Eds.), Advances in Relational Frame Theory: Research & Application, pp. 178-198. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
Empirical studies demonstrating the importance of relational skills in education
A relational frame training intervention to raise Intelligence Quotients: A pilot study.
Cassidy, S., Roche, B. & Hayes, S. C. (2011). The Psychological Record, 61, 173-198.
Derived relational responding and performance on the verbal subtests of the WAIS III.
O’Hora, D., Pelaez, D., & Barnes-Holmes, D. (2005). The Psychological Record, 55, 155-175.
Temporal relations and intelligence: Correlating relational performance with performance on the WAIS-III.
O’Hora, D., Pelaez, M., Barnes-Holmes, D., Rae, G., Robinson, K., & Chaudhary, T. (2008).The Psychological Record, 58, 569-584.
Three chronometric indices of relational responding as predictors of performance on a brief intelligence test: The importance of relational flexibility.
O'Toole, C., & Barnes-Holmes, D. (2009). The Psychological Record, 59, 119-132.
Matching functionally-same relations: Implications for equivalence-equivalence as a model for analogical reasoning.
Carpentier, F., Smeets, P. M., & Barnes-Holmes, D. (2002). The Psychological Record, 52, 351-312.
The relationship between intellectual functioning and relational perspective-taking.
Gore, N. J., Barnes-Holmes, Y., & Murphy, G. (2010). International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy, 10(1), 1-17.
Derived comparative and transitive relations in young children with and without autism.
Gorham, M., Barnes-Holmes, Y., Barnes-Holmes, D. & Berens, N. (2009). The Psychological Record, 59, 221-246.
Establishing fraction-decimal equivalence using a respondent-type training procedure.
Leader, G., & Barnes-Holmes, D. (2001). The Psychological Record, 51, 151-166.
The role of multiple-exemplar training and naming in establishing derived equivalence in an infant.
Luciano, C., Gómez-Becerra, I., & Rodríguez-Valverde, M. (2007). Journal of Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 87, 349-365.
The training and assessment of relational precursors and abilities (TARPA): A preliminary analysis.
Moran, L., Stewart, I., McElwee, J. & Ming, S. (2010). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 40(9), 1149-1153.
Establishing complex derived manding with children with and without a diagnosis of autism.
Murphy, C., & Barnes-Holmes, D. (2010). The Psychological Record, 60, 489-504.
Establishing derived manding for specific amounts with three children: An attempt at synthesizing Skinner's Verbal Behavior with Relational Frame Theory.
Murphy, C., & Barnes-Holmes, D. (2009a). The Psychological Record, 59, 75-92.
Derived more-less relational mands in children diagnosed with autism.
Murphy, C., & Barnes-Holmes, D. (2009b). Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 42, 253-268.
Establishing complex derived manding with children with and without a diagnosis of autism.
Murphy, C., & Barnes-Holmes, D. (2010). The Psychological Record, 60, 489-504.
Derived manding in children with autism: Synthesizing Skinner’s Verbal Behavior with relational frame theory.
Murphy, C., Barnes-Holmes, D., & Barnes-Holmes, Y. (2005). Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 38, 445-462.
Transformation of mathematical and stimulus functions.
Ninness, C., Barnes-Holmes, D., Rumph, R., McCuller, G., Ford, A., Payne, R., et al. (2006). Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 39, 299–321.