Equipment required Cost of programs CO-SKILLS Main Page
Target Clientele
Children and adults (6 years and older) who:
Mode: Visual
Principal skill(s) targeted: Attention while carrying out simple tasks.
Attention is a pre-requisite to efficient completion of various everyday life activities. Many scholastic failures or other failures are often partly due to attention and concentration difficulties. In cognitive psychology, attention is considered a primary process enabling relevant information to be retained and processed.
Exercises
Levels Stimuli Classes: 1. Increasing 14 2. Decreasing 14 3. Series 8
The exercises call upon time estimation, which requires maintaining attention over a length of time.
Class 1: Increasing
Scenario and task: The client is attending an automobile race at which the display panel is not functioning properly. At the centre of the screen appears the display panel on which numbers are presented in increasing order, starting at zero. At the beginning of each item, the mentor indicates a target number to the client. The client’s task consists of monitoring the numbers being presented on the display panel. At some point, the numbers will cease to be displayed. The client must then continue to count (in his/her head), at the same rhythm, until the target number presented at the start (target) is attained. The client responds once he/she believes the target has been attained. The exact number that would have reached if the numbers had continued to be displayed appears on the screen. If the client stops the counter on the target number, then he/she was successful in following the rhythm provided.
Response mode(s): Click on the mouse or press the space bar.
Specific feedback:
Well Done! If the counter is stopped on the target number (correct) Great! If the error margin is one (correct) Oops… If the error margin is beyond one number (incorrect) Class 2: Decreasing
Scenario and task: In this task, the same scenario as for class 1 is used with the exception that the numbers are presented in decreasing order. The client’s task is thus similar – he/she must count backwards and respond when he/she believes the counter has reached zero. The target number is always zero in this class, but the starting number varies.
Response mode(s): Click on the mouse or press the space bar.
Feedback:
Well Done! If zero is obtained (correct) Great! If the error margin is one (correct) Oops… If the error margin is beyond one number (incorrect) Class 3: Series
Scenario and task: A somewhat forgetful conductor is leading his musicians. He counts out the rhythm to follow, but at some point forgets where he has reached in the music and stops counting. While he is counting, the numbers appear on the screen (e.g.: 1, 2, 3… 1, 2, 3… 1, 2, 3), but after a certain amount of time, the numbers cease to appear. The client must continue to repeat in his/her head, at the same rhythm, the conductor’s cadence until a question mark appears on the screen. At this point, the client is asked to select the number corresponding to that which would have been reached by the conductor from among the response choice.
Response mode(s): Click on the mouse or use arrow keys and the space bar to select.
Feedback:
Well Done! Correct response Oops… Incorrect response
Difficulty Level Variables
* Note: the client automatically changes class after three consecutive errors.
The exam
The exam is comprised of 14 items representative of the Increasing class.
Background (increasing, decreasing)
Background (series)
Instructions
Class 1. Increasing :
« You are at an automobile race. The scoreboard indicating the start of the race is not working properly. You must take over once the numbers disappear. Count forward in your head and at the same rhythm until you reach the number shown. You must then press the spacebar as quickly as possible. »
Class 2. Decreasing :
« You are at an automobile race. The scoreboard indicating the start of the race is not working properly. You must take over once the numbers disappear. Count backwards in your head and at the same rhythm. You must press the spacebar when you think that the counter should be at zero. »
Class 3. Series :
« Your orchestra conductor provides you with a rhythm to follow by counting out loud. When he stops counting, you must continue to count in your head and at the same rhythm until the symbol “?” appears. You must then select the number that the conductor would have reached. »