Online training program to improve cognitive skills of aging adults

Oct 23 2009

CogniFit™, Inc., a leading maker of Brain Fitness Software programs (www.cognifit.com), introduced CogniFit Senior Driver, innovative online software aimed at helping aging adults improve and maintain the cognitive skills that are essential for safe driving, at the AARP Vegas@50+ event today. This program provides an assessment and training for 10 key driving-related skills, and can help drivers stay safer into their later years.

Cognitive decline is a process that actually begins in the late 20s and by age 65, most people do not drive as safely as they did when they were younger. In fact, driving is itself one of modern life’s most complex tasks. As people age, their response time, field of vision, and other cognitive abilities deteriorate. Driving safely requires concentration, observation and rapid and accurate mental calculation. The consequences of a cognitive lapse while driving can be catastrophic.

Fortunately, the brain is able to delay or even reverse mental decline with effort, at any age. As a result, it is possible for people to be safer drivers well into their later years. CogniFit Senior Driver offers a cognitive assessment to establish needs and a tailored, online training program to help maintain and improve drivers' brains for the task.

“It’s important for the well-being of older people to continue driving because it helps them to remain independent and to maintain social relationships,” says Shlomo Breznitz, Founder and President of CogniFit. “CogniFit Senior Driver can improve the specific cognitive abilities that are most important for safe driving.”

CogniFit Senior Driver begins with a comprehensive baseline assessment of the cognitive and personality characteristics required for safe driving. Based on this assessment, the program delivers online, personalized training created specifically for an individual's needs. No two CogniFit Senior Driver training regimens are alike. CogniFit Senior Driver features a new user experience to make the program easier and more enjoyable to use. The program is also more effective thanks to the patented and award-winning Individualized Training System (ITS), which enables the program to identify and train weaker skills and adjust the difficulty of tasks on the fly. Users train online for 20 minutes a time, three days per week. After the training cycle is completed, a progress assessment is given to provide the user with a progress report and to set training goals for the next cycle. In a matter of weeks, users will notice an improvement in their driving skills. CogniFit Senior Driver also offers an option that can notify the user when their cognitive skills may no longer be sufficient for safe driving.

The program trains the skills important to driving, including: Focus, Divided Attention, Response Time, Short Term memory, Changing Plans, Width of The Visual Field, Visual Scanning, Confidence, Assessments of Speed and Distance and Hand-Eye Coordination. During training, CogniFit Senior Driver regulates the difficulty of the exercises to continuously fit the individual's performance level. This ensures that the training is never too easy or too hard but always challenging and engaging.

CogniFit Senior Driver is available on the CogniFit website (www.cognifit.com) and delivered online for a monthly, 6-month or annual fee.

http://www.cognifit.com/