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Articles, stories and advice for parents and educators of kids who could use a little help paying attention.
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Fun with purpose is what we’re all about.
Watch this video with your child – it’s all about the fun.
1
GETTING STARTED
You’ll be receiving your eye tracker shortly
The Attention Arcade games can only be played with an eye tracker. That’s how they train attention skills. Before your eye tracker arrives, you can review some of the games with your child. Here is a link to an overview of the games and assessments in the Attention Arcade. It explains how the games work and what they train. Plus, there are some tips for ensuring your child gets the most out of playing.
Overcoming resistance
Once you receive your eye tracker, install the software and calibrate the tracker, install the BrainLeap software and get all ready to go… you may find you have one more hurdle. Your child.
You’re in good company. Many people of all ages don’t like to be told what to do. What we’ve found is that, when calibrating the eye tracker, most kids get really excited about a new way to control the computer and jump into the games with less reluctance than the lead-up would suggest.
From one of our parents: “We didn’t make it that big of a deal when we came back to try the games the second time. It was a better strategy to let Mikey discover the powers of the eye tracker than for us to tell him how cool it was going to be.”
Getting technical help
If you have any trouble installing the software or the eye tracker, call (858-223-6303) or email us directly (you can respond to this email). We’re here to help. 95% of parents go through the process without a hitch. The other 5% get the help they need and we get them going in a few minutes on a call.
2
SETTING UP THE TRACKER
Step 1: Install the Tobii Eyetracker
- Visit https://gaming.tobii.com/getstarted/
- Choose Tobii Eyetracking, then Download
- Once the software is downloaded, install it
- It will prompt you to connect the eye tracker
- Walk through the steps to calibrate and create a user
- There is no need to play the space game that they prompt you to play (although feel free, it’s pretty fun)
Step 2: Download the Attention Arcade
- Visit manage.brainleaptech.com
- Enter your email address and password
- If you forgot your password, you can reset it
- Download the software
Step 3: Install the Attention Arcade
- Install the software you downloaded
- Click on the icon to open it
- It should recognize the user you created when installing the eye tracker
- Start playing!
3
PLAYING THE GAMES
Hopefully your child is now playing the Attention Arcade games every day for 20 minutes. We know from experience that that is not always as easy as it sounds.
The Attention Arcade trains attention so the more attention challenges a child has, the more challenging the first few game play sessions may be.
From a parent: “Ella’s eye just bounce all around the screen. We thought it was the tracker but her brother tried and had no trouble at all. It’s really tiring for her, she can only manage about 10 minutes right now.”
Don’t give up.
If your child finds it challenging, 10 minutes a day for the first week is a great way to start. The long game is more important than hitting that 20-minute mark the first week. It does get easier… and quickly!
Some strategies we’ve seen that are successful:
Create a habit. Sometimes, it is just hard to make sure your child plays every day. So, it is good to create a habit by tying it to something else they do everyday (e.g. play as soon as you finish breakfast) or at a specific time every day.
Follow the schedule. Print out this training schedule to show your child how they should be training each day. Sometimes, clear expectations are enough to get them playing regularly.
Tie it to a preferred activity. Make it a step before they get to do something they enjoy. For example, they need to play for 20 minutes before they get any other screen time.
Reward consistent play. Set a reward for when they play 5 days in a row (this is often a big milestone for children who have challenges with eye control) or a specific total time, which is tracked in the game suite.
4
SEEING PROGRESS
We all have skills that are easier and harder for us to acquire. For example, some kids can do a cartwheel on the first or second try. For me, it took a lot of practice to do something that even resembled a cartwheel. The good news is that with practice, children can develop and strengthen skills, including attention.
Regular practice is at the core of your child’s success. That is why we developed a schedule to keep them on track. I suggest that you print it out and keep it next to the computer where they play the Attention Arcade.
You will notice there are recommended times to play each game each day. This is because some children prefer to only play games that are easy for them. This does not help to train their attention skills as much as playing the games that are more challenging. That is why we recommend a balanced approach to playing the games.
The sooner your child starts playing regularly, the faster you can start seeing results. And the good news is that the habit of sticking to a schedule is one of the executive function skills that attention improves! It will get easier with practice.
We’re here to help. Tell us your stories of success and struggle. Join our Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/582404385726222/ The group is private, so just request to join and we will let you in!
Let me know if you have any questions or challenges. You can respond to this email or call us at 858-223-6303.
While You’re Here
Check out some of our articles on attention challenges…
What Parents & Teachers Say About the Attention Arcade™
“After getting started with the Attention Arcade, my son did his nighttime routine without being asked. And on chores day, he stayed on task without being reminded. It has been a big change.“
“My son has always had trouble looking me in the eye when I wanted to have a serious conversation with him. Last week, when I told him to look in my eyes, He said, ‘Just like in the arcade.’ He can do it easily now.”
“It helped him a lot with him being able to focus in the classroom. He can look at the teacher and focus more on what she is saying, which keeps him more engaged in learning.”
“The immediate result was definitely better focus on homework tasks. But what I noticed overall was an improved ability in his executive functioning (something he has struggled with): he was able to organize his thoughts and his tasks better and had the ability to multitask without losing his original train of thought.”
“Both my sons report improved hand-eye coordination, focus, attention and tracking. In particular, they found that their peripheral vision improved which facilitated driving and blind spot detection.”
“Students love it so far. Some of them think they have superpowers!”
“This is a great way to help my son increase his attention and focus. In a few weeks, we could see how he was able to stay on task for longer periods of time.”
“The students love it!”
All About The Games
Dr. Mole & Mr. Hide
The goal of Dr. Mole & Mr. Hide is to hit bandit moles as they pop out of the ground and to avoid looking at the professor moles. As the game progresses, the moles appear more quickly and from more locations. Eventually they even parachute from the sky! The game trains the ability to quickly and accurately orient the player’s gaze and attention to a sudden event, and to monitor a wide range of view. As the game gets harder, inhibitory control is also developed as the player avoids looking at the professor moles.
Game Instructions: Bandit Moles are infesting Dr. Mole’s garden! Dr. Mole needs your help: look at the bandits to scare them away. If you see an exclamation point (!), then Dr. Mole is coming up. Don’t scare Dr. Mole!
Shroomdigger
In Shroomdigger, the player searches for spotted-top mushrooms in a mystical landscape. Focusing gaze on a “shroom” causes it to shrink until it disappears with a poof. Find all the shrooms before time runs out! The game trains attention by requiring steady fixation of gaze, visual search in a crowded field, and the ability to ignore moving distractions.
Game Instructions: Look for the Mushrooms. Keep looking at them until they shrink and disappear. Find all the hidden shrooms before time runs out.
Space Race
In Space Race, the player uses gaze to steer a ship through a cosmic race course, aiming for green gates, avoiding red gates, and collecting stars for bonus points. The game trains anticipatory focus by requiring the player to gaze ahead of the current ship position. Executive functions related to planning are trained by the need to quickly decide whether collecting a star will leave enough time to avoid a red gate that causes damage to the ship.
Game Instructions: Guide your spaceship through the green gates of the space circuit. Look ahead of the ship to steer. Avoid the red gates — they damage your ship. Collect stars for bonus points.
Kung Fall
In Kung Fall, the player trains a ninja for the Dojo’s Aerial Skills exam. Using gaze, the player guides the ninja to land and balance on a series of rock pillars while avoiding birds and ignoring falling cherry blossoms. The game trains planning, steady fixation of attention and gaze, and the ability to ignore moving distractions. This game is unlocked after 3 hours of play.
Game Instructions: Train for the dojo’s aerial skills exam. Guide your ninja to any pillar. Once he lands on a pillar, focus your eyes on the ninja until he balances. Watch out for the birds!
Butterfly Bob
Butterfly Bob flies through a peaceful landscape, collecting nectar from flowers while avoiding menacing bugs and traps hiding in bushes. The player uses gaze to guide Bob vertically, flying higher or lower as needed. It trains anticipatory focus, planning, and prioritization. This game is unlocked after 6 hours of play.
Game Instructions: Help Butterfly Bob collect nectar. Guide Bob to the flowers, but avoid the bugs — they will steal his nectar!
Trapped-a-Zoid
In Trapped-a-Zoid, the player uses gaze to steer a spaceship to avoid colliding with neighboring ships. It trains inhibitory control of attention, requiring the player to suppress salient visual input while gazing into the empty space where the spaceship will be safe. Executive function is trained by engaging top-down strategy planning. This game is unlocked after 10 hours of play.
Game Instructions: You’re trapped! Guide your trapezoid to avoid the projectiles. You gain more lives the longer you survive.
Assessments
The assessment tasks are best used to measure a player’s improvement from one assessment to the next. They are not an accurate assessment of attention challenges on their own.
The Attention Arcade™ includes 3 assessments which each measure different aspects of attention. The purpose of the assessments is to show that skills users are developing in the games transfer to skills in the real world.
In Tiger Trot, the player sees a tiger cub running along a jungle path and peripheral cues that indicate where upcoming obstacles are located. The player must maintain fixation on the tiger during the whole task. If the player deviates, an arrow appears to cue the player to look at the tiger and the tiger slows down. Tiger Trot provides a sensitive measure of covert orienting speed.
Game Instructions: Tena the tiger cub decided to spend her day exploring her jungle. Look at Tena to keep her running full speed. Move Tena using the arrow keys on the keyboard. Pay close attention to the signs next to Tena, these signs will warn you of upcoming obstacles on the path. When you see a single paw, press the arrow key that points in the same direction. For example, press the up arrow key for the paw that is pointing up, the left arrow key for the paw that is pointing left, and the right arrow key for the paw that is pointing right.
When the player looks at the collection device in the middle of the screen, a ghost appears peripherally in one of 16 locations. If the player looks to the ghost before the timer runs out, then the ghost is trapped and pulled into the center object. The assessment measures the timing and accuracy of the player’s ability to orient their attention to a peripheral stimulus.
Game Instructions: Look at the ghosts to catch them. Fill the tank as quickly as you can. Don’t take too long or they will escape!
In Gone Fishing, the player fixates on the fisherman to fill the bob, then cues appear to the left or right. If the cue is a fish, then the player’s task is to look at the fish to catch it. If the cue is a turtle, then the player’s task is to look at the opposite side of the screen where a fish is hiding. This anti-saccade task measures the speed of reaction to the fish targets and inhibitory control in terms of the student’s ability to suppress a look at the turtle (a distractor). Because the game requires players to switch between pro-saccade and anti-saccade trials, we also believe that reaction time measures from this game can be a sensitive measure of task-switching ability.
Game Instructions: Look at the fisherman until his bob is fully colored in. Look at the fish to catch it. Don’t look at the turtle. When you see a turtle, look to the opposite side to catch the fish hiding under the water.
Ready to help your child train their attention skills?
Buy Now!
GET THE GAMES ONLY
$39/mo
Get the BrainLeap™ Attention Arcade games and assessments ready to download and play.
To play the games you need the eye tracker. You can purchase the eye tracker here:
$39.00/month (you may cancel at any time)
GET THE GAMES AND EYE TRACKER
$49/month
Get the Attention Arcade games ready to download and play and the Toobii Eye Tracker shipped to you.
The one-time $100 deposit is fully refundable when you return the eye tracker.
$49.00/month (you may cancel at any time)
$100.00 (refundable deposit)