The result was keep. Sarahj2107 (talk) 08:56, 15 November 2016 (UTC)
Brian training programmes are a scam, the evidence shows that they have no actual effect. Amazingly, this distinctly promotional article instead notes that the brain is more plastic than previously imagined - which may or may not be true but is of course irrelevant to the fact that these training programmes don't work.
So I tried to make the article more neutral, but as I investigated the sources I found that those cited are churnalism - press releases printed in the newspapers without investigation or commentary - and I found no evidence of anything else that could be used instead. Guy (Help!) 21:19, 30 October 2016 (UTC)
See https://books.google.com/books?id=7ZDIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT49 for the chapter titled "LearningRx". The book discusses LearningRx for roughly seven pages.
The book notes:
LearningRx turns out to be the most expensive, least supported by published research, and most aggressively marketed of the four leading cognitive training programs. It bears the curious distinction of being the only one set up as a franchise, like McDonald's with independent owners running each of the eighty-three LearningRx centers in twenty countries. And neither the franchise owners nor the trainers who work for them are required to have anything more than a four-year college degree.
But hang on. LearningRx also has some unique assets, in particular that its training is offered in person, rather than on a computer, with a trainer encouraging each student to persevere—an important asset for children or adults struggling with issues of attention and focus. ... Moreover, many of the tasks that Learning Rx uses are the same kinds used by other cognitive trainers, except that they have been translated from a computer format to tabletop exercises performed with playing cards and other materials.
The article notes:
On this Wednesday evening at the Upper Montclair, N.J., outlet of LearningRx, a chain of 83 “brain training” franchises across the United States, the goal is to improve cognitive skills. LearningRx is one of a growing number of such commercial services — some online, others offered by psychologists. Unlike traditional tutoring services that seek to help students master a subject, brain training purports to enhance comprehension and the ability to analyze and mentally manipulate concepts, images, sounds and instructions. In a word, it seeks to make students smarter.
“We measure every student pre- and post-training with a version of the Woodcock-Johnson general intelligence test,” said Ken Gibson, who began franchising LearningRx centers in 2003, and has data on more than 30,000 of the nearly 50,000 students who have been trained. “The average gain on I.Q. is 15 points after 24 weeks of training, and 20 points in less than 32 weeks.”
The article notes:
Based in Colorado Springs, Colo., the LearningRx Franchise Corp. opened its first office in 2002. Today it has 40 centers across the country, including one that opened in Lake Oswego in early October, and expects to open 50 more within the next year.
Clients don't typically arrive by doctor referral. What's being sold is cognitive improvement by coaching. All clients are tested, then assigned to a trainer. Most are children and teens who face challenges with such skills as reading, concentrating and problem solving and who often have low grades, said Linda Conlee, owner of the Lake Oswego franchise.
The article notes:
She decided to enroll her children in LearningRx, a Colorado-based program that works to strengthen the brain's cognitive skills so students can learn more quickly and easily.
The program first came to Minnesota two years ago. Since then, four more LearningRx franchises have opened in the state, including the newest center in Eagan.
Although the program bills itself as beneficial for anybody, students with cognitive and learning disabilities, such as attention deficit disorder and dyslexia, are flocking to it. Some parents say the benefits are so great that their children can go off their medications.
But experts remain skeptical that a program could produce such dramatic results.
Canan Karatekin, associate professor of child development at the University of Minnesota's Institute of Child Development, said research shows it's possible to improve cognitive functions. But she says programs, like LearningRx, should be independently researched.
The article notes:
LearningRx is used for a variety of learners, including students with learning disabilities, K-12 and college students who want to improve their academic skills, adults wanting to improve their job performance and senior citizens who want to stay mentally sharp, as stated in a LearningRx Inc. flier.
...
Ken Gibson, founder of LearningRx, discovered through his research that 80 percent of learning problems are cognitive weaknesses, Winchell said.
...
The program is designed to strengthen weak underlying processing skills, including attention, working memory, processing speed, logic and reasoning, visual processing, auditory processing and long-term memory. These skills are the foundation of a student's ability to learn and are the basic mental abilities used for thinking, studying and learning, according to LearningRx.
The article notes:
LearningRx, a Colorado Springs company that operates a franchised network of 80 tutoring centers in 25 states, is just beginning to recover after a 1½-year battle with the Federal Trade Commission over whether it could back up its advertising claims with scientific studies and other research.
The company settled in May a lawsuit filed in federal court last year by the agency that alleged it "deceptively claimed their programs were clinically proven to permanently improve serious health conditions like ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), autism, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, strokes, and concussions." The suit said LearningRx also claimed the "training substantially improved school grades and college admission test scores, career earnings, and job and athletic performance" and that its "brain training is 10 times more cost-effective than tutoring."
The settlement included a $4 million judgment against Learning Rx, though all but $200,000 was suspended, and bars the company from claiming its programs improve performance on the job or in athletics or increase cognitive function of people with age-related memory loss, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, ADHD, autism, traumatic brain injury or stroke.
...
LearningRx, formally known as LearningRx Franchise Corp., traces its roots back more than 30 years in Florida to Gibson's work as an pediatric optometrist to help his patients more easily learn to read. Gibson, who had difficulty reading as a child as a result of dyslexia, found that reading skills could be improved through "interval training" similar to what professional athletes use to raise the level of their athletic performance. He began to sell licenses for his research and reading program to other optometrists and later psychologists, numbering 500 by 2000.
The article notes:
The company behind the LearningRX “brain training” program has agreed to pay a $200,000 settlement and to stop making claims that its system is clinically proven to treat serious health conditions, or that it can dramatically improves a user’s IQ or income.
According to the complaint [PDF] filed with a federal court in LearningRx’s home state of Colorado, the company made numerous unsubstantiated claims in the marketing of its program.
Included among the allegedly unsubstantiated statements made by LearningRx are boasts about the program’s ability to boost IQs, and therefore income.
...
In settling the complaint, LearningRx denies any wrongdoing, but agrees to pay $200,000 (of a $4 million judgment against the company) and to cease making unsubstantiated claims about the performance, benefits, or efficacy of their programs. LearningRx is also barred from misrepresenting the existence or results of any tests or studies, and from providing others with the means to make the prohibited claims.
The article notes:
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced the developers and marketers of the LearningRx “brain training” programs have settled to pay $200,000 and agreed to stop making allegedly false and unsubstantiated claims.
The FTC had said LearningRx Franchise Corp and its CEO, Dr. Ken Gibson, made allegations that their programs were clinically proven to help with conditions like ADHD, autism, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, strokes and concussions. The company marketed these allegations through its website and blog, as well as Facebook, Twitter, print and radio ads and direct mail pieces. The FTC believes these claims were inaccurate and therefore deceptive.
Cunard (talk) 02:53, 31 October 2016 (UTC)
LearningRx turns out to be the most expensive, least supported by published research, and most aggressively marketed of the four leading cognitive training programs. It bears the curious distinction of being the only one set up as a franchise, like McDonald's with independent owners running each of the eighty-three LearningRx centers in twenty countries. And neither the franchise owners nor the trainers who work for them are required to have anything more than a four-year college degree....But hang on. LearningRx also has some unique assets, in particular that its training is offered in person, rather than on a computer, with a trainer encouraging each student to persevere
Based in Colorado Springs, Colo., the LearningRx Franchise Corp. opened its first office in 2002. Today it has 40 centers across the country, including one that opened in Lake Oswego in early October, and expects to open 50 more within the next year. (following information is literally about business & clients overall, not the actual company)
I'll note that even the last 2 AfDs contained these same exact sources, so that's also saying something that, if after all these years, no one could get better substance – sources 6–8 were published in 2016, which is after Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/LearningRx (2nd nomination) was closed 30 May 2015. The sources discuss the federal lawsuit against LearningRx for making "numerous unsubstantiated claims in the marketing of its program". The Consumerist, which focuses on "consumerism and consumers' experiences and issues with companies and corporations" (according to the Wikipedia article), does not "shoehor[n] PR along with trivial pieces about a law case".
Cunard (talk) 04:22, 31 October 2016 (UTC)
The negative material about the lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission surfaced one year after my rewrite in October 2016. I have updated the article to include this information.
Cunard (talk) 07:47, 10 November 2016 (UTC)