Cognitive skills are essential for human life - they are what our brain uses to brain uses to think, read, learn, remember, reason, and pay attention, and are also what separates us from animals. 

However, we don't automatically possess most of them from birth. The development of our cognitive skills is a journey from the beginning of our infancy to our early or mid-twenties. Each of our skills are important in helping us process new information. So, if one of these skills is weak, retaining or using new information is impacted. In fact, most struggles in learning are caused by a weakness in one or more cognitive skills. 

What are Cognitive Skills?

• Auditory processing 

  • This skill allows us to analyze, segment, and blend sounds

  • If it is weak, we may struggle to learn to read, our reading fluency may not be at the level it should be, or our reading comprehension is poor

• Visual processing

  • Allows us to think using images

  • If it is weak, we have a hard time understanding what we have just read, recalling what we read, reading maps, doing word math problems, or reading maps

• Logic and reasoning

  • Enables us to reason, problem-solve, and form new ideas

  • If this skill is weak, we have to ask  “What do I do next?” or say “I don’t get this,” we feel stuck overwhelmed, or struggle with math 

• Long-term memory

  • Enables us to recall information stored in the past

  • If it is weak, we forget names, do poorly on tests, forget things we used to know

• Working memory

  • Enables us to capture information while using it

  • If this skill is weak, we usually have to re-read directions in the middle of a project, forget what was said in a conversation, or have a hard time following multi-step directions

• Processing speed

  • Enables us to perform tasks with accuracy and speed

  • If this skill is weak, most tasks are more challenging. It may take us a long time to finish work or school tasks, or we are the last one in a group to finish something

• Attention

  • Sustained attention lets us stay focused on a task for a sustained period of time.

  • Selective attention, on the other hand, allows us to stay focused on tasks despite distractions. 

  • Divided attention allows us to remember information while doing two things at once (multitasking)

  • Common problems if attention is weak: lots of unfinished projects, jumping from task to task, easily distracted, difficulty multitasking, and frequent mistakes

How can you help your teen improve their cognitive skills? Well, it’s all about the journey, not the outcome. Keep reading to learn more.

The Cognitive Journey

Our cognitive skills determine our ability to think, explore, and understand the world around us. As infants, we rely solely on our sensory experience. We perceive the world through sound, smell, touch, hearing, and sight. 

As we grow up, we learn to interpret messages communicated to us by our caregivers and communicate rudimentary messages ourselves. 

Once we've mastered language, we begin to analyze the information we receive, make connections, and consider consequences. We apply our knowledge to different situations, and our judgment begins to form.

Challenges

What happens when you encounter roadblocks on this journey? Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder characterized by challenges to communication, learning, social interactions, and executive functioning. Teens with ASD perceive the world differently from their peers. 

While these differences can add twists and turns to a teen with autism's learning journey, it doesn't mean it has to change the final destination. All teens possess neural plasticity, which is the brain's ability to rewire itself. This rewiring takes place on neural pathways. If repeated often enough, new activities forge new neural pathways, cementing knowledge within the brain. 

Cerebral Weightlifting

Knowing this, we can look at cognitive skills like cerebral weightlifting. Every time a teen learns or practices something new, these neural pathways grow stronger. Teens with autism benefit hugely from a variety of different cognitive skills-based activities. This variety taps into different knowledge acquisition pathways and turbocharges their neural connections. 

CHECK OUT OUR FREE AUTISM TOOLKIT. It's packed full of practical tools parents & students can use every day!

Cognitive Activities to Excercise the Brain

Here are seven great cognitive skill-focused activities you can try with your teen with autism today: 

1. Homemade Instruments: making shakers, drums, or chimes from scratch at home help teens with autism or other ASDs develop their ability to perceive different sounds as well as their fine motor skills through creating and playing with the fruits of their labor 

2. Car washing: give your teen tools like water, soap, sponges, and wipers. Car washing helps work their fine motor skills, stimulates their sense of touch, and teaches them values like cleanliness, seeing tasks through to completion, and the importance of hard work. 

3. Mirror studying: stand or sit with your teen in front of the mirror and practice making different expressions and simulating a variety of emotions. This practice helps them gain self-awareness, learn about the physical actions that accompany their feelings, and correctly perceive non-verbal cues from others.

4. Learn chess: depending on their age, chess could be a fantastic option for a teen with ASD. Chess challenges them to develop their fine motor skills as they simultaneously remember the game's rules and consider short, middle, and long-term consequences.  

5. Home theater: playing pretend is a marvelous opportunity to stretch creative, linguistic, and long-term planning skills at home. Creating their script challenges them to consider different characters, how to develop a story, and most importantly, how it will end. 

6. Playing sports: getting active is as essential for the mind as it is for the body. Exercise boosts the mood and reduces stress and anxiety. This double combo of mood booster and stress reducer frees the brain up to retain information and learn new skills. 

7. Jigsaw puzzles: through studying jigsaw pieces and putting them together, teens learn to strategize, make decisions, and comprehend concepts on a macro and micro level. They learn to organize ideas, make hypotheses, and apply the knowledge they've acquired in different areas. 

There you have it! Seven ways you can boost your teen’s cognitive skills today. 

If you liked what you read and what to find more information like this, check out our blog. 

If you are considering a transition to specialized education for your student with autism or other exceptionalities, get in touch. Our programs are crafted for each individual student’s learning ability, and your teen deserves to be in an environment where they will thrive. Learn more about our programs here, or learn about free tuition here. 

YOUR STUDENT DESERVES TO BE SEEN FOR THEIR ABILITIES, RATHER THAN DEFINED BY THEIR DIAGNOSIS.

Here at PS Academy Arizona, students love coming to school. Why? Because here, they aren't defined by their diagnosis. They shine when they identify their abilities, are accepted for their differences, make friends, and discover new skills. They are given the tools and the responsibility they need to be challenged and inspired to excel in school and beyond.