A warning blow to companies making unsubstantiated claims for brain-training programs
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 8:17 am
This is interesting and very important - a report via the Federal Trade Commission:
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-r ... tc-chargesMarketers of One-on-One ‘Brain Training’ Programs Settle FTC Charges That Claims about Ability to Treat Severe Cognitive Impairments Are Unsupported
We have various examples of companies making dubious claims about their brain-training programs causing considerable financial pain and angst in the field of reading development:The developers and marketers of the LearningRx “brain training” programs have agreed to stop making a range of false and unsubstantiated claims and pay $200,000 under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.
According to the FTC’s complaint, LearningRx Franchise Corp. and its CEO, Dr. Ken Gibson, deceptively claimed that their programs were clinically proven to permanently improve serious health conditions like ADHD, autism, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, strokes, and concussions and that the training substantially improved school grades and college admission test scores, career earnings, and job and athletic performance. They also allegedly claimed that LearningRx brain training is 10 times more cost-effective than tutoring.
“Companies that say they can significantly improve serious health conditions or how your brain functions in everyday situations need to back up those claims with sound science,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “In this case, the defendants couldn’t show their training provides the health or other real-world benefits they claimed.”