Kids Brain Health Foundation has received a grant from The Molson Foundation to expand the innovative video game to more age groups and communities.

Like a lot of kids, Noah loves playing video games. In one, he gets to enter a world of dinosaurs, where he can earn tokens while encountering a series of cognitive exercises designed to improve attention, memory and self-regulation. After he started playing, Noah’s teachers noticed that he paid more attention in school, and his grades improved. Beyond the classroom, Noah also has better control of his emotions and credits the same strategies he learned in the game.

Those are significant achievements for Noah, who was diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). He’s among the 1,000-plus children who’ve already benefitted from Dino Island, a therapeutic tablet-based game delivered with the support of an adult within his circle of care, that improves common executive functioning and attention.

Now, a $100,000 grant from The Molson Foundation to the Kids Brain Health Foundation (KBHF) will help the Dino Island team to expand the program.

To date, Dino Island has targeted children from ages 6-12 years. Dr. Sarah Macoun, the Project Lead and an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Victoria, says the new investment will help make the program more accessible. That includes gearing a version to teenagers, delivering it remotely, and eventually tailoring it to different cultural groups.

“We’re incredibly grateful to The Molson Foundation for their generous gift. Their support is a game-changer in expanding Dino Island to better serve a more diverse range of children and communities,” says Shannon Gill, Chief Fund Development Officer for Kids Brain Health Foundation.

Thanks to The Molson Foundation, Dino Island is entering an exciting new chapter – one that promises broader access, deeper impact and more lives changed. The funding will help to accelerate the game’s evolution, enabling Dino Island to reach more children at a critical time.

“Our foundation supports research and programs that help advance the physical, mental and social health of Canadians. So we’re proud to support Dino Island, an innovative and impactful initiative for children and families,” says Andrew Molson, President of The Molson Foundation.

Executive function and self-regulation skills are foundational mental processes that enable us to plan, focus, remember instructions, manage our behaviours and emotions, and juggle multiple tasks. That can be challenging for many children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Dino Island, rooted in over three decades of neuroscience, uses validated neurorehabilitation approaches to improve critical cognitive abilities. Users play five dinosaur-themed games that are aimed at improving specific brain abilities, including sustained attention, impulse control, switching attention, working memory, flexible thinking and strategic problem-solving. “We describe it to children as brain exercises that help to strengthen their thinking abilities,” says Dr. Macoun.

She explains that as children play, the game gets progressively tougher and also adapts to the individual player’s performance and skill. Positive outcomes include changes in the child’s cognitive and thinking abilities, emotional and behavioural regulation, and daily life skills. The Molson Foundation grant will help ensure that more families can realize these kinds of evidence-based and measurable improvements.

Dr. Macoun notes that about 1 in 6 children have a neurodevelopmental disability (ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, learning disorder, and more) or acquired brain injuries that affect neurodevelopment. Almost all experience attention and executive functioning problems that affect their learning, mental health, and quality of life.

Dino Island works in tandem with other interventions and bridges the gap for children and families waiting for treatment. What makes Dino Island stand out is its unique hybrid model that combines therapeutic gameplay with metacognitive coaching.

For children like Noah, many interventions can only be delivered by specially trained experts. But anyone can help a child with Dino Island. A coach – whether a parent, teacher, therapist or support worker – receives training on how to support the child during gameplay and facilitate their success.

That makes it both easier to deliver the game and increases the likelihood that gains will manifest in their everyday lives. Moreover, the involvement of coaches who are part of the child’s everyday life helps to develop their own knowledge and skills to help that child with problem-solving and self-regulation.

“They develop more strategies around neurodevelopmental differences and a shared language when working on challenging tasks,” Dr. Macoun says.

The new grant from the Molson Foundation represents a significant expansion of philanthropic support for Dino Island.

“This investment will help to enhance the game’s appeal, strengthen training for caregivers and educators, and ensure more kids can benefit from this innovative, brain-boosting intervention,” says Gill.

About the Kids Brain Health Foundation: With your support, the Kids Brain Health Foundation is dedicated to ensuring that scientific advancements in neurodevelopmental health are transformed into real-world solutions. By partnering with communities, industry, government and non-profit organizations, KBHF accelerates the implementation of research-driven projects that provide measurable benefits to children and families across Canada.

About The Molson Foundation: The Molson Foundation brings together community organizations and institutions from across Canada to shape innovation and create lasting change for the benefit of society. It focuses its impact on the areas of education, health, the arts and humanities, and since its inception in 1958 has exceeded $220 million in grants.

Media Contact: communications@kidsbrainhealth.ca