Written by Gary Hancock

They come in search of clues to the mysteries of their own minds, and, one by one, leave in control of a brain that miraculously works like never before.

These are the clients of “Brainworks” – a one-of-its-kind educational enterprise whose nontraditional approach to learning is garnering critical acclaim from coast to coast.

No other area program approaches learning issues as comprehensively or scientifically according to Dr. Michael Kramer, a family physician at RHD Hospital in Farmers Branch.

“Everyone’s brain is wired a little differently,” says Brainworks director Carla Crutsinger. With that in mind, she administers a series of diagnostic tests to determine which learning activities will best help clients think at their optimal level.

“We identify a client’s intellectual strengths so they may be employed to shore up whatever weaknesses might exist,” Crutsinger explains.

The former teacher founded Brainworks in 1981 when her then 12-year-old gifted son, Sam, failed to keep pace at school.

Much of Sam’s academic problems would eventually trace back to a rather severe case of Attention Deficit Disorder, and nearly 90 percent of those currently enrolled at Brainworks also suffer from ADD. About half of Brainworks’ clients are gifted or talented, and most all enrollees are of average or higher intelligence.

Despite their innate capacity for advanced thinking, most clients arrive at Brainworks under the self-destructive malaise of low self-esteem. Their inability to realize intellectual potential has left them at wit’s end, and the negative feedback they receive from others often leads to depression. Brainworks counters this trend by serving as a positively reinforced comfort zone where clients can form symbiotic relationships with kindred souls who share in their agony of ADD-related trials and tribulations. Of course, it also helps to remind clients that some of history’s greatest thinkers – Winston Churchill, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin included – probably suffered from ADD but still found a way to tap into their vast intellectual reservoir.

“Whether there’s a connection between ADD and higher intelligence is still open to debate,” Crutsinger says, “but whether you have ADD or think ahead of the curve isn’t really the issue. What’s really important is that we all become more aware of how our brain works and of ways to make it work better.”

To that end, Brainworks attracts a diverse clientele comprising adults and kids alike.

One billionaire’s “20-something” son came to Brainworks because his life of luxury had never forced him to learn to read. A 20-year teaching veteran enrolled at Brainworks because she needed help developing the analytical thinking skills that would allow her to pass an analogy intense L-SAT and gain acceptance into law school. Two current clients fall into the ADD group. One, a fifth grade boy, struggles with perfectionism, while the other, a seventh grade girl, battles social anxiety.

A staff of highly trained teachers administers Brainworks’ more than 2,000 learning activities with assistance from a cadre of gifted and talented high school students. Most activities focus on exercising isolated components of the brain, but some activities address social skills while others target stress reduction. There’s even an on-site biofeedback station.

“Failure is not an option here,” Crutsinger says. “After all, when clients arrive at our front door, it’s usually because their future is at risk. It’s our job to correct the problem…not to teach them how to cope with it.” “In fact, having to tutor someone for years would be an insult to me,” Crutsinger adds. “That would mean we’re not doing our job. Our job is to work ourselves out of a job – to teach each person the skills they need to become an independent, successful learner.”

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