Brainworks® - Taylor, Proud to Be an Aggie
Success Stories
Taylor, Proud to Be an Aggie
Taylor Schumacher was living his dream – he was a freshman at Texas A& M. He loved College Station, the college life, and his classes. Taylor had been labeled "gifted" since elementary school and had easily made all A's and B's throughout his education. College would be no different, or so he thought. "I thought I could just keep studying like I did in high school, and I would be fine," Taylor told his Brainworks' teacher. "Boy, was I wrong," he added.
Taylor had enrolled in challenging classes at A & M: Calculus, Chemistry, Technical Writing, and Intro to Computer Science. The Chemistry class also required a 4-hour lab. "I got off to a great start in my classes, but by November, my grades were the lowest I had ever received – F's, D's and C's," Taylor said. Because he had been so successful throughout his earlier education, Taylor did not know how to improve his grades. "I did start working harder on current assignments, but I just ignored the information I did not understand," Taylor commented. He did not know then that learning is a building block process. You have to understand Step 1 to be successful at Step 5. He did what he had done in the past; he crammed during exam week. What were the results? 2 D's, 1C and 1 F!! The gifted student was placed on scholastic probation.
Taylor came to Brainworks during Christmas Break. After his diagnostic testing, the staff recommended he see a doctor to be checked for Inattentive ADHD. Taylor had attended Brainworks nine years earlier and, at that time, was taking medication for ADHD. However, later he felt he had been "cured" of his ADHD and no longer needed medication.
Taylor told the staff that he was leaving for school soon, but he wanted to come for help so he could make better grades the spring semester. He came two hours a day until he left for school, working one-on-one with certified teachers.
Taylor was tested in reading comprehension and speed to check for any deficiencies. He had none. He was reading well-above college level. His math test revealed several areas of weakness, most in basic knowledge, not in application, the most difficult level. This is typical of unmedicated ADHDers; they make careless mistakes, but are good at logic and problem solving.
What were his weakest areas? Memory, time management, organization, and study skills. The tests also showed several gifted areas--sequencing, creativity, logic, and understanding of verbal relations. Brainworks would use Taylor's strengths to improve his weaknesses.
During memory exercises on the computer, Taylor struggled with recalling previously seen images (shown one at a time in groups of 3-8 for only a few seconds). He was taught to use his creativity and sequencing to make short sentences that helped him visualize the images in a sequence. He progressed from remembering only 2 - 4 images or objects to being successful when shown 8 images– in forward or reverse order! He also applied this strategy in the Advertising Activity, a Brainworks favorite. He remembered boring and unrelated pictures by making sentences that not only described the pictures, but also helped Taylor "see" the order of the pictures. He eventually was able to sequence 18 unrelated pictures in correct order! This skill helps one learn information in a chronological sequence.
Taylor was taught the value of flashcards and was able to use his creativity to improve his recall. He made flashcards for all of his classes. He used different colors for positive and negative ions in Chemistry. He also used color and linking sentences to remember the complicated processes taught in his Computer Science class.
By learning how to use creativity in his classes, new possibilities opened up for Taylor. "I had never been shown how to organize schoolwork or classes using color. I can get excited about this," he said. And he did. He showed up one day with color-coordinated spirals, notebooks, and folders--a color for each class. He also had several packages of colored flashcards and markers. He proudly showed his teachers the flashcards he had already made and how he had organized them for his spring classes.
Taylor needed to manage his time better than he had in the fall. He used his A & M spring schedule to complete a daily time management calendar. He was taught to see the difference between "study time" and "homework time." Homework time would be for current class assignments. Study time would be time spent reviewing previous class material and preparing for the next class period. Taylor discovered he could schedule his classes, homework, and study time, and even class tutorials in a way that he could still have time for hobbies and friends. He had to make the commitment. He had been too impulsive with his time in the past.
"Brainworks helped me learn new skills and strategies that I know will make me more successful when I return to school, " Taylor told the staff. "I am excited about going back and putting to use what I have learned. I was feeling down on myself because of how badly I had done at school, but I feel better about myself now. Brainworks not only showed me the mistakes I made my first semester, but also taught me how to correct them." he added.
"Excited about going back to school"--music to a teacher's ear. With this positive attitude and the skills he learned at Brainworks, Taylor is almost guaranteed to have a successful spring semester. And at last report, he is making all A's and B's...and has a stack of filled out flashcards ready for the next test review.