If only I knew then…
Growing up, I had teachers with a list of kids that could rival Santa’s naughty list. And I’m pretty sure my name appeared on it more than once. I really hated school and was never an excellent student. I wasn’t the child bringing home medals or proudly waving a perfect report card in the air.
Now that I am an adult, I realize that a large part of my schooling life may have been affected by how I was taught and, perhaps more importantly, how I was treated by my teachers.
Still, I learned to plow through and rise above challenges. I certainly never expected that one day I would own my own jewelry store, become a writer, an editor-in-chief, and, soon, an emcee for Vogue Talks. Not bad for someone who never thought she was particularly good in school.
Fifty-four years down this road of life and motherhood, I realize how important it is to make people believe in themselves. I consciously find myself saying, “I believe in you,” to my daughters, who are now adults building their own lives and having their own adventures. Because sometimes, someone believing in you comes before you learn to believe in yourself.
From time to time, I have wondered whether the reason I didn’t do particularly well in school had something to do with my own thinking ability. Why didn’t I shine academically? Was it a lack of interest? Lack of focus? Was I simply not as good at learning the way things were being taught?
A test of cognitive skills
Recently, I had the chance to take a cognitive skills assessment at BrainRx Philippines in Bonifacio Global City. I went into it feeling rather confident. At 54, after years of working, making decisions every day, and juggling more things than I care to count, I thought, how difficult could this possibly be?
Well, my brain apparently had other plans. As I went through the assessment, I found myself laughing at certain moments because I could actually feel my brain struggling.
Why couldn’t I remember what I had just seen? Wait, what was that again? And this was only the assessment.
When I sat down to discuss my results with Joy S. Go, co-founder of BrainRx Philippines and center director of its BGC branch, I learned that I had areas where my cognitive skills could still be strengthened. That immediately made me think: What if I had known this when I was younger?
It also made me realize that an assessment like this isn’t necessarily about finding out whether you are “smart” or “not smart.” It can help identify how different cognitive skills involved in learning and thinking are functioning and where there may be room for improvement.
That fascinated me. If my memory and focus were stronger, could I actually accomplish more? Could I work faster? Could I absorb information more efficiently?
And if I’m asking these questions at 54, imagine what knowing this could mean for a child whose brain is still developing.
Tapping into your potential
Parents naturally want to tap their children’s potential. Today, children have access to more information and more ways of learning than we ever did. But understanding how a child processes, remembers, and responds to information may offer another piece of the puzzle.
It also made me wonder about adults like me. By this age, our brains have settled comfortably into routines. We know what we’re good at, we compensate for what we’re not so good at, and we develop our own little tricks to get through the day.
But can cognitive training still push an adult brain further?
According to Go, the brain retains the ability to change. This is the idea behind neuroplasticity, the brain’s capacity to adapt and reorganize in response to experience and learning.
Focus, of course, is complicated. There are many possible reasons someone may struggle with it. Internal factors can include cognitive abilities, mindset, and physical and mental health, while external factors can include teaching methods and the school or home environment.
At BrainRx, Go says improving focus is one of the common reasons both children and adults enroll in their programs. Their training targets cognitive skills involved in learning and attention. As these skills improve, she says some clients also become more engaged and confident.
Clients begin with an assessment and, when appropriate, can proceed to an on-site cognitive training program. BrainRx emphasizes that this is different from tutoring, occupational therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy or counseling. They accept clients from around four and a half years old through adulthood.
Beyond the behavior
Looking back at my own school days, I remember classmates whose names were constantly being called by our teachers: “Pay attention!” “Stop talking!” “Sit down!” “You’re not listening!”
We simply called them naughty. Now, I wonder what was really going on inside some of those young brains. If they had access to the kinds of assessments and professional evaluations available today, perhaps some of them would have been better understood instead of simply being labeled “difficult.”
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, was hardly part of our everyday vocabulary back then. Today, parents and teachers are generally more aware of attention and learning difficulties, although an important distinction remains: A cognitive skills assessment is not the same as an ADHD diagnosis.
In the Philippines, concerns about ADHD should be evaluated by appropriately qualified healthcare professionals, such as developmental pediatricians or clinical psychologists.
It does make me think about the question many parents have probably asked themselves: Is my child simply being naughty, or is there something else behind the behavior?
Sometimes the child who cannot sit still isn’t trying to annoy the teacher. The child staring out the window may not be lazy. And the student getting poor grades may not lack intelligence.
Understanding how the mind works
There may simply be more to the story. Which brings me back to my own story. For years, I thought I just wasn’t particularly good at school. Perhaps I simply hadn’t discovered where and how I learned best. Maybe the lesson isn’t that I suddenly became smarter. Maybe I eventually found the places where I could shine.
And maybe that is one of the greatest things we can give children, and even adults: the opportunity to understand how their minds work before convincing them that they simply aren’t good enough.
As for my BrainRx results, I now know there are still areas where my brain could use a little work.
After all, if I’ve spent 54 years exercising my mouth, surely it’s time I gave my brain a proper workout, too.
For information on BrainRx Philippines’ cognitive skills assessment, visit brainrxph.com/assessment or @brainrxph on Instagram and Facebook
