We all have information processing short-comings. Interestingly, most of us are unaware of our memory and processing weaknesses, or how to pinpoint them prescriptively. Perhaps by reading the following stories, you will gain insight into where you can personally go to move forward.

Click here to see what happened to thirty individuals age 8 to adult, 15 to 25 years later. They were taught in small groups in clinical practice, and had abilities ranging from Gifted, Average, to Severe Deficiencies. Where are they now?

The following stories are just a few of my clients who broke the barriers and entered The High Performance Thinking ® workplace. Each story discusses the person's memory levels Before and After The Bridge To Achievement ® Their capabilities ranged from high to low. Their information processing efficiency affected the kind of life they led.

These stories show that improved information processing ability is appropriate
for everyone. The names in the stories are fictitious to ensure their privacy.

A: Before: Tested superior in spatial and visual memory; had poor listening skills with low self-esteem. Had many personal problems, and sought better listening memory and problem-solving skills for career advancement.

B: After: Tested gifted, very superior in all areas - improved his listening skill,  organizational ability, and interpersonal skills. Is receiving A's as a  Business major in college and was promoted to Line Supervisor. 

In the initial interview, Jeff, 38, was pleasant and mild mannered. He was rather heavy-set, and wore blue-jeans and work boots. His fair hair, mustache, pale blue eyes, and dimpled smile gave him a genial appearance. Looking at Jeff, you would never guess he experienced many personal problems, and suffered from alcoholism.

As a child, he lived with foster parents. This left him searching for who he was. His marriage had recently crumbled. He had two teenage sons two were also groping for their identities. To cope with his personal problems, he was receiving counseling from a psychologist.

Jeff was a maintenance machinist at a manufacturing plant for the past en years. Although he earned good money, he knew something was missing. "I want more out of life," he told me emphatically. He wanted new challenges and responsibilities. Perhaps a job change would give him a new outlook. At the conclusion of the interview, gesturing with conviction, he said, "This training is just what I've been looking for."

As a machinist, Jeff relied heavily on his visual speed and spatial ability. Not surprisingly, he tested superior in these areas. His test's scores verified "what you use, you have." His reasoning and logic scores in the 92nd percentile attested to his high I.Q. or 123.

In contrast to his high visual ability, Jeff's listening scores were in the low-average 26th percentile range. He couldn't remember oral directions. Although he processed facts easily, he could not retain them. Given his high intelligence, he felt great inner frustration.

Jeff entered the class enthusiastically and captivated the entire class of six adults in varying career stages. Serving as a role model, Jeff was the first to bridge the social and personality barriers that existed among them. The class represented a wide spectrum of social structure, as evidenced by the variety of their attire.

The class included two bright, preppily-dressed college students, and a robust male nurse in khakis who had recently received a promotion to supervisor. They contrasted with a petite farm woman dressed in blue-jeans and cowboy boot who wanted to train as a telecommunications operator, and an impeccably dressed insurance salesman in a pinstriped suit and tie.

The group had one thing in common; a strong desire for self-advancement. Yet, they all had insecurities, and a fear of having their intellectual weaknesses exposed. The college students wanted to appear superior to the older students, and the adults wanted to appear more knowledgeable than the college students.

The intra-class dynamics were cheerful, relaxed, and soon everyone bonded through the practice activities. As a result, everyone progressed rapidly.

The ending course test gains confirmed Jeff as a talented, high achiever. He completed the course with a profile labeled, "Very Superior" by testing standards. His cognitive skills and memory test scores were in the 91-100% range. On an intelligence test that measured language and reasoning ability, he scored in the 99th%. This high intelligence score qualified him for admission to Mensa, the international honor society for people of established high intelligence. Jeff was ecstatic about his achievement.

With newly generated confidence, and new-found ability to listen and communicate better, Jeff pulled his life together. He lost weight, went though alcohol rehabilitation and joined the Alcoholics Anonymous support group. He and his former wife remarried, and he now enjoys family life, raising his sons. Jeff also enrolled in night classes at a local college and maintained an A average in business administration and psychology courses. He was consistently on the Dean's Honor Roll.

At work,Jeff's supervisor selected him as a facilitator and leader of project trouble shooting and developing team problem-solving techniques. He was responsible for meeting coordination, and organizing technical assistance.

His improved inter-communication skills are evident in his new life-style. I called him recently for an update, and heard that he had entered the first phase of the Episcopal ministry, the Diaconate, where he will listen to and counsel others' problems.

He now understands himself, and can can help others find their way. He is comfortable with his stabilized family life and present occupation, now that he knows who he is and what he is capable of doing.

 Story Number 2: Bill - College Student 

A: Before: Male, early 20s; had a severe visual perceptual problem and scored average in listening capability. He struggled to get C's as a freshman at a university. Handsome and popular, and had been senior class president and track star in high school. Needed to raise his college test scores to meet entrance requirements for physical therapy school, which was very competitive and required a high B average. Hundreds of students apply yearly, but only a few are accepted, competing for the few openings.

B: After: Tested superior in visual and listening memory. Was one of thirty students accepted into physical therapy school. He graduated with honors. Bill is now a physical therapist in private practice, and has opened his own physical therapy training system.

Bill had a severe visual perceptual problem; dyslexia. In first grade, he fell behind the other children in reading. He was taught reading using the sight-say method rather than auditory phonics. Because phonics teaches reading through listening, it would have been a more effective method for Bill.

Throughout the elementary grades, Bill found himself struggling with reading. His peers teased him for being in the slowest reading group. A teacher suspected something was wrong with his vision, and asked his parents to have an optometrist evaluate his sight. His vision was fine, and he read the letters accurately. Everyone was puzzled, as his brothers and sisters were very bright without similar problems.

A specialist then tested Bill for a learning disability, but he did not quality for services. Professionals administered other tests, but never accurately identified the underlying cause of his problem, as the testing did not include a visual memory battery. It should also be noted that professionals come from different schools of thought or disciplines, and a diagnostic variance in tests and interpretation is common.

Bill scraped through grade school and junior high. He was a popular, All-American boy in high school. Through perseverance and with the help of his older siblings who tutored him in math and science, he managed to get through high school.

One evening, his mother overheard him sobbing in his bedroom. Because he was an adjusted young adult, she was puzzled why he was upset. Maybe it was a girlfriend problem. Hesitating outside his door, she finally inquired what was bothering him.

Bill told her that the prospect of attending the university worried him. He knew college could require constant, heavy reading. He said, "Mom, I simply don't think I can make it through college."

One day, I happened to see him fill out a check with a shaky scrawl. I immediately recognized a severe visual perceptual problem. Bill needed help, and fast.

I offered a scholarship to Bill to take my program. He was receptive, and eager to try the brain drills. He took "The Bridge To Achievement"® training following his freshman year at a state university, where he had struggled to maintain a C average.

When I administered the pre-course tests, his confident, handsome face and dimpled smile belied his apprehension toward the test-taking procedure. The visual perception test was especially stressful for him. His visual memory scores were in excessively low ranges, and his listening scores were average. At the conclusion of the program, he scored superior on the visual speed tests consisting of word and number sequences and very superior on the listening tests.

Following the course, Bill continued to diligently review and practice the lesson drills using the computerized reading program. For the next three years at the university, Bill maintained a nearly 4.0 grade point average (GPA) in a pre-med major that included physics, chemistry, and calculus. Bill credits these higher grades to my training.

With a straight A average in graduate school, he received a fully paid internship at a prestigious hospital. He is now married, and a successful physical therapist in private practice and has created his own training system to market via the Internet.

 Story Number 3: Marilyn - Postal Bulk Mail Handler 

A: Before: Tested Dyslexic with severe visual and listening memory deficiencies. She was unable to hold down part time work.

B: After: Tested average to superior in all mental areas - is a full time Postal Clerk Supervisor with high organizational work skills. 

When I first met Marilyn, she was a frazzled, plump, 53-year old woman with thinning short red hair. Desperately needing income, she had run an ad requesting ironing work. Answering her ad, I rang the doorbell to drop off a basket of shirts. Wrapped in a faded chenille bath robe, she answered the door wit her hair in curlers and gave me a nervous look. Without comment, she took the order, and hastily shut the door.

One day, when I returned for the ironing, it was not ready. She shoved the laundry basket toward me and stated curtly, "I just can't work on this." The woman, frustrated with the tedious work, had quit.

Months later, I heard her name called on a local discount store's address speaker. She had evidently had become a stock clerk. Soon, she failed at this job, because she couldn't remember the work instructions. She placed items on the wrong shelves, and didn't enter the inventory correctly.

Marilyn became a bulk mail bag handler in a nearby city. She commuted two hours daily and worked the night shift. Her manual labor job required her to sit at the top of a high mail chute where mail transport trucks unloaded incoming mail bags.

She then sorted the bags into first, second, and third class mail. Every working shift she threw approximately 600 mail bags, each one weighing over one hundred pounds. Since she was the only woman in the team of workers, her co-workers often kidded about her spunk and athletic ability. Although the work was extremely strenuous, she was determined to endure the demands of the job because of the job security it offered.

Marilyn had been totally self-supporting since her husband's death twenty years earlier. Prior to her mail bag handling job, she had a scattered work history of low wage jobs. Now she was eager to secure a less physically demanding assignment.

Tiring of the strenuous manual labor, she knew as a clerical worker in an air conditioned post office, she would have higher wages with improved benefits. She was preparing to take a postal clerks exam. This test required fast visual (or reading) processing of names, street numbers, and cities. THe tests included speed and accuracy drills, and required a good, quick memory. Recognizing this need, she called me for help.

I was taken aback by her interest, having clearly remembered her as the contrite ironing lady. I scheduled a testing evaluation and administered a battery of cognitive skills and intelligence tests. Her extremely low test results dismayed me.

Her evaluation confirmed she had a severe deficiency in processing both visual and listening information, and additionally, she could not conceptualize well. She would be difficult, even impossible, to place in an instructional group of similar performing adults, as it is higher achieving individuals who seek my training.

Marilyn knew no barriers. It never crossed her mind she had the disadvantages of age, lack of education, inability to process information well, and lack of credible work history. With four strikes against her, Marilyn did have one advantage; she had determination and courage. The only way for her to go was up.

I informed several other people waiting for class placement of Marilyn's situation. Even though they tested with much high entry level abilities, I considered her need and overwhelming desire for self-improvement. Luckily, everyone was understanding and eager to give Marilyn an opportunity.

Since the group was diverse with varied intellectual levels the class would be difficult to teach. Yet, the sincerity and kindness of the group eased my instructional challenge. But, her challenge lay ahead.

The class speaking rehearsal exercises were difficult for her. WIth the group support and positive atmosphere, she plowed ahead.

At the conclusion of the course, she scored very superior in visual speed and average- to-high average in visual retention. Her listening scores now ranged from average-to low-average, a big improvement form the severe deficit score of O. She was also now able to conceptualize, or understand information better.

Following the Mem-ExSpan course, she studied strenuously for the clerical workers' test, hoping she could leave her night job as mail handler. She dreamed of having an air conditioned clerical job rather than working hard labor in the extreme heat or cold at night in the mail chute.

Using techniques and training from the class, she devised her own learning audio tapes. Determined to pass the mail sorting proficiency exam, she studied into the wee hours of the morning. She practiced for the test by throwing imaginary pieces of mail into grocery sacks.

She was ready to take the postal exam. During the timed test, her supervisors skeptically watched as she quickly sorted and tossed letters. Her speed and proficiency surprised them. When Marilyn received her positive exam results, she called me immediately.

Her voice shook with excitement as she related the news. Marilyn had proved herself, and had broken the barriers for entering the high performance workplace.

One year later, I wondered how Marilyn was doing, and whether her test scores had held. As I picked up the telephone, I wondered, had she maintained her newly developed mental skills? As we discussed her progress, she asked if she would still score highly.

I re-tested her with the same standardized cognitive tests. Her visual speed score, which had climbed from the 55th percentile on the pre-course training test to the 86th percentile following the curse, was now, one year later, at the 96th percentile. It was evident her visual scanning speed, practiced daily in her new position, was lubricating her brain engine.

Her ability to sequence alphabet letters maintained in the high average, 63rd percentile range. The training alleviated the dyslexia symptoms.

Marilyn can now process what she sees and hears, and feels good about herself. She lost weight, which improved her personal appearance and image. Marilyn, through determination and hard work, had advanced herself from a labor- to white collar job, and achieved her goal. She also does not have to face a life of degrading public welfare. With a better paying job assignment with good benefits, she has secure tenure, and makes triple time over her forty hour work week.

It is now almost twenty years later. I saw her shopping in a store. She is still working at the downtown post office and confided she earns a mid-upper five-figure salary as postal supervisor. She has saved for retirement, but hasn't wanted to retire at age 72.

My neighbor recently asked me, "Do you know of any ironing ladies? What ever happened to the ironing lady you used to have?" She was inferring she had some laundry to send out. Not wanting to go into a long explanation, I muttered something about she was now working at the downtown post office.

Jan Kuyper Erland, M. S. Intervention Consultant
Mem-ExSpan, Inc.
The Bridge To Achievement ®
Tele: 785-749-5402
website: http://www.memspan,com
email: jan@memspan.com