Maximize Your Student’s Potential As an engaged parent, you want to do whatever you can to maximize your student’s chances of success. But how do you maximize your student’s potential? Oftentimes, it’s not until students are getting poor grades that we look for interventions to help them improve. But sometimes, all it takes for an average student to truly excel is just unlocking the potential they haven’t yet tapped into. At LearningRx, we see this a lot: smart kids who just need a cognitive “tune-up.” This, in turn, often translates not only into better performance at school but also in sports and other activities, as well as behavior at home. Parents whose students complete a personal brain training program often tell us their student has become more of a self-starter. Or their behavior toward family members has improved, as well as their performance in sports or other extracurricular activities. But perhaps the most common feedback we receive is that their student’s self-confidence has soared. Whatever the outcome, the common denominator among parents is the desire to help their student use their mind to the best of their ability. And that’s exactly where LearningRx personal brain training can help. The Key to Unlocking a Student’s Potential When we think, learn, read, remember, and pay attention, our brain is using cognitive skills. These foundational tools (sometimes referred to as “brain skills”) include processing speed, logic & reasoning, memory, auditory and visual processing, and attention. When these skills are strong, learning is fast and easy, whether it’s in school, band, sports, college, work, or even playing video games! Some of these cognitive skills can be broken down into even smaller categories. Attention, for example, can include divided attention (which enables us to remember information while doing two things at once); selective attention (which enables us to stay focused on a task despite distractions); and sustained attention (which enables us to stay focused on a task for a sustained period of time). A smart kid may be able to finish a hard jigsaw puzzle by himself, but if his sustained or selective attention isn’t maximized to its full potential, the task could take him three days. If we instead apply that same example to homework, you can see how strong cognitive skills could suddenly help a student excel in life! So, how does a parent go about unlocking their student’s full potential? It all comes back to targeting and training those cognitive skills. Every initial consultation at LearningRx personal brain training starts with a Brain Skills Assessment. This affordable test takes approximately one hour and the results can help everyone pinpoint which skills are strong and which could use a boost. There’s no obligation to sign up for a LearningRx program, but if you do, we use the results of the Brain Skills Assessment to create a personal brain training program to target and strengthen the skill or skills that need the most work. Your student will be paired with a personal brain trainer who will work with them for the duration of their LearningRx program. Our brain trainers use challenging, game-like mental exercises, loading, and positive feedback to boost your student’s brain skills and confidence as they realize what they’re fully capable of. Where brain training differs from tutoring If you’re like many parents who come to LearningRx, you may be wondering if tutoring could provide the same benefits as personal brain training. The short answer is no. That’s not because tutoring doesn’t work; it’s simply a solution to a different problem. Learning is made up of two parts: educational content and the cognitive ability to apply that content. Tutoring is helpful when you need to deliver or redeliver academic material. For example, if a student missed instruction, it can get them caught up on the material they missed. But personal brain training is about strengthening the core brain skills that help us learn, problem-solve, read, remember, and do tasks quickly—regardless of the subject matter. With LearningRx personal brain training, you’ll be targeting and strengthening the foundational tools that your student needs to perform at their best in ALL aspects of their life. Ready to unlock your student’s potential? Find your nearest LearningRx center and schedule a Brain Skills Assessment.