Susan Boyle: It is no surprise
READ THE ARTICLE IN THE DAILY MIRROR
Susan Boyle’s break-down and odd behavior during the final is not surprising. Like her, many people who struggle with learning disabilities can find it very hard to cope in difficult situations. Susan’s learning disability came about because she was deprived of oxygen at birth.
Scientific studies have found that even minor oxygen deprivation during birth can cause serious damage. People find it hard to stay focused on the big picture, remember important information, even keep track of what they need to do. Their language skills may be worse compared to their friends and they can struggle to keep up with conversations. Difficulty in processing and integrating information can cause someone to over react or explode over a well-meaning comment. As a psychologist, I receive lots of emails from adults, like Susan, who are frustrated and have even lost their jobs because they can’t remember things.
At the core of these difficulties is working memory. Working memory is our brain’s post-it note. We use those little yellow slips of paper not only to jot down important information, but also to work with it. Working memory has been found to be more important than IQ.
We use working memory in everyday situations, like staying focused during a meeting, solving a complex problem, responding to questions, even saying the right thing when we are distracted or feeling emotional. People with good working memory are able to make better decisions under stress and overcome frustration, and are less likely to be overwhelmed. As is clearly the case with Susan Boyle, working memory problems do not affect your ability to sing like an angel.
Imagine being in Susan’s position in front the whole world, and not having the ability to focus! What would you do? What would any of us do?
Can Susan improve her working memory to deal better with the stress of worldwide celebrity? Yes, she can. There is a lot of exciting evidence that shows that our brain can actually grow depending on what we do. The best way to grow our brain is through brain training.
Brain training has received a lot of interest lately and there is evidence that it works. One brain training program that I helped to develop to train working memory is JungleMemory(www.junglememory.com). In clinical trials, students go from a C to a B, or a B to an A in just 12 weeks! Just imagine what Susan can do with the right help. The sky’s the limit!
