You're Never Too Old

Some time ago, a 62 year old friend of mine mentioned to me that he had always had trouble reading. He commented that he would not understand what he read and that he would read it over and over in an attempt to understand. He considered himself to be non-intelligent. He said it had really limited him because he would not take on new challenges—particularly those that involved reading. This had been going on all his life.

I invited him to come see me to see if I could figure out what was going on. He agreed and we set up an appointment. When he came in I found the classic problem that I find with most students who have trouble reading and understanding. He was sounding the words out in his head and not creating any sensory experience of the meaning of the words in his mind.

I told him about the importance of visualing when learning and about how the lack of a visual vocabulary would keep him from doing that when he read. I taught him my "reading comprehension strategy" and my "vocabulary strategy" and sent him on his way. We had spent about an hour together. That appointment was last August, 1999. We had no more contact on this subject.

In January, I was in a meeting with him and some other friends of ours. We were all reviewing the past year and sharing the significant events that had occurred. When his time came he said, "One of the significant things to happen to me was that I learned how to learn—with Don’s help. I now understand how to use my brain to learn and understand. I know how to read and visualize. I feel empowered to try more things and take more risks and do things that before I did not think possible. I don’t feel non-intelligent anymore! If something is not understandable, I know to stop and to remember to visualize it and then I will understand it. It’s a great feeling!"

It’s never too late to learn how to learn or to use the "Joy" processes