“The Woman who Changed her Brain,” was a fascinating read. It’s about a woman with profound learning disabilities who learned to overcome them. It’s also a book about learning disabilities in general, a list of the various types that stem from underdeveloped areas of the brain. My guess is that there are few people who can read through this list without finding they themselves have.
But the message is that we need to stop using strategies to compensate for our problems and develop exercises to strengthen our weak areas. By doing this, we can overcome them and become happier more successful people.
For the sake of an example, I’ll list a problem of my own. I have an eye-tracking problem which makes me read slowly and get tired easily when reading. To compensate, I usually put my finger on the page to help me keep track of where I am, and move my head rather than my eyes as I scan across the page. By doing these two things I make it easier to read, but I also prevent myself from learning to do better. Since reading the book, I’ve been practicing reading with my hand off the page and holding my head still, and it’s made a big difference.