Long Beach, CA
About 12 years ago, John O. was teaching accounting at Downey Adult School in California when he met a fellow teacher named Kelly. Kelly was teaching a brain fitness class for older adults, and introduced John to Posit Science’s brain training exercises.
“I was getting to that age when you want to remember who you are when you wake up!” laughs John. After months of using the exercises, his memory improved tremendously. “When I used to meet people, I didn’t remember their names. Now I do,” he says.
For John, using BrainHQ is part of an overall wellness program. He tries to do BrainHQ an hour a day, five days a week. He’s also a yoga enthusiast who volunteers as a yoga teacher for US VETS, an organization that provides housing and mental health services to veterans. His classes are held at Century Villages at Cabrillo, a community that provides housing, education, and support to help people get off the streets. A large percentage of the people living at Century Villages are veterans.
As he worked with his yoga students—most of whom are previously homeless veterans—John was struck by how many were experiencing low confidence and cognitive issues. So he came up with the idea of teaching brain fitness class using BrainHQ at Century Villages, too, to see if the program could be helpful for those living there.
It was. His first class graduated in January 2019. Two of the graduates—Reggie M. and Melissa D.—have also shared their stories of success with us.
John plans to continue to teach BrainHQ classes at Century Villages. “BrainHQ has been really fantastic for my students. I think it should be free for all veterans,” he says, pointing out that it’s already free through military libraries for those on active duty.
We think all veterans deserve free access to BrainHQ, too. We’re working on it!