'How you retrain the brain'

Baird Johnson and Rich Frieder had much in common long before they met last year.

For one thing, both had long and successful business careers, but were searching for opportunities to start their own businesses.

More important, they both had young daughters with severe learning problems: Johnson's 9-year-old daughter, Rachelle, was diagnosed with dyslexia and memory difficulties; Frieder's daughter, Catie, 8, suffered from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and language delays.

And they both were frustrated by the failure of conventional treatments to help their daughters.

As they examined an array of franchising opportunities, however, they discovered one that promised solutions for both their entrepreneurial ambitions and their daughters' learning challenges.

Johnson and Frieder -- and wives Terri Johnson and Adele Frieder -- are the first Minnesota franchisees of LearningRx Inc., a Colorado company that specializes in what's called "brain training."

It's an intense regimen of fast-paced, increasingly challenging mental exercises designed to build cognitive skills of children with a variety of learning difficulties, including ADHD, dyslexia and autism.

It's a technique designed to "keep the student at the tipping point between being challenged and being frustrated," Terri Johnson said. "It's how you retrain the brain."

The two franchises have found a sizable client base in a surprisingly short time. The Johnsons' franchise in Chanhassen covers the western suburbs and grossed $523,000 in the 10 months since they started in October 2008. And the Frieders, whose Savage-based franchise covers the southern tier of suburbs, built revenue to $501,000 since Jan. 1.

Both soon will open second franchises, the Johnsons in the northwest suburbs, the Frieders in the eastern area. The LearningRx franchises require about a $150,000 investment, including a $30,000 franchise fee. Royalties are 10 percent of the gross.

Does the LearningRx system really work? By all accounts, it certainly did for two of the Johnsons' and Frieders' first clients -- Rachelle and Catie.

Rachelle, who had struggled with reading since kindergarten, still has work to do on her memory problems, Baird Johnson said. But her reading has improved dramatically as she enters fourth grade.

Rich Frieder has a similar tale about Catie, whose ADHD originally was treated with drugs that sapped her appetite and left her "in a fog." After a 12-week LearningRx program, her attention span grew from 10 minutes or less up to 30 or 40 minutes, he said. Better yet, she's off the medication and now an eager reader.

"I used to have to read to Catie," Frieder said. "Now she insists on reading to me."

LearningRx clients tell similar stories. Chanhassen residents Julie and Keith Peterson, whose 12-year-old daughter suffered from memory and comprehension problems that made reading a painful chore, sent a note saying that her 12-week stint at LearningRx had boosted her cognitive skills by about four years.

Better yet, they added, "she's reading just for fun."

Brooke Lizzaraga in Prior Lake told how her 8-year-old daughter's memory difficulties made spelling and reading a "painful struggle" that had "basically shut her down to learning."

How it works

The progress does not come cheap: Initial assessment tests cost $199 and the ensuing training can run to several thousand dollars, depending on the needs.

LearningRx was founded in 2002 by Dr. Ken Gibson, a pediatric optometrist and a specialist in visual processing, who began developing programs more than 20 years ago to help youngsters with learning problems.

The foundation for the cognitive training system was laid in 1985 at a symposium on learning difficulties that Gibson held in Appleton, Wis., for a group of doctors, educators and other professionals. Today there are 60 LearningRx franchises across the country.

How does brain training work? It involves a series of increasingly difficult exercises custom-designed for one-hour, one-on-one sessions with trainers three to five times a week. The challenges can be daunting.

Then there's the math segment, in which students confront six columns of numbers and, to the beat of the metronome, begin to add, subtract and multiply them in increasingly complex combinations. By the end of the program, many students can easily add four-digit numbers in their heads, Baird Johnson said.

Along the way, trainers might ring cowbells or beat drumsticks to create distractions and strengthen focus. One student was seen balancing a bean bag on his head as he rapidly read off sounds of the language -- backwards.

"What's funny is that the kids really enjoy it," Terri Johnson said. "It's not schoolwork to them; it's like a game."

Perhaps the most rewarding result, however, might be the familiar fist pump and the triumphant "Yes!" that follows a successful exercise, she said.