Dear Parent,
Often our parents feel alone and unsure of what to do next.
Usually they have been everywhere searching for an answer. Often they have worked hard to do every treatment they found but often with little or no result.
Our parents know better than anyone that as each day passes their child falls further behind their peers.
"We are positive the goal should be to make brain-injured children well, and we sometimes do. The world believes that to be impossible and therefore never does."
Our children are called by dozens of symptomatic labels which are confusing, misleading and inaccurate. These labels waste our parents’ time as they seek answers and solutions to “diseases” that are considered “incurable.” These labels can be devastating to parents who understand that these labels can be destructive to their child. What a nightmare.
A few of the most common “boxes” are:
There are more than 300 symptomatic labels used to describe children who have problems in the central nervous system. In some cases, these labels are old-fashioned terms that are meaningless and should be retired. In other cases, these labels simply describe a symptom that the child is experiencing which is already obvious.
Symptomatic diagnoses lead to symptomatic treatments.
Treating the symptom will never make the problem go away.
Never.
Our parents recognize the potential in their children. No matter how many others may deny that potential our parents persist in believing that there is hope for their child.
They are right.
The brain has an incredible capacity to develop when provided with stimulation and opportunity
The brain can recover, because it is only hurt. Brain-injured children are not damaged, they are not diseased, they are hurt.
That is why we often used the term “hurt kid”.
It is a softer, more accurate and, we hope, more civilized way to introduce the brain-injured child who has been tragically called by so many names that are libels more than labels.
For treatment to be effective, we begin with a genuine diagnosis, a diagnosis that states:
“The single most important thing that we learned from the What To Do About Your Brain-Injured Child Course was that they believed in our son and all he was capable of. They gave us hope for his future and told us they would show us the way.”
Each day provides “the why” behind what is being taught. This is essential. Our parents always want to know why, not only how.
“The staff was wonderful. They were knowledgeable, kind, helpful and, most of all, quietly confident that they can help your child.”
The day begins with the basic principles of brain growth and development. These principles will become the guiding light in the home programs of each child in the future. The neurophysiological evidence that the brain has incredible plasticity is presented. The most important dynamics in central nervous system transmission are taught. As parents understand the importance of stimulation and opportunity their most important question becomes “So, what is happening in the brain?” This question is addressed.
“This course is not just about theory, it is led by experts who are eager to share the vast amount of practical knowledge they have. It is a place you can ask every single question you have and get answers from trained professionals based on their rich experience.”
Parents learn about The Institutes Developmental Profile and how to use that profile to evaluate where their child is compared to the well child. This careful evaluation will be essential as the week goes on. The day ends with an overview on diagnosis in which parents learn that a proper diagnosis cannot be a simple description of symptoms but must provide where the problem is located, how much of a problem there may be and to what degree. Parents now have a clear picture of where their child stands and they are ready to learn what to do about it.
“This book is the first book in history, to my knowledge, which tells how to treat brain-injured children, why to treat brain-injured children, and most precisely what happened to a group of brain-injured children when they were so treated.”
– Raymundo Veras, MD
“This is the first time I’ve attended a training institute where I actually felt the staff loved and believed in what they were doing and teaching. It was a pleasure to hear over and over again that a brain-injured child can be helped and had potential.”
Now that parents know how the brain gets injured, why treatment must be directed to the brain and not to the symptoms, how to evaluate their own child and discover the areas of the brain that need stimulation, they are ready to learn how to begin a program. On this day the staff of the Institute for Physical Excellence take over and they teach all aspects of mobility from the immobile child all the way to the child who may walk and run. Parents begin to understand that the physical program is not only about mobility but it is designed to provide neurological organization to all areas of the brain that may be injured. Parents see demonstrations by children on the program. They are taught directly how to do certain parts of the physical program and they actually get to do some of the physical program their child will be doing.
“I did not expect to be on the edge of my seat every minute of every lecture. I did not expect to get excited and gain this amount of knowledge.”
The staff of The Institute for Intellectual Excellence begin the day with the reasons why reading is the single most important part of a vibrant and effective intellectual program. They present a full background on reading and a detailed program that can be done at home with excellent results. Visual problems and their effect on reading and learning are reviewed.
“The best thing about the course is the methodical approach to assess the child and identify relevant solutions. The course was without a doubt worth the time, effort and money.”
This day covers a lot of very important ground. The day begins with the sensory stimulation program where parents learn how to provide appropriate stimulation to help a blind child to see, or a deaf child to hear, or an insensate child to feel. Next, parents learn about oxygen enrichment, medications and detoxification from the medical staff. Environmental toxins and their solutions are presented as well as a comprehensive presentation of The Institutes nutritional program. This one day covers so much that it could be a one week course all by itself.
“Do whatever it takes to get to the course. It will forever change your life and, more importantly, your brain-injured child’s life.”
By the final day it is time to answer the question “Is there really hope for my brain-injured child, if so, what are his chances to improve?” The Institutes has kept meticulous records of each child in its Clinical Archive which goes back more than six decades. A summary of the results of treatment is presented so that parents can evaluate for themselves the significance based upon their new understanding of the development of the brain.
On this day we take a simple but profound look at the family and each parent understands why at The Institutes it is the family that is the answer. When parents understand exactly why the brain grows the way it does, they are the very best therapists for their children.
“The only thing that matters in the world of brain-injured children is results.”
One little girl with an extra chromosome and no mother or father finds the family she deserves.
At about 4 months, Floyd started showing symptoms of Trisomy 21. His parents worried he would not recover. That is when they discovered The Institutes and began implementing a treatment program at home when Floyd was 6 months old. The rest is history.
It has been a year since Tim came for his first evaluation at The Institutes. In the last year, Tim has continued to make incredible gains. He not only reads, but also loves to read homemade books that his parents make for him.
“We attended the What To Do About Your Brain-injured Child course. The most important thing that we got was the understanding that Diego had a brain injury. But, above all, that it was treatable and Diego could become a regular child… or perhaps even more.”
By three years of age, Siao had been diagnosed as autistic, his lack of speech persisted and he was socially withdrawn. Today, Siao, age 23, reads at the university level, and is a long distance runner.
Poor health and language development made the early life of little Matias very difficult. Soon he will begin to study Economics at University. Father tells the story of his son’s journey from birth to the present.
Janet Doman, the daughter of Glenn Doman, became the Director of The Institutes in 1980.
As a youngster she was lucky, at nine years, she was given the opportunity to help her parents with brain-injured children. At fourteen, she was asked to illustrate one of the first books ever published that was written and designed to be read by two and three-year-old children. This was part of The Institutes groundbreaking work in early reading. While still in high school, she documented the mobility progress of each child on The Institutes program and made a film archive. Six hundred and fifty children were filmed at every visit – it was the first such archive of its kind ever made.
Janet with her medical team and child brain developmentalists have been creating the field of child brain development and designing the unique programs and curriculum for hurt and well children ever since. Today The institutes has a 65 year legacy of hurt children who are now well and well babies who are now outstanding adults. Along the way, the programs, courses, books and materials this team has created continue to be updated, expanded and added to every year
We have worked with thousands of children and their parents over the last 65 years, and we are here ready, willing and able to help you, if we can.