Brain-Injured Children

Thank you for your Dec. 8 article on therapy for brain-injured children (“Patterns of Hope” by Itabari Njeri). As another parent implementing the program Njeri described, I found it both accurate and fair.

It is heroic for a single parent like Jean Blackburn to undertake this grueling therapy. Even when two parents are 100% dedicated to meeting the program’s daily goals, the resources of time, energy and money are stretched to painful limits. Of course, our hope and expectation--total recovery for our hurt kids--makes this the only sensible option. We are really quite lucky to know what to do.

My son has been on program with the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential for over a year, and his progress in that time is measurable and obvious. He now has an excellent chance of assuming his rightful place in normal society--to the benefit of everyone.

It is outrageous that traditional medicine and state-funded health and educational agencies still fail to endorse the Institutes. I have yet to find a doctor (outside Philadelphia) or a therapist who understands the basis and rationale of this treatment, in spite of the shelf-ful of books by Glenn Doman and various parents of hurt kids that can be found in any public library, and the Institutes’ magazine that documents ongoing results. Unfortunately, their ignorance has not prevented these authorities from discouraging anxious parents from pursuing this solution. Many difficulties of the Institutes’ program could be alleviated if those community resources supported us.

Brain injury is a surprisingly widespread problem. Thank you very much for helping to raise the public consciousness.

STEVE GALLUP,

San Diego