Woodland Hills : Pierce to Aid Victims of Head Injuries

Pierce College has launched an unusual educational program to help victims of traumatic head injuries return to normal lives.

The program--said to be the first of its kind in the Los Angeles Community College District--will begin next fall. It was funded by a $20,000 grant from the Ahmanson Foundation in Beverly Hills.

“It is aimed at returning minds to as close to normal functioning as possible,” said Norman Crozer, director of the school’s Special Services Office. It will focus on helping victims of head injuries restore their memory and reasoning skills.

It stresses having the undamaged parts of the brain take on the functions of damaged parts, said learning-disabilities specialist David Phoenix, who will be one of the teachers.

“For example, if the injury is catastrophic to the left hemisphere of the brain, we try to exercise the right hemisphere,” he said. “We try to get them to use parts of the brain they have never used before.”

The program will consist of about five hours a week of classroom study, including lectures and computer work, officials said. Applicants will be asked to come to the school in August for a screening test and interviews.

About 10 students will be selected. For information, call (818) 719-6430.