Dr. Glenn Doman, Intellectual Potential

 
The late Glenn Doman, founder of the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential in Philadelphia who, for more than half a century, had studied the development of human intelligence in thousands of children worldwide, stated, “We are persuaded that every child born, at the instant of birth, has a greater potential intelligence than Leonardo da Vinci ever used.”

Doman's initial work in physical therapy with brain injuries led him inevitably into the problems of brain-injured children.   This life-long study of brain injuries became the primary focus of the Institutes when it was established in 1955.  This work revolutionized the treatment of brain-injured children, resulting in world-wide interest in the Institutes' methods.  His insights into child-brain development, whether involving an injured or a well brain, led him to the conclusion that traditional educational methods were actually hampering rather than enhancing a child's natural ability and desire to learn, severely limiting the innate intellectual potential of our species.

His primary focus was on developing the intellectual potential in young children, including fully rounded creative expression.  This spectacularly successful method teaches babies to read virtually from birth.  As his program expanded, he also began teaching young children math skills, encyclopedic knowledge, foreign languages, gymnastics and music.

He found that virtually all human learning occurs from birth to the age of six and, from that point, the ability to learn steadily declines and the major strides in our growth is thereafter more a matter of wisdom than learning.  Doman felt that learning, or the desire to learn, is most intense during the first six years of life.  The most interesting aspect is that Doman's methods are producing individuals with extremely high intelligence.

I used his techniques of How to Teach Your Baby to Read with my own children who were a bit older at the time, and I also used his techniques with my husband, Don Pendleton, following his brain hemorrhage.  And after writing to Glenn Doman about that, he called to tell us both how good that was for healing.  Thank you, Glenn Doman.   

Don and I also wrote about this in our book, Whispers From the Soul, The Divine Dance of Consciousness.  

~Linda