Intensive (approx. nine hours per day) daily physical and cognitive routine based on 'patterning' the child's actions through stages of development, on two principles; (a) that healthy brain tissue can be stimulated to take over the function of damaged cells, and (b) that if one stage of child development is incomplete, it holds up the stages that should follow. In patterning, parents and others repetitively move the child’s limbs etc. through series of movements. The cognitive programme uses stimulation and reading material. Special food is prepared for the child. Twice a year, for up to five years, assessment takes place. The website of the Institute For The Achievement Of Human Potential (IAHP) in the United States, www.iahp.org contains accounts of children who have been through the method, and a number of books about it.
The American Academy of Pediatrics say that there is still a need for published evidence for the method that is independent of the groups providing the therapy; and for effectiveness to be demonstrated by studies that include the use of a control group. (See the Research section for an explanation of controlled studies.)
American Academy Of Pediatrics, Committee on Children With Disabilities, The Treatment of Neurologically Impaired Children Using Patterning. Pediatrics 5 November 1999. 104 (5):1149-51. http://tinyurl.com/2r5el4
Pedersen SA et al. Treatment of children with congenital and acquired brain damage: Does the Doman-method have some justification?Ugeskr Læger 2002; 164 (48): 5601.
For Robert Doman,
see under National Academy for Child Development (NACD).
