Hi there!
I used the IAHP program when my daughter Evie was born with a brain injury caused at birth. It is a wonderful, amazing program and Evie at age 3 is now as bright if not more so than her classmates. I am embarking on the reading journey (I know a little late) - but I am excited at the opportunity to do so!
Jen
Hi Jen,
Welcome to the Forum! Great to see Evie doing well!
How exactly did you use the IAHP program? Did you attend the course at the institutes?
Hi and welcome to the forums. It’s great to have you here! Feel free to browse the forums and add to any discussions that interest you. Please let us know if you have any questions or need any help getting around. We hope to hear more from you soon!
Nikki
Thanks for the warm welcome guys!
How exactly did you use the IAHP program? Did you attend the course at the institutes?
I did not - but my stepsister did with her brain injured child. She hooked me up with lots of books and I followed the ‘What To Do About Your Brain-Injured Child’ book to a T and also lots from the ‘How Smart Is Your Baby?’ book. They were truly inspirational and helped us out enormously. I feel that if I didn’t have my stepsister as an ‘advocate’ Evie might not be as well as she is today.
She was born with a skull fracture and a brain bleed plus stroke on the left-side of her brain. At birth the bleed covered the entire left hemisphere. She also had zero Apgars for the first 12.5 minutes. They were about to call the time when she took a breath after the 3rd Epi shot to the heart.
They initially told us she would be a vegetable - but she has proven EVERYONE wrong and I give special kudos to the Institutes for that. She had some initial auditory and visual issues that I was able to resolve with the ‘remapping’ of neurons. It was the coolest thing to see really.
Nowadays there is NO way to tell that she ever had ANY issues - she is a rambunctious, adventurous, curious little monkey of a three year-old. I revisited my book stash and pulled out my "How to Teach your Baby to Read’ - so I am traveling down the avenue now.
It is a joy to revisit the kind and wonderful (as well as intelligent) voices of the Dolman’s again through the book. I owe them more than they could ever know!
Oh my! Do they know how that happened? It’s so good to hear that she pulled through and is now thriving. Congrats! I bet you are so proud. We hope you will share more of your story with us.
They aren’t really sure what happened -other than her head got hung up in my pelvis. They did an emergency double-c to get her out. It took 2 doctors and countless nurses to get her out and to really save us both. I am forever grateful. And oh yes - she is my one and only little miracle baby. And just to show that I’m not just braggin’ (ok I so totally am) - here is a pic I took of her just this morning!
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y112/Querida_Farene/EvieinJuicyCouture2.jpg
Aww, what a sweetie!
Welcome Jen,
Your success with your daughter is so inspirational. It serves as a reminder that our children have incredible potential for growth and recovery. I have an older son (age 6) with a learning disability so your story is particularly motivating.
Congrats and Karma, Lori
Well Done!!
This is so inspiring!!
After reading your story, I tell myself, Allyssa’s developmental delay is nothing compared to your little girl’s experience!
I’m so much more positive now!!! Thank you.
WOW, what an amazing story. Welcome! And 3 is not late when it comes to reading, my son is 4 and is picking the stuff up like crazy, she’ll do just fine 
Especially seeing she has already done so much
Oh I am so glad that I am able to inspire others. She inspires me every day. I tell you what. I honestly don’t think there are many brain injuries that you can’t recover from if you have enough persistence.
What kept me going is that my step-nephew had a brain injury at birth that caused one whole side of his brain to atrophy. Add to that a complicated blood disorder that caused/es massive seizures and essentially ‘pokes’ holes in his brain and you would think - sad, sad, sad - but he won’t make it and if he does his quality of life will be awful.
WELL - my stepsister worked diligently with him from a baby onward and took him to the Institutes and he is now a healthy 14 year old with some minor mobility issues and a slight lisp - but he is fully functioning IN public school with a solid B average in regular classes. Now if that isn’t an endorsement for not only positive thinking BUT for what the brain is truly capable of - then I don’t know what is.
And to add to that - my stepsister pursued a career in special education with emphasis on brain injuries and is working on her doctorate AND works daily miracles herself. =)
Hi Jen,
I am so amazed with your work and your step sister’s too! Thank you for sharing your stories!
I did an abridged version of the Brain Injury program from IAHP with my then 1 and 3 year olds. ADHD runs very high in the family and I also pursued it without attending any courses, just in case! LOL! We also did reading, my now 5 year old reads well! She was just 3 when we started. She has seen many many words and now she knows words only after one viewing! She has read more than 20 books independently. So don’t be discouraged by her age! She has a ton in store for you!!!
Thank you for sharing your experiences! I am pregnant and glad to know that if anything did go wrong…that there’s still so much hope and a tremendous amount of support here! Parents ARE the ANSWERS! Keep up the great work with your adorable little angel! You should be SOOO PROUD!!! 
Sincerely,
Autumn