Early development according to the Doman method. Learning to read: the method of Glen Doman. Adapt your learning approach

Last modified 06/01/2018

For every mother, a native child is the most valuable and dear little person. In order to increase the influence of this factor, many mothers resort to various developmental methods. One of the most popular methods today is the development method of Glen Doman.

It is very difficult not to pass by this development method, since this method attracts parents with its great potential for a successful and prosperous unborn child.

Who is Glen Doman

Glen Doman is a renowned physical therapist, originally from America. He founded a non-profit organization whose task was to practice restorative techniques on children with an affected nervous system. After they tested positive, some of them were recorded in the doctor's books for early development. One of the most famous books by Glen Doman is the Harmonious Development of the Child.

The most famous developmental technique is considered to be the teaching method of reading using special cards. Glen Doman's technique consists of a number of serious physical exercises, as well as mental simulators, which must be followed regularly.

Physiotherapist claims that when engaging in physical exercise with a child, parents help to stimulate the development of intellectual abilities in the baby. A simple conclusion follows from this - the level of intellectual abilities directly depends on physical development.

Glen Doman's Exercises

Here are some exercises for this method:

Exercises from birth:

1. Exercises that improve motor skills. From birth, a baby needs to crawl through a specially modeled track, using repulsive reflexes. 1 stop per distance will be considered a good result. The number of repetitions is 10 times a day;
2. Exercises to improve manual skills. From birth, it is advisable for a child to be offered to take hard objects in his mouth for a firm grip. At the moment of compression, the parent holding the child should slightly raise his upper body;
3. Exercises to develop balance. Smooth, wavy swaying, rotation and tossing of the child in various planes. A series of 15 exercises is aimed at developing the vestibular apparatus. The duration of the procedure is 10 minutes;

Exercises for children who have undergone initial loads for newborns:

1. Exercises to improve motor skills. The child is required to crawl in a prone position, leaning on his elbows behind objects lying on the floor;
2. Exercises for training manual skills. Grabbing a wooden stick / fingers. During this exercise, the parent holding the child should raise the upper body slightly so that the baby is in a dangling state. The frequency of the exercise is approximately 15 times a day with a duration of 2-10 seconds;
3. Exercises to improve balance. Making light tosses, swinging and rotating the child in various planes. The session consists of 15 exercises aimed at active development of the vestibular apparatus. The repetition rate is 1 time per day with a duration of 10 minutes.

Exercises for children who have reached the age of 7 months:

1. Exercises to improve motor skills. The baby crawls on all fours with a repetition rate of 20 - 30 times a day and a duration of at least 4 hours;
2. Exercises to improve manual skills. The child needs to spend time on the bar without the help of parents for 20 seconds, 15 times a day;
3. Exercises to maintain balance. Making smooth swinging, rotating, throwing the child in different planes. This session consists of 10 exercises that are part of the passive balance program. The repetition rate should not exceed 15 times a day. The time for each type of exercise is 20 seconds.

An exercise program for children 12 months of age and older:

1. Exercises to improve motor skills. The child needs to walk around the house regularly, no more than 1-2 steps for 20-30 times a day for 2 hours a day;
2. Exercises to improve manual skills. The child should move by means of interceptions, and also periodically hang on the crossbar. The duration of the session is 10 times of interceptions, 5 times of hanging. The duration of the procedures performed should not exceed 5 minutes;
3. Exercises to promote balance and balance. The child should be carried out all sorts of swinging, tossing and rotating. The session series consists primarily of passive balance programs. The frequency of the procedures performed lasts for 20 minutes, 1 exercise 2 times a day.

Combined series consisting of intelligent trainers:

What needs to be done for a child to learn to read well?

1. The child is shown cards on which certain words are written. In the early stages of the session, 15 impressions of words, preferably nouns, will be enough for the child. Further, the volume of the studied words should be increased to approximately 9. At later stages, the child is shown cards with the image of phrases and simple sentences. On the card, words must be written exclusively in red to sharpen the baby's attention;
2. Intelligent bit. The child is shown cards, format 28x28cm, with various pictures of certain objects located on a white background. At the start of the procedures, the number of cards should not exceed 10 pieces. With each subsequent time, this indicator gradually increases, up to 120 cards. As a result of the exercise, the child is able to memorize about 1000 images of objects and their features;

How to develop bookkeeping skills in a child?

In order to teach a child to count to 20, parents must show the baby cards with a certain number of dots. At the initial stage of the study, the number of sessions should not exceed 3 times with the number of cards used in the amount of 5 pieces. Each subsequent one is added with 2 new cards.

Dr. Doman assumed that with a fairly regular and intensive demonstration of cards with a certain number of points, the child, after a while, will be able to easily perform arithmetic calculations with larger numbers without recounting.

Should I use Doman's technique?

Today on the Internet you can find many reviews, the owners of which share their successes in the forward or backward direction. Rumor has it that some of the true Nobel Prize winners have evolved from this methodology. However, no supervised trial has been able to confirm its beneficial effect in the early developmental stage. In addition, with all this, many companies promoting the development methodology of Glen Doman have high hopes for these courses, which, as a result, greatly affects the final cost of the courses offered.

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More than half a century has passed since Glenn Doman created his methodology, which includes many specialized programs. Doman himself considered his method to be just a set of tips with which loving parents can raise an intelligent, talented and charming child. Glenn Doman's most popular and highly effective program is considered to be his course, which teaches reading skills at a very early age.

Glenn Doman: first healed, then taught

The author of the Doman method, Glenn Doman is an American physiotherapist, a pioneer in the field of child brain development. In 1955, he founded the Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential (IAHP), a non-profit organization that publishes educational programs and books aimed at improving and accelerating the mental and physical development of ordinary children, as well as children with brain damage.

The IAHP was originally created to help develop the abilities of children with brain damage through a program of intense mental and physical stimulation. Beginning in the 1960s, the IAHP began offering courses designed to accelerate the development of all children, including healthy children. The teaching methods used in these courses were based on principles that were developed to help children with brain disorders. Glen Doman wrote several bestselling books on child development that are still popular today. One of the most popular Doman programs among parents is a reading course for children from 1.5 years old.

Whichever of the many programs within the framework of the Doman method you choose to practice with your baby, there are some general rules that, as Glenn Doman himself insisted, must be observed during the learning process. Without them, no early development is possible in principle.

Here are some of these simple yet crucial rules:

Start as early as possible

According to the Doman Methodology, the period from birth to 6 years is decisive for children. Numerous medical studies have shown that the production of synapses (points of contact between two neurons) in the human brain is directly dependent on the potential for learning, which is most active at about 6 years of age. It means that in the period from 0 to 6 years old, all basic knowledge is laid in the child, abilities and skills that in the future can either be ignored (and then they "fall asleep"), or actively developed.

Choose the right time

Only teach when you and your child feel comfortable and ready to be active. You should not treat the learning process as a daily routine. Any "lesson" should be the most positive experience for both the parents and the child. Only start learning when your child feels rested and full. Don't start class when you know that you will soon have distractions (for example, phone calls or cooking dinner). Learn and have fun at the same time!

The more joyful your baby's perception of the world is at the moment of learning something new, the stronger and more reliable knowledge will "settle" in it, giving generous fruits in the future.

Respect your child

Respect the child and truly, sincerely, believe in him. The learning process should always take place in a confidential atmosphere, only then the learning will be effective, and the baby will not only benefit from it, but also enjoy it. Do not underestimate a child's learning ability, even if he is still very young. Doman's methodology also insists that when explaining something to a child, one should not oversimplify the facts, distort names and "lisp" on the assumption that the child is still too young to understand the subject under discussion.

Love your baby as tenderly as he is always small. But always respect him as if he was big for a long time.

Know how to stop in time!

Learn to interrupt the learning process before the tired child asks you to. It should be important for us, parents, not only to teach the child to read or mathematics, but also to introduce him to the "learning process" as such. How we behave during schooling will greatly influence the child's attitude towards school in general, when he later goes to school and then goes to college. If now, in his early years, we try to make him learn or learn something, it is like telling him, “Learning is just an unpleasant routine and you have to learn, whether you like it or not. Endure, but learn! ". This will create a negative approach to learning in the child that will stay with him for life. And the author of this approach - alas, you will be.

Plan your classes

Parents should plan lessons and be consistent in the execution of the selected schedule. Doman's method takes time and effort, organizing and preparing new material before lessons is one of the key success factors. If you have chosen one or another course of Glenn Doman, before starting lessons with your baby, study the entire program on your own to the end, and then plan a lesson plan, breaking all the material into smaller and more detailed components.

The success of the Doman method is that it is built on systematic execution and clarity, although it is full of spontaneity and fun.

No tests or exams!

According to Doman's method, exams are an unpleasant and thankless activity that only hinders the child from learning... I must admit that this rule may seem very controversial to most of us. But what about an elementary test - learned, not learned? However, remember rule number 3, which requires you to respect, and most importantly, trust your little student. And in addition, do not forget that although Glenn Doman considered the learning process as a serious and deliberate act on the part of parents and teachers, for the kid it should look like an exciting game, and not a burdensome process. Therefore, postpone exams for the future - there are enough of them in a person's life.

Create a learning environment

Children are known to have very short attention spans. Doman's method emphasizes that during the learning process, all visual, auditory and tactile distractions must be eliminated. This will help the child better focus on the subject of instruction. Everything that the kid hears, sees or touches during the lesson should relate specifically to the lesson - it should help to learn, not interfere.

Speak clearly, loudly and energetically

Correctly delivered speech works brilliantly not only for classes according to Doman's method. This principle is true for any learning process (and even not just for children). If you are reading a book to your child, try to change intonation depending on the situation described in the book. If you name objects or objects for your child, do it in a fun way.

Monotony and boredom are the worst enemies of any learning process.

Adapt your learning approach

Even the most tried-and-true teaching strategy or approach needs to be modified or optimized for your child's needs. This also applies to Doman's technique. Remember, this system is primarily designed to motivate and inspire you to engage in daily activities with your child. But since all children are different, the approach to learning should also be different. And no one can find this approach better than the parents of the child!

The best teachers for a child of any age are the people closest to him: his family.

You can start using any educational program within the framework of the Doman method and see what your child likes from it and what he does not accept. Even if we are talking about important basic things, for example, about mathematics - if a child does not like doing counting, do not force him to do it right now, otherwise he will form a negative attitude towards all exact sciences in general. Try to change the program, taking something from a different method, perhaps the child will like the “different math” more. Remember to constantly look for ways to make learning more like a fun game.

And if, for the sake of increasing efficiency and positiveness while teaching a child, it seems appropriate to you to use several copyright methods of early childhood development at once - just do it!

In the modern world, many parents think that the sooner they start developing activities with their child, the better. Thinking about how to do it better, they are looking for a suitable technique. One of the most famous is the Glen Doman technique. Let's take a closer look at what are the features of this technique and how it works.

From the life of Glen Doman

In 1919, in one of the oldest cities in the United States - Philadelphia - Glen Doman was born. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1940, he begins his career as a physiotherapist in a hospital. This is where he begins work to research how children's brains develop. However, the beginning of the war interrupts it. In 1941, Doman volunteered for the army, having completed training in the infantry officer courses. His service ends with the rank of infantry company commander with the Distinguished Service Cross.

Returning to medicine after the war, Glen Doman, together with fellow workers, begins to assist in the recovery of children with various brain injuries and serious nervous system damage. In 1955 he founded the non-profit Institute for the Development of Human Potential. The theoretical and practical basis of the Institute was Doman's methodology.

For more than 20 years, being constantly at work, conducting numerous studies, experiments, experiments, drawing conclusions, coming to any conclusions, Doman and his like-minded colleagues have been looking for ways and opportunities to cure such children (with complete or partial paralysis , a strong lag in development, unable to perceive the world and communicate). They considered it important to treat the root cause - the brain, and not the consequences of the lesions, i.e. body.

In 1960, Doman published an article in the journal of the American Medical Association on the methodological work and treatment of children with brain damage and the results of their rehabilitation. It was then that many people learned about him. His work has made a "soft scientific revolution."

From this period, together with his associates, Doman actively continued his work, developed and improved new programs and methods for the improvement of the children. For his success in his work, he was presented with many awards.

A more complete description of his method can be found in the book "Harmonious Development of a Child".

When to start classes

As a result of his observations, Doman came to the conclusion that children in their entire life do not learn as much information as they can learn in the first 6 years of life. Almost from birth, a child is ready to learn about the world, he is interested in everything that is in his environment. At this age, you do not have to further motivate the child. Classes must be carried out in the form of an entertaining game.

In his opinion, you can start teaching children from 3 months, because it is at this age that the baby shows a reaction to objects... The educational process begins with showing the cards for a short period of time (literally a few seconds per card). It is necessary that real objects are presented on the cards: vegetables and fruits, animals, furniture, vehicles, geometric shapes, etc.

Doman's technique

For many years, Doman conducted various studies, focusing on working with children with developmental delays. However, by looking at how their brothers and sisters, who were completely healthy, joined the classes with interest and achieved great success, he created a methodology that was designed with their interests and needs in mind.

The main provisions on which the methodology is based:

• The human brain grows and develops only by being constantly at work.
• To achieve great success in the development of a baby's intelligence, it is necessary that his brain is actively working from birth to 3 years.
• Physical development plays an important role in the maturation of the brain and motor intelligence.
• Until the child reaches 5 years of age, his brain itself is tuned to acquire new knowledge, there is no need to additionally motivate the child to do this.

Doman teaching principles

• It is necessary to start the learning process as early as possible, because the younger the child, the easier it will be for him to learn.
• Do not forget to praise your baby and sincerely rejoice at his success.
• A child is also a person to whom respect and trust must be shown.
• Learning should be fun.
• Training should take place in an appropriate setting.
• The lesson should end before the child gets bored or bored.
• New information for training needs to be provided very often.
• Regularity, consistency, and organization of classes are very important.
• There is no need to check how the baby has learned the information.
• Careful preparation for classes is required, everything must be done in advance.
• Stop immediately if your baby or you feel bored.

Physical development

It is the physical development that Glen Doman pays great attention to in his system. He is sure that it is directly related to the development of the child's intelligence. That is why you need to pay attention to good physical development from birth.

The child's needs for swimming, walking, crawling, grasping are given to him by nature. It is necessary from the moment the crumbs are born to approve their development, to provide the child with complete freedom of movement. By helping the baby to be active from birth, parents help him develop intellectually much faster than his peers.

For the physical activity of the baby, it is necessary to create the appropriate conditions.

A special crawling track can help with this. It is necessary that the crumb is located between its sides, practically touching their forearms and hips. The track is located at a slight incline. It is best to have smooth surfaces, no blankets or mattresses are required. To dress the crumb crawling there, you need to keep it to a minimum.

During the day, the baby should spend at least 3-4 hours in it. On such a track, the child will be able to crawl a fairly long distance, and by 4 months, provided it is properly organized, he will already begin to crawl actively. Thanks to this, there will be an active intellectual development of the child, his brain and the ability to perceive new things.

With the help of the track, innate reflexes are stimulated, imitation of the intrauterine space, when the baby remembers his first reflex, with the help of which he was born.

Teach your kid to overcome obstacles using a variety of rollers and ladders. Twirl and twist it as often as possible to help develop a sense of balance. Help and encourage the child in his attempts to walk, run, swim.

For newborns, Glen Doman created his own balance program - dynamic gymnastics, which you can successfully use at home.

The essence of the Doman technique

Along with active physical development at the same time, you can start intellectual activities. For this, cards are used with large real pictures and a signature on them. With their help, the baby easily assimilates new information, receives the necessary load for the development of the brain.

You can buy ready-made sets of cards, find them on the Internet and print them on a color printer, or make yourself. All cards should have a white background, each with only one picture. The signature is written below in large red letters. Offer your child new information that interests him as often as possible. If this is not done, then the child very quickly will not be interested in these activities.

At the beginning of the lesson, you will need 5 cards of one thematic line. Each card is shown to the kid within 5-10 seconds, the name under it is loudly and clearly read. After about three sessions, you can start replacing cards one at a time from the set. You can show your child one set only once per lesson. You need to do at least 3 times a day. In total, you will get at least 15 card impressions per day.

Whatever you teach a child, do not expect instant results. You will see the results when the child is ready to demonstrate them to you. Be sure: the baby hears and remembers everything, while studying with him, you do not waste time.

How to teach to read according to the Doman system

Looking at the words that are written, the child does not understand their meaning. If, along with showing a word, he voices it, then mechanical memorization will work, the baby's brain will understand the information received, linking it together. It is in this way that the baby begins to understand the laws of reading, just as it happened with the development of oral speech.

Glen Doman is sure that it is already possible for a six-month-old baby to start learning to read in this way.

For work, you will need cards with sets of words. Their size should be 10 * 50 cm, the text is bright red, the font is 1.5 cm in thickness, and each letter should be 7.5 cm high. Do not introduce the child to difficult words at the very beginning of learning. Try to find words that the child knows well (mom, dad, grandfather, you can use the names of your preferred dishes, clothes, pets).

Try to stick to the following training pattern:

• A word set is a group of 5 words united by one topic.
• You need to do it three times daily.
• The first day. Show your child one set of words. Speak words in a clear, even voice. You need to spend no more than 15 seconds for each word. It turns out 3 lessons with one set of words.
• Second day. To the set of words already shown, add another one. We will get 6 lessons per day (3 with the previously learned set of words, 3 with a new one) and two sets of words.
• Day three. Three sets of words and nine lessons.
• Day four. Four sets of words and 12 lessons.
• Day five. Five sets of words and 15 activities throughout the day.
• Sixth day. You add another set of words, but at the same time you exclude one word from the previous five sets.

By adhering to this scheme, you will constantly replace sets of words, adding a new one each time. Demonstrate words first, then phrases, and then you can try to demonstrate whole sentences.

How to teach counting

Adults, hearing the word "two" imagine a number, and children think in facts. They will present two dots, two sweets, two apples, but they will not even guess to correlate the word “two” with the image of a number. It was on this specific feature for children that Doman relied on when creating the method. Allowing your kid to interact with concrete facts, and not abstract concepts, you will give him a great chance to learn how to count without counting, to determine how many things are depicted, to learn about basic mathematical operations.

To learn counting, you need 100 cards measuring 27 * 27 cm. Scattered on the cards are red dots from 1 to 100. Their diameter should not exceed 2 cm. In the classroom, the child will initially master the concept of "quantity", then the concept of "equation". After that, you can start learning to solve problems. Only then, according to Doman, can the child be introduced to the graphic representation of numbers, the concept of "number". The last thing to do is to solve digital equations.

The principle of teaching math is similar to teaching reading. Only at the beginning of the lesson is it necessary to pay enough attention to a set of cards from 1 to 5, and from 5 to 10.

It is also necessary to acquaint with the basic actions with the help of dots. For example, when learning to subtract 2 from 3, while saying the action (three minus two equals one), demonstrate the corresponding cards with three dots, a minus sign, two dots, an equal sign, one dot.

You can teach a lot even in half a minute.

In comparison to the human brain, Glen Doman puts the most perfect computer, which sums up the results based on the facts. He believes that it is absolutely useless to explain something to a child for a long time and wait from him later for clever thoughts and correct decisions about the actions being taken. The child needs to be provided with accurate, accessible, clear information. To clarify what has been said, he gives the following example.

Looking at the dog, the child asks you about it. What can you do:

• dismiss him with the words: "Leave me alone, I have no time";
• tell the baby: "This is wow-wow";
• short answer: "This is a dog";
• say: "This is a St. Bernard dog";
• show pictures with dogs;
• show pictures with different breeds of dogs and say: “Look, here animals are depicted everywhere, which are called dogs, but they can be different. There is a poodle, a German shepherd dog, a Doberman, a chow-chow, a dachshund, etc.

From the last answer, the baby will be able to make a small discovery for himself, realizing that all dogs have common features - the number of paws, the presence of a tail, hair, but at the same time they can differ in color, size, length of hair, tail, shape of ears and etc. Thus, in just half a minute, a child will be able to perform a tremendous intellectual work and speed up the activity of the brain.

Obtaining encyclopedic knowledge

If you follow Doman, then you need to understand that the goal of a person's life is to obtain multilateral knowledge about the world around him. Explanations and explanations for children will not do any good, their brains can only perceive facts.

In order for card learning to give a child truly encyclopedic knowledge, it is necessary that:

• all the details on the cards were clearly visible;
• only one item was shown on each card;
• all the objects depicted had a name;
• the child was previously unfamiliar with this subject;
• the cards were large enough (28 * 28 cm);
• the cards were clean.

It is necessary to study with cards for an average of 30 seconds.

Negative points

It would seem that everything in Doman's methodology is set out clearly, accessible, clearly and logically. However, as with any other technique, it has its negative points.

• It is not enough for a child to just know the facts, he must be able to apply them in life, to use them. Otherwise, all the information he receives will be just rubbish in his head.
• A large load on the baby's brain can lead to negative consequences. in the form of mental disorders, mood swings, lack of appetite, communication problems, increased anxiety, vulnerability, sensitivity.
• It is necessary that the training is appropriate for the age of the child. If the kid sees a dog, then he will correlate its image with the word "dog", and according to Doman this word will cause him to associate with a card. For example, seeing a giraffe or an elephant in reality, the baby may simply not recognize them.
• The child's passivity, the lack of creative and constructive moments in learning. The child does not learn to find information on his own, curiosity is dulled.
• The kid practically does not have time to communicate with friends, play. No attention is paid to aesthetic, emotional, moral development. Parents spend a lot of time preparing for classes: they make cards, sort them, select suitable ones, etc.
• Not all senses are involved. There is no tactile development, the sense of smell and taste buds are not used.
• Mechanical memorization of words when teaching reading. If a child encounters unfamiliar words in the text, he will not be able to read it and understand the meaning of what he has read.
• According to the methodology, it is necessary to accompany the readable text by displaying pictures. In the future, it will be difficult for a child to learn to read texts without illustrations, he will hardly understand what he has read. All this can lead to a lack of desire in the baby to do what he is not interested in or is not good at.
• Lack of vigorous gaming activity, in which it is easiest for the child to assimilate new information.

Conclusion

Glen Doman's method can greatly help parents in the development of their children and even raise geniuses and geeks. but it is necessary to take into account the age capabilities of your baby, to approach classes competently, to monitor the state of health of the child, to take into account his individual capabilities. You can not force the child to study. It is best to conduct complex activities in a playful way and do not forget to praise and reward for each, even a small achievement.

N. Zhukova

Today there are many early development techniques. Children are the most important and promising part of society, our future. And as you know, you need to work on the future in the present.

To date, no system has caused as much excitement, controversy and controversy as Glen Doman's early development method. Many parents and professionals strongly oppose the advice of this American physiotherapist, but even more moms are ardent supporters of his system.

Nevertheless, the need to study the early development of children objectively exists. Every sane parent strives from an early age to instill in his child the most essential skills and prepare him physically and psychologically for adulthood as much as possible.

Who is Doman?

Glen Doman (born 1919) is a neurophysiologist who developed a program for the early physical, intellectual and sensory development of children. Glen worked as a physical therapist and military doctor, but found his calling in helping children with neurological disorders. In 1955, Doman founded the Human Development Institute in Philadelphia. He also published a series of books on rehabilitation and harmonious development of children.

In 1966, Doman received the title "For Services to Children of the World" in Brazil, and in 2007 he was awarded a medal from the Italian Senate for his work with children.

Director Doman died at the age of 94. He had three children, two of whom - Douglas and Jannette Doman - continue the work of the great parent and run an institute in Philadelphia.

For whom was the technique originally created?

In the postwar years, Doman worked as a neurophysiologist and was involved in the rehabilitation of children with brain injuries.

Brain injuries of various origins lead to a whole spectrum of diseases, which in medical practice are usually designated by diagnoses: cerebral palsy, cerebral stroke, epileptic syndrome, autism, etc. Brain damage of varying degrees can also be accompanied by genetic diseases, the most common is Down syndrome.

More than 20 years of daily work with children with neurological disorders preceded the invention of Doman's complex rehabilitation system. Even at the beginning of his interaction with the younger generation, Glen clearly realized that the classic methods of working with patients with damage to various parts of the brain work by less than 15%. These methods include massage, passive exercise therapy, applications of paraffin, ozokerite, orthopedic surgery, prosthetics, plastering, botulinum toxin injections, etc. Their action is aimed only at resolving the symptoms and does not in any way affect the cause of the disease - brain damage.

At the same time, unfortunately, it is impossible to replenish, increase or patch the damaged parts of the brain, but the potential of this mysterious organ is underestimated, and it can be developed to a hitherto unknown level. Thus, according to Doman's method, it is possible to maximize the development of intact areas of the main brain, and they can begin to perform the functions of dead cells.

Dr. Doman argued that most diagnoses, at first glance, inconsolable (cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, stroke, neurological blindness, deafness, dumbness, autism, epilepsy), are just medical terms, not sentences. A team of doctors led by Doman was able to prove that the human brain has enormous, invaluable resources for self-healing. He introduced the term "neuroplasticity" into the medical lexicon.

Doman has proven through numerous studies that "there is no connection between brain injury and mental retardation." On his active initiative, the term "mental retardation" was removed from the official list of diagnoses in America.

The essence of the early development methodology according to Glen Doman

The whole essence and global meaning of the multi-level rehabilitation method according to Glen Doman fits into one sentence: "The brain is irreversibly improved when learning complex skills." . But at the same time, the brain degrades if not used.

He noted that children with brain damage have tremendous learning abilities, it is only important to find the right approach to them and start rehabilitation from the level at which the child is.

Doman is the author of a methodology for assessing a child's skills called "Development Profile". This is a scale for assessing a baby's sensory, physical, and manual skills. For healthy children, assessment according to the "Profile" is not necessary, but for children with brain injuries it is necessary.

Human Development Institute

It is a group of scientific, non-profit institutions that have been helping children with brain injuries and teaching parents and professionals from around the world in a unique method since 1955. After the death of the founder, the institute is run by his son Douglas Doman.

The branches of the institute are located in Japan, Mexico, Italy, Singapore, Guatemala, Brazil, Spain, France.

Mostly, the institute accepts children with special needs for courses, where they are thoroughly diagnosed and parents are taught how to deal with children at home.

How necessary is Glen Doman's early development methodology for healthy babies?

At the stage when hundreds of thousands of children from all over the world with various degrees of brain damage were undergoing rehabilitation according to this system, the specialists of the institute began to observe strange things. Some of the skills in children with brain injuries who did intensive training were much more developed than in healthy peers. Naturally, cerebral trauma could not be the reason for this. Scientists realized that if special patients can outpace healthy ones in development, then children without neurological disorders are also able to develop much faster if they practice the same method.

Thus, the global popularization of the concept created by Glen Doman began. The methodology of this American neurophysiotherapist was perceived not only as a rehabilitation system for patients with brain injuries, but also as an early development method for all children.

It should be emphasized right away that Glen Doman and his followers never tried to motivate parents to make their children world champions or recognized leaders. They emphasized that learning according to the system is just an interesting part of the life of little people, and it should not be a burden for either children or their parents. But such training provides a qualitative basis for the further development of the child.

What books should you read before you start teaching your child?

Parents with developmental problems should first read the book What To Do When Your Child Has Brain Injury. In it, the author writes about the creation of institutions and how the methodology of Glen Doman developed. Description of the main problems associated with brain damage (such as neurological blindness, hearing impairment, muscle tone imbalances, pathological reflexes, epilepsy, delayed speech development), the author also gives in some detail, supplementing useful information with practical recommendations for classes with children on all points, as well as statistics of children's results in the program.

The book "Harmonious Development of Your Child" will be useful for parents of special and healthy children. This is a kind of an action plan, suggesting how to study according to the program, how to integrate the knowledge gained into everyday life. All subsequent literary works of Doman are already in-depth versions of this book, which detail the program by profile:

• How to Teach Your Child to Read.
• “How Clever Is Your Child” (co-authored with his daughter Jannette Doman).
• "How to give your child encyclopedic knowledge."
• "How to make a child physically perfect."
• "How to develop your child's intelligence."

Physical development by Glen Doman

It doesn't matter if the child is sick or absolutely healthy, but for the development of physical intelligence, the cub needs to move.

Meaningful movement is the foundation of life. This is exactly what Glen Doman said. The development methodology is practically based on providing the child with life in motion.

According to Doman's concept, the best place for a newborn in the first months of life is the floor. And the best position is on the tummy. The most important skill for every person is crawling on the stomach, then on all fours. Doman insists that the child does not need to be forcibly erected, led, placed in a walker or other device. Children should not skip the crawling period, which helps to strengthen the muscles of the back, legs, arms, and develops breathing, vision and speech.

He recommends placing the baby on the floor whenever possible. At the same time, the floor needs to be made comfortable and safe, ideally - to lay a gymnastic mat or covering, as in playgrounds. At the same time, the legs and elbows of the child should not be dressed, for good grip on a horizontal surface.

Often, children with developmental delays cannot crawl on a flat floor. Doman advises their parents to build a crawling board, with bumpers, the correct surface and place it at an angle at which the child can slide.

Doman does not advise leaving the child crawling by itself. Instead, he recommends that parents always stand at the finish line with interesting toys and exaggerated praise of the cub for achievements.

Development and correction of vision, hearing, sensory perception according to Doman

Glen Doman's Early Development Methodology "From 0 to 4 Years" includes a mandatory sensory program. The doctor noted that sensory pathways are the main input channels to the brain, which the child uses from the first days.

It is sight, hearing, smell, tactile sensations that give the baby the opportunity to compose the first picture of the world around him. In children with brain injuries, outgoing neural pathways are most often impaired, that is, functions responsible for transmitting signals from the main brain to a certain action (meaningful movement, verticalization, speech). Such children also often distortedly perceive or do not perceive the incoming information at all. They have impaired vision, hearing, smell, tactile signals. Moreover, the curvature can be in the direction of both hyposensitivity and hypersensitivity. For example, some patients have keen hearing, notes Glen Doman. The method of rehabilitation measures for such children is very multilevel. It is very well described in the book What To Do When Your Child Has Brain Injury.

But it is also important for a healthy child to experience the full range of sensory signals on a daily basis. They not only in themselves affect the development of brain functions, but also prepare the main organ for the perception of more complex information.

Doman advises to develop the child's vision from an adequate level. That is, there is no need for a month-old child to slip cartoons or works by Picasso. From birth, children's sensory receptors are still underdeveloped. At this time, the cub perceives more shadow and light. Glen Doman's early development technique recommends starting with a flashlight. In a dark room, turn on one light bulb or flashlight for a few minutes and teach the baby to look for a ray of light in a dark space.

Then you can prepare the child's eyes for the perception of contrasting images by showing him black and white pictures. Then you can add one color at a time.

Also, the child's tactile perception can be developed by giving him the opportunity to touch things of different temperature, density and texture: warm and cold, hard and soft, smooth and rough, etc.

If you follow the behavior of the baby, you can immediately understand that the initiator of such sensory experiences is often the baby itself. He sniffs everything, gropes it, puts it in his mouth. Thus, the child perceives the world around him. You should not scold him for trying to cognize space, even if they lead to damage to household property. You just need to secure this very space, remove unsafe, valuable or very small items.

How to develop a child's intelligence?

Parents who want to engage in the development of the intellect of their child, from the first months, can often hear complaints of a similar nature: “Do not touch your child, let yourself be happy, let him have a childhood, otherwise he will have time to get tired of all this training 200 times. ... He still has a kindergarten, a school ahead. " This is indirectly influenced by the very system of obtaining knowledge in our country. Education is perceived as something compulsory, painful.

But Western experts, including Doman, insist that a child is happy when he learns the world around him. The process of learning something new for him is as natural as breathing. In addition, in early childhood, the brain is so plastic that it can absorb and process an infinite amount of information. It is only important to present knowledge to the child in a playful, non-coercive form, to praise the kid for any initiatives, successes and attempts.

Doman advises to develop intelligence by practicing lessons with cards - "bits of intelligence". You need to start with primitive information: colors, shapes, objects in the apartment, animals, etc. For example, prepare several cards depicting geometric shapes. Show them one by one, saying: "This is a rhombus, triangle, circle, etc.". Praise your child for their attention and finish this little lesson. According to Doman's research, it is enough for a child to look at one card for 5 days, five times daily, in order to forever remember the image on it and its designation.

Many are interested in Glen Doman's progressive reading technique. It is based on the fact that it is difficult for a child to perceive symbols and letters. They essentially do not mean anything, but words that consist of symbols have real meanings. Doman recommends teaching your child to read by words. Write on the card in large letters the words that are most understandable to the child: "mom", "dad", "woman". The words should be shown to the child quite quickly, clearly voicing each one. They need to be written in large print, each letter is approximately 7-10 cm high.

Glen Domanamatics teaching methodology is also based on the fact that numbers essentially mean nothing to a child. They are just symbols. But they can mean a number of items. You need to start teaching mathematics from counting subjects, and then connect the study of the numbers that represent this number.

Glen Doman: Early Home Development Technique. Feedback from parents and specialists

The essence of Doman's technique is based on daily home care provided by the parents themselves. Doman brought the role of the parent in the development of the child to a new level. Domestic doctors like to focus on the fact that parents have become "so smart that horror" or "experts know better." But Doman partially rejects this approach, emphasizing that the parent is the main character in the life of the cub. It is he who knows his little one better than anyone. But you need to be vigilant and judicious. It doesn't matter if the child is sick or healthy - you should start taking classes on Doman only after reading his books. Education should be conducted in a free, playful, relaxed atmosphere.

Doman himself outlined the following guidelines for parents:

• Encourage your child to do any movement. It is the foundation of life and development. Do not restrict your baby to special devices (playpen, walkers), do not tell him to sit down.
• Whatever physical action the baby does, let him do it himself. This is exactly what Glen Doman advises. The technique, which is practiced in his institutes, completely excludes "crotching" over the child and all body movements in the spirit: "Stop running, sit down already, calm down" or "I myself, otherwise you will break, break, scatter, etc."
• Teach your child to be proud of what they are doing so well and where they are doing so well.
• But don't force your child to exercise when they are sick or tired.

Glen Doman's technique was created over 50 years ago. At the time of its creation, this rehabilitation system was the most advanced, holistic and comprehensive. But even today, many parents raising children with brain damage observe positive dynamics in them only after classes on Doman.

Several dozen Russian children are even patients of the Institute in Philadelphia. Their parents create forums, actively discuss the methodology, and share impressive results. In fairness, it should be noted that parents of children with cerebral palsy and autism share mostly positive reviews about Doman's method. Every child with whom they are conscientiously involved, this system helped in something. But parents of special children rarely start new rehabilitation methods without preparation. They carefully re-read books, consult a good neurologist, perhaps even go to institutes.

However, there are people who speak negatively about this program. These are mainly those parents who did not bother to comprehensively study the philosophy of the method, did not re-read books, did not ask a specialist, but heard that a child needs to read 25 words every day, show pictures, stuff him with unnecessary knowledge, make him crawl a kilometer, etc. ... Also, some specialists speak negatively about the Doman system, especially those who promote their early development systems.

Despite the contradictions that, according to some experts, the development method of Glen Doman has, it is still the most comprehensive system for the rehabilitation of children with brain damage in the world. You cannot count the number of children whom this rehabilitation helped to realize the happiness of the first steps and first words. And director Doman was able to prove, using the example of many brave and purposeful children and parents, that the capabilities of the human brain are endless. And each parent can multiply the potential of their children, if they believe in them and make efforts for their development.

Today, special attention is paid to the early development of children. Author's programs have been developed, which are successfully used by parents, teachers and educators all over the world. One of them is the Glen Doman system, built on the principle of conveying a large amount of information through visual perception. How to grow a polymath with the help of sets of cards? Are there any disadvantages to this technique?

The goals and principles of the Glen Doman methodology

American neurophysiologist Glen Doman has devoted about twenty years of his life to the study of how to help children suffering from brain damage and disorders in the functioning of the nervous system to develop, perceive the world around them, or completely heal. He argued that physical health is directly related to the level of intelligence. Therefore, for babies, an individual set of exercises was first and foremost developed. The child practiced focusing his gaze on an object: the doctor showed cards with red dots drawn on them on a white background. Later, in place of the red dots, images of objects, animals and letters appeared. Children also imitated adults, repeating head turns, movements of arms and legs. Then they were taught to crawl.

Together with regular physical exercises, the children were engaged in breathing exercises and manual therapy. The main condition is to conduct complex classes regularly. After a while, the doctor noticed that his charges began to catch up with healthy peers. They learned not only to repeat the movements, but also memorized the sequence of actions. Glen Doman concluded that constant vigorous exercise promotes brain development. And the more the child is engaged physically, the faster his intellectual development takes place.

After a while, Doman began to develop a teaching method for healthy toddlers. Interest in studying the brain activity of children who developed in accordance with their age appeared by chance. During the rehabilitation of problem children, their healthy sisters and brothers joined the classes and received information with pleasure. The author prepared several programs that were complicated and the results exceeded all expectations. Children at the age of two already read perfectly, counted and were intellectually developed much more than their peers.

Glen Doman insisted that every child has a huge potential of opportunities that need to be unlocked from a very young age. According to his method, it is possible to start practicing with an infant from birth, actively encouraging him to exercise. From six months, intellectual development should be connected using sets of cards.

What Includes Harmonious Early Childhood Development

The baby's abilities will grow every day if you work with him regularly. Doman explained this by the fact that the brain develops only with constant training and learning. But this process does not last a lifetime: up to three years old you need to lay down as much information as possible for children, and for the next three years - up to six years old - regularly maintain this knowledge and supplement it with new ones.

Glen Doman explained that adults do not have much time to start and discover the incredible capabilities of a child inherent in nature: only the first three years of life.

Glen Doman outlined the basic principles of his methodology.

1. Early physical and intellectual development.
   • Exercise should be started with your baby right after birth. You can encourage him to crawl, grab, stand on his legs with the help of adults. From an early age, it is recommended to teach the baby to swim and walk. Glen Doman argued that all these reflexes are inherent in nature, and for their quick and successful disclosure, you need to stimulate the child as early as possible.
   • The development of intelligence occurs through different sets of cards: the toddler, as it were, photographs the image and remembers it at a subconscious level, receiving huge amounts of information every day.
2. Regularity of classes. According to this method, parents must teach their child every day without missing a beat. Only under this condition the baby's brain works and develops.
3. Approach to every child. The most suitable teachers for children are their parents. Toddlers better perceive their loved ones and are more willing to remember the information provided by them. According to the methodology, you can deal with a crumb only when he wants it and arouses interest. If he is distracted or dissatisfied, it is better to postpone the lesson, but not for several days, but for a couple of hours, after which it is better to try again. The toddler must be praised and rejoiced at his success.
4. Creating a suitable learning environment. The main thing in this system is the sets of cards. They should be large, with bright and understandable images: pictures, dots or letters. Glen Doman compared a child's brain to a machine that can remember and process data visually at a very early age. Parents often make mistakes and repeat the same material for a month. The author of the technique insisted that new information should be entered as often as possible and shown to the baby using cards. He will quickly remember everything.

Every child can become a genius, and early development is the key to his genius.

Glen Domanbook by Glen Doman "Harmonious development of the child"

Glen Doman's technique - video

What can you teach a child using the Doman system

Glen Doman argued that by studying according to his method, the baby can learn to memorize new information, read, count and even master foreign languages. There is a lot of educational material, its amount is in the thousands. The teaching principle is always the same - showing the child cards with pictures, words or dots.

But parents should not forget that, along with mental development, the little one needs physical activity. For this, Glen Doman recommends leaving the baby on the floor or on the mat for at least three to four hours a day, where he will have a lot of space. Dressing children at this time should be at a minimum: the more freedom of movement, the better for their health. Also, the baby needs to be put on its feet, twisted, twisted and tossed, so that it learns to navigate in space and keep balance. There must be a crawling track on which the child trains to move and crawl.

Doman crawling track - video

Learning to read

According to Doman's method, you can start teaching a child to read from three to six months. On white cards, you need to show not individual letters, but whole words. Moreover, they should be written only in red and no other.

When showing the card, parents should say the word written on it loudly and clearly. Glen Doman argued that the baby does not understand the inscriptions, but if they are pronounced aloud, then visual and sound perception helps the brain to quickly remember the depicted sequence of letters and understand it in the future.

Global reading is taught according to the principle that a child memorizes a whole word, and not individual letters or syllables.

Doman's Global Reading - video

Score by Glen Doman

Glen Doman said that by pronouncing a certain number, adults imagine how it looks. But children perceive everything differently: they first of all count the number of objects they see. Therefore, on the white card, you need to place the red dots. While showing them, say the appropriate number out loud: this is how the child will remember the count.

Teaching a child to count according to the methodology is significantly different from what adults are used to. The thing is that the cards do not contain numbers, but red dots, which the baby remembers.

Quantitative Mathematics - video

Acquaintance with foreign languages

According to the Doman program, you can study foreign languages ​​with children: English, French or any other. The author said that the baby's brain is a perfect computer that can assimilate the amount of information provided to him. Therefore, parents need to write foreign words on the cards and show them to the crumbs, while pronouncing them aloud. The child will memorize them, and then voice them.

Glen Doman Cards - Photo Gallery

Cards can be of a wide variety of topics Sets of cards for early development Studying food Studying actions Learning to count with Doman's cards Teaching a child to read according to Doman's method Cards for studying shapes and colors Set of cards "Space" Set of cards "Professions" Set of cards "Attractions" Set of cards "Countries of the world"
Set of cards "Trees"

Description of cards - video

How to make cards at home

Glen Doman cards can be purchased in the store or made yourself. Parents often prefer the second option, because in the learning process there are several hundred, or even thousands of units of teaching material. To make them:

• take a thick sheet of white cardboard, or plain white paper;
• print a color picture on paper and stick it on the base.

If you are preparing flashcards for teaching reading or counting, words and dots should only be written in red.

DIY cards - video

To help parents: how to properly deal with Doman's cards with children of different ages

With children under one year old, you can and even need to deal with the Doman method. Parents are encouraged to find a time when the baby is not hungry, does not want to sleep and feels healthy. Only in this case will he be able to focus his attention on the pictures and subconsciously will remember new information. If mom and dad see that the baby is distracted, starts crying or is capricious, you cannot show the cards.

Glen Doman's early development methodology provides for the rules by which classes are held.

1. The child should be seated if he is already sitting confidently, or put on a surface where nothing will distract him.
2. Parents show no more than five cards in one lesson. As the crumbs grow older, this number increases to ten.
3. It is strictly forbidden to give cards in the hands of a toddler: the baby does not examine and does not study them himself, he simply visually perceives information, listening to the words spoken by adults.
4. Each card is shown to the child for one or two seconds, then a new one is taken. One lesson takes 7-10 seconds.
5. Every day you need to conduct classes in five such sets. Each set consists of five cards, so the baby remembers twenty-five new words a day.
6. There are three lessons per day with each set. In total, the baby is trained fifteen times daily.
7. Classes with one set of cards are held for five consecutive days. Then one card from the set is removed, and another is selected in its place.
8. During classes, the cards must be shown to the child in a different order.

How to show Doman cards correctly - video

Reading teaching

Learning to read according to the method of Glen Doman takes place in several stages.

1. Up to one and a half years, the child is shown only individual words that he memorizes and learns to find among the proposed cards. Moreover, they should be written in large capital letters so that the crumb is not distracted by their size.
2. When the child is already familiar with many words, you can add phrases from them. For example, a toddler knows the colors and names of fruits. Parents can offer him two cards together - an orange orange, a yellow banana, a red apple. Children quickly memorize such pairs.
3. The next step after memorizing at least 75–85 words is the study of simple sentences. Parents are encouraged to compose them with the actions of the baby himself. For example: Diana is playing, Sasha is sleeping, Denis is drawing. The child is interested in everything connected with his name. A little later, the task can be complicated: Diana plays with a ball, Sasha sleeps in a crib, Denis draws a ship. In this way, the little one will gradually learn to read not only individual words, but also whole sentences.

Check

To teach a child to count, parents need to prepare 100 cards, on which red dots from one to one hundred will be shown in random order. Classes are held in several stages (the same as when teaching reading). At the very beginning, with a crumb, they study the numbers from zero to five, and from six to ten. When the baby remembers them (on average after five days), you can add new ones.

Score from 1 to 30 + reading - video

Opinions on the pros and cons of the technique

Many parents, kindergarten teachers and teachers in development centers use the Glen Doman method for the intellectual development of children. Of course, while studying it, adults pay great attention to the baby, spending a lot of time showing cards. The child, in turn, is interested in bright pictures, letters and dots. Everything new attracts his attention, and he is ready to memorize the information that is offered to him. But there are also downsides to the system.

1. The technique is based only on visual and sound perception: the child acts as a passive observer who remembers information without analyzing it.
2. The disclosure of creative abilities is not provided. It has been proven that the development of fine motor skills contributes to the growth of a child's intelligence. But when working with cards, the kid does not learn to draw, sculpt from plasticine, does not master other activities.
3. Difficulty learning at school. Studying reading from cards, the child memorizes words visually, he does not know letters, he does not know how to make words out of them and break them down by sounds. In his subconscious, a word is just one picture and nothing else. When children go to school, it is much more difficult for them to adjust to the curriculum.
4. Lack of an individual approach. Each child is a person with their own desires and interests. Some kids want to paint. Through creativity they get to know the world around them, remember colors, objects, trying to depict them on paper. Others find it more fun to solve puzzles, play with lacing, or spend time exploring a business board. Not every toddler will watch the cards without doing anything himself.

Not all psychologists, teachers and parents speak positively about classes according to the method of Glen Doman. Many neurologists and psychiatrists oppose this system, saying that all children are individual, and for some, such a volume of information at such an early age is not useful.

The child's brain matures gradually: first, the nerve centers responsible for breathing and digestion, then for movement, and only after that for emotional control, will and reading. If this sequence is forcibly violated, the formation of the crumbs may deviate from the norm.

Excessive intellectual stress causes blood flow to the cerebral cortex, resulting in vasospasm and, accordingly, the baby gets a whole bunch of diseases. Overloaded with knowledge, the child experiences headaches, becomes restless, suffers from tics (involuntary movements) and urinary incontinence. Earlier development, in addition, can cause mental disorders if the baby has a tendency to them. Usually, symptoms appear within a month from the beginning of any type of intellectual activity and disappear only when parents decide to change the regime of the day and rest of their child and relieve him of the lion's share of mental stress.

Doctors say that all knowledge is good in moderation and in due time. As they grow up, the child will begin to master the necessary information.