Dr. Raymundo Véras

The purpose of this "Message" is to show parents and educators what comes to be a brain-injured child, in a clear and straight forward manner, without causing any bigger problem because of this. All that we are going to describe from here on about the brain-injured child, comes in the sense of showing parents that, far from being a punishment, coming from the child to the family, is in a certain way (and as incredible as it may seem) a divine blessing. The child is, inside the characteristics that he shows, a strong ring of union amongst the people that surround him.  In the beginning, it is necessary that all that are around him become united.  With time, however, benefits will come to the whole family.

In this actual environment, all this makes a family to go searching in many ways.  A child like this, when seen truly intelligently and kindly by the family, is without any shadow of a doubt, a uniting factor.  The impact that a child with bran-injury brings to its family in today's (much to do with not wanting to know and abandoning the past) needs to stop existing.  Once again I say: the higher objective of this study is to show that the coming of this child to this family is more of a reward than a punishment.  He must be seen as one more motivation so that the family stays cohered, almost always, more united than a family that doesn't have a child like this.

Medicine, in a past of 100 years, did nothing or little for the brain-injured child.  This situation improved a lot in the last few years and we can now see more research being done throughout the world on what comes to be a brain-injured-child.

We know, through history, various cases of children being abandoned and were raised amongst animals.  Children who should have been farmer's kids in primitive zones, with low population density, having some catastrophe happen to their parents, being left to there own luck.

In the majority of cases, they ended up being rescued by animals.  In Italy, two children of 9 and 11 years of age were found living with wolves.  They fed themselves with the same deteriorated food and presented the same characteristics and habits of those animals.  One of these children died a few days after he was brought to civilization.  The other still survived for two years, always in an abnormal situation.  They could no longer adapt to a human environment.

In India we have a case that is part, inclusively, of world medical literature, were a young man was found amongst wild animals and showed the same habits as those animals.  After he was taken to civilization, he lived for some time longer, maybe two or three years, but he was always unease, afraid and aggressive like any wild animal when under captivity.  One day, when taken to the Zoo, in the presence of his "adopted brothers", was at ease for the first time, whilst he had a tranquil expression on his face he made the similar sounds to the animals.

After these experiences, we've made the following conclusions: if an individual falls in a wild environment, for whatever reason, during a phase in which his nervous system has yet not developed, staying tied up in that environment, taking away from him the habits and general knowledge for his survival. Why then, are they trying to create special environments for brain-injured children?  This is an error that the whole world commits and for which it ends up paying dearly.  Happily, nowadays, this has started to be understood.

These children, that yet don't organize themselves, that don't conduct themselves or have comprehension, and in whom the nervous system hasn't yet developed completely, can't live in a poor environment full of modifications.  If we create Institutions like this to put them in, we will be making them even more disabled.

It is time that the world woke up to this problem.  Man is the fruit of the stimulation of the environment over his intellectual and physical potential.  This stimulation is what makes him more or less developed.  Animals are born with what we call "chemical conscience" and what many call "instinct".  Man is born with his nervous system yet immature and incomplete. He also brings within him this chemical inheritance that goes from generation to generation, but without the same intensity of the animals.

The birds, for example, are born already knowing how to make their nests, being that each species make theirs in a different way.  In this manner, by the types of nests, we can recognize the birds.  However, there doesn't exist amongst them a "school to teach them how to make nests", just as there isn't, amongst spiders, a school on how to make spider webs.  The offsprings are already born with this skill, with this chemical memory.  No one gives trees lessons on how to grow upwards. The salmon is a fish that is born in rivers and crosses waterfalls until it reaches the ocean.  He travels thousands of miles throughout the ocean and it goes back to same it was born to give birth, or be it: the river where it was born.  On the journey back, there is no other guide other than its instinct.  It is for it a natural thing. There isn't the smallest necessity of a school or teachings.

Man doesn't have his instincts as developed as the animals, that "are already born with knowledge".  Almost everything in man is learnt through conditioning.  If the brain, as structured as it might be, anatomically and physiologically, doesn't receive stimulus, it won't function.  If we don't give a child the opportunity of hearing, he won't reach speech.  If we don't stimulate reading, he won't learn.  Being that reading and writing are products of the neurological organization, they will be attained through the evolution obtained through the evolution of the Central Nervous System.

Man, as the last and most sophisticated product of the philogenetical scale, or be it, of the animal species development scale, reproduces all the philogenetical development himself.  Because of this, the development of his central nervous system is very different from that of other animals.  The majority of those animals are already born with this capacity of survival assured, man isn't.   If he isn't helped and taught, he will not have the conditions of surviving.  At least not by himself, in the plentitude of his capacity.

I want with this, show that man has a very organized nervous system, that anatomically and physiologically, he is prepared for high conditions of functioning.  However, all, within this operation is made through a learning process tied-up to the environment.

We see then that man is a product of the stimulus that he receives from the environment.  Or better, his nervous system develops itself through its use, in an appropriate environment. Being so, if this is correct as we believe that it is, we can't separate a brain-injured child  from other human beings.  After all, "he's also a human being."  Unless we really want to turn the child with brain-injury to an inferior creature.  This was the error that, in the past, made that these children became totally disbelieved and discriminated against.

A brain-injury, when diagnosed superficially early  (although correctly, in the majority of cases) makes that the child becomes marked in a normal environment.  Without profound investigations, we can't confirm anything.  Meanwhile, the child has been relegated to the background, a special environment being created around him that we privately call "senses deprivation environment".  Sense deprivation of  audition, vision and touch. Deprivation of language, writing and speech functions.  And even mobitlity.

If we get a normal child, born on the same day as a child with brain-injury, and we place him on the same sense deprivation environment, where a child with brain-injury is usually placed, we will see that after a few years, we will have the "normal" child in a much inferior level of what is called normality, in an equal situation to the to the child with brain-injury.  He will not be able to speak, to listen or to understand well, for he was put in a poor stimulus environment.  He could be able to differentiate himself  from the brain-injured child by physiognomy, that will not have traces of the injury, but in his attitudes, gestures, language, behavior and all else will be identical.

I strongly draw the attention of parents to this situation: it is an inadequate environment, an abnormal environment, that makes a brain-injured child really become abnormal.

It is natural that that a normal be able to, in a poor environment, develop himself normally.  But a brain-injured child in such an environment, it is even poorer still, and will never reach normality. However, if this child is placed in a superior environment, he will have lots more chances of becoming a normal child. Our objective is not of transforming him into a genius.  Only to take him to the due normality, trying to give the brain-injured child the chance to realize the development of his potentials.

 "MY MESSAGE TO THE PARENTS IS THAT, BEFORE AND ABOVE ALL BELIEVE IN YOUR CHILDREN WITH BRAIN INJURY!"

Then child, when being born, receives well wishes from all the family.  There exists an enormous credit for this new being, in everyone's presumption, to continue with traditions.  At the time that the child is born, every becomes very happy and satisfied. But, the moment that someone notices something different and discovers a negative factor, he who was joyously being received, is immediately seen in an obtuse manner. As such, we will find our child in a very sad situation in a family environment and, consequently, in a social environment. The child is seen a totally wrong manner.  He is seen as an exceptional(disabled).  Society does not give him the opportunity that in the sense that it does to a normal child.  The social environment commits all those errors that come from the discrimination of the health professionals and reflect themselves in family environment.

As such, we verify that the brain-injured child is seen like another mentally retarded person.  However, we don't see how we can encompass him in such mentally retardation concept.  Unless we allow his neurological development to occur within this state of error.  If we don't work  with the brain-injured child, if we don't ask him for proof that they are able to do a series of tasks, if we don't teach them and put inside their heads information such as that one day, he can give us answers, he simply will not be able to run away from neurological deficiency and, because of this, will not be able to escape a mental deficiency.

At this level, the parents start to see that almost all is wrong with the manner in which their child is seen.  However, in whatever circumstance, whatever age, if we modify this environment created for him, we will find good concrete answers, that will bring to the child a better situation.

My message to the parents is of trust, is of positive assistance, through stimulus.  That the child receives what every normal child needs for his normal ontogenetic development.  And, at times, he receive stimuli above normal.

Some years ago we were a clinic and, talking to the doctor in charge, we heard that none of these children are born with mental problems, but yes, with tendencies that are developed from the second year on.  If the environment is not capable of slowing these tendencies, and some  other conditioning does not bring better perspectives, this child will end up with real problems of mental deficiency.  We are certain that the environment, on its own, is capable of making that the majority of brain-injured children be able to return to the stage of life normality.  Or at least get real close to it.  Then the parents have a great responsibility, for to them belong the task of forming this environment, so needed in the development of their child.

I know that for many to speak of "normality", in relation to a brain-injured child is almost a "crime", an "aberration".  But until now, not one of these individuals was able to make so that just a single child as such, reached this point.  Placed in the manner in which they are, in a poor environment, nothing can be expected of them.

NORMALITY OF LIFE

In our understanding, to give a human being normality of life, means to give him the minimal conditions capable of bringing him to an environment of normal life, or be it: study capacity in all levels (elementary, high school and university), above all that can guarantee survival through his own means.

Amongst normal individuals, without any problems, few are the ones that have the conditions of getting to an university level.  The majority stay between primary and high school.  However, no one has ever classified these people as mentally retarded or inferior beings.  That is why, when we speak of normality, we refer to this immense group that constitute the workers, in all professional levels.  They are the ones that build something for the benefit of all.  We are not referring to the "geniuses".

We need to give the brain-injured child NORMAL OPORTUNITIES.  This signifies that we give him knowledge about his home environment.  Of all that is around him.  Of the utility of the objects inside the home and of the relation between the objects and the persons.  We have to inform the child of the usefulness of the food, the fruits, teach him the other activities of daily life.  Here we include to personal hygiene, good habits and the right way to dress. We need to teach him to know the days of the week and the month, we have to fill his head with all these information.  We speak a lot about 'exceptional love".  I interpret this love as information that we can give the child, and not just cuddles and kisses.

We need the show them the utility and the beauty of life's environment.  How the birds fly, the sky is blue etc.  We need to fill-up that poorly developed brain, that is almost empty, with information.  That will give him the working conditions within normality.  The child needs to be informed many times so that, later on, he be able to answer what is asked of him.  We can not want that every time we bring him information he demonstrate he has understood.  That is impossible.

The mother of a normal child, in the first weeks of life, already talks to her child, and for consecutive hours repeats, daily, the most common words and phrases: "mummy", "daddy", "aunty", "granny", "look at your little brother playing" etc.  What is this for?  It is a necessity of life that obliges this conversation.  This is made necessary because these are the bits of information that will give, some day, the child conditions to express himself and show his own thoughts

Many times, even the normal child takes a while to speak.  He might start speaking at 7, 8 months, or at even 3 years of age.  The mother, knowing that her child is normal, insists and always repeat, daily, for months and even longer, those same words.  One fine day, the child starts to speak what was exhaustedly taught to him, or be it taught to him.

Persistence, A lot of persistence is what we recommend to the mother of a brain-injured child. Have enthusiasm. Forget your nervous tension.  Have trust the child. Be happy to be alive, so that you can transmit it to your child. Always have a smile in your lips.  Scare away unhappiness and all will go well with the child. The brain-injured child's mother has to have the same persistence in repeating to the him, as the mother of a well child, so that one day she will have the great joy of seeing her child answering those questions.

Naturally, there exists a very big difference between a brain-injured child and a well child. In the brain-injured child exists a deficiency, whilst in the well child there is no problem. However the two are the same in what we call the need for information.  The brain-injured child needs more and receives less information, for the mother, nervous, anxious, tense, morally down, does not have the conditions of giving this information with the same frequency, intensity and duration as the mother of a well child.

The parents will see that the problem of this child's brain is the need for stimulation, of more information and better organization, so that he can answer questions.  We mustn't forget that the nervous cells that are better organized give answers to functions in a more precise manner. The better the organization of a nervous system cell, the better will be its functioning quality.

There are errors that are made even in well children. In a child such as ours, these wrong information and incomplete create even more problems than those that were acquired normally.  We want to show the families that accumulated errors will bring the brain-injured child a deficient situation. But, if in the place of errors we give him good information, we will take away his deficiency.  We will create a superior situation for him.  This attitude should be taken in a social environment and in environment that he finds himself in.

We will, however, have a great deal of care , a lot of love with the brain-injured child so that the deficiencies don't become greater, but, to the contrary, having as objective the removal of these obstacles.  These children's parents live dreaming of a miraculous medicine that could bring the child back to the normality of life and, however, without any withdraws inside their own houses, each family can make so that their dream becomes reality. All this requires, however, a lot of perseverance, honesty and intelligence form the family.  Only the intelligent, honest and perseverant family will save her brain-injured child putting him in the life normality stage.

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