Brain injury has many causes and comes in all levels of severity. It can occur during the 9 months of pregnancy from genetics, alcohol or drug use (over-the-counter, RX or street). It can occur shortly before, during or slightly after birth (the most likely time for it to occur). It can also occur anytime after birth from illness, high fever, accident, trauma or abuse/neglect. However, regardless of the cause, the severity or when it occurred, all brain injury has one thing in common… brain injury prevents you from reaching your potential. A brain injury does not lower or take away your potential; it just prevents you from accessing, demonstrating or using the full potential you have.
Since brain injury does not interfere with ones true potential there is every reason we should do as much as possible to help overcome the problems that are caused from the brain injury. The potential is there, you just don’t have access to it. You know you can move your arm, say a word, or perform a function; but, due to a brain injury your body won’t cooperate… the potential is there just not the ability.
Even though potential can not be properly measured, when someone suffers from a brain injury their potential is always significantly higher than they are able to show or communicate. CAN LEARN is proud of the results achieved by the courageous children and their families we work with.
CAN LEARN programs achieves results by providing individualize home programs that are administered by family members. After evaluations, the family is empowered and enabled to actually work in their own home successfully. For those families that can provide what is needed, our programs offer exciting results regardless of age or degree of disability. In fact, the programs used at the CAN LEARN often get good results even when other programs fail.
How does it work?
Our programs work on the “root” cause of the problem, not the symptoms. The human brain is responsible for virtually every thing we do. Every movement we make, every word we say, every thought, reaction, response and expression. The list of functions of the brain is infinite. However, we can place all those millions of functions into three categories. Our brain must receive information from its environment, process it (filter, prioritize, interpret and categorize) and do something with the information. The brain develops in an orderly, sequential manner; one level building upon the next. If the foundation is shaky or dysorganized so will the upper levels. The only way our brain receives information is through our 6 senses (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, touch and balance). Here is where problems begin. If information isn’t received properly by one (or more) senses the brain is unable to process it properly which affects how well it is able to use or store information. Function is a mirror….
If the brain received information well it will process well and store (learn and recall) information in highly skilled, organized and consistent ways. It puts out information such as walking, talking, writing or riding a bike by a complex series of commands that must occur at the right time and in the right order. Brain injured individuals aren’t receiving proper information therefore unable to process or store the information well.
CAN LEARN provides specialized exercises and activities that are designed to help the brain perform better in these three areas. Sensory systems are stimulated and trained to work in better and healthier way. The consistency of our stimulation program’s help the brain process in a more organized and consistent ways. As the brain’s dysorganization is eliminated performance is increased and enhanced by building onto existing skills in a developmental way and by strengthening fundamental skills. By increasing the efficiency of the brain's functional ability there is less need for the brain to demonstrate symptoms. Therefore, virtually all symptoms of brain injury can be helped.