How Glenn Doman Discovered that Oxygenation Helped Special Needs Children

By Douglas Doman

In the early 1950s, Glenn Doman knew that the biggest single cause of death for children with severe special needs was respiratory infections. It continues to take thousands of children's lives around the world every year till date. This understanding caused Glenn to embark upon a sixty-year mission to develop ways to grow and mature the respiratory systems of children with brain injuries. It was a life-saving mission and there are hundreds of children alive today because of Glenn’s discoveries. 

Parents today sometimes ask the question, “Could hyperbaric oxygen be beneficial for their child with special needs?”

He was looking for ways to provide more oxygen to the brain. Oxygen is the principal food of the brain, along with glucose and trace minerals. Glenn hypothesized hyperbaric oxygen could supply more oxygen to the brain and body. In those days, there were very few hyperbaric chambers. They were owned by either the government or the military. Glenn, a highly decorated soldier, was able to use his influence with Generals to book time in those chambers for himself and for parents with their children with brain injuries.

After doing this with several parents and children, it was clear that the chamber was beneficial. However, how exactly could that help hundreds of our parents around the US?

He was looking for ways to provide more oxygen to the brain. Oxygen is the principal food of the brain, along with glucose and trace minerals. Glenn hypothesized hyperbaric oxygen could supply more oxygen to the brain and body. In those days, there were very few hyperbaric chambers. They were owned by either the government or the military. Glenn, a highly decorated soldier, was able to use his influence with Generals to book time in those chambers for himself and for parents with their children with brain injuries.

After doing this with several parents and children, it was clear that the chamber was beneficial. However, how exactly could that help hundreds of our parents around the US?

It is a highly conservative estimate that our parents around the world have done billions of sessions with their children. It is easy, portable, and costs only a few dollars. 

Over the last forty years, I have asked hundreds of parents if they think their child has a respiratory problem. Almost uniformly the answer was no. Once they attended our respiratory lectures, they started thinking very differently. It is a matter of observing the entire respiratory system. Most of our children are primarily mouth-breathers. Look at an ordinary group of people and you will see that they are all breathing through their nose with their mouth closed. If you meet someone or see a stranger in public with their mouth wide open, you immediately wonder what is wrong with them? We intuitively know when observing others that breathing through the nose is preferable. Often our children have tiny chests compared to average children of the same age. Many of our children breathe loudly when they sleep. All of these are indications of an immature or undeveloped respiratory system. 

After observing their children and attending our lectures, a huge majority of our parents will say that their child does have respiratory problems. As they see our respiratory programs work, their children will start to become mobile, walk, talk, and read and write. 

In 1976, Richard Norton, one of our fathers of a profoundly brain-injured young girl, introduced Glenn Doman to the Chief Medical Officer of the NASA Ames Research Center. This is a massive NASA facility outside San Francisco. 

As a result of NASA’s foresight and generosity, research was done which verified the safety of the BEP for brain-injured children. The medical protocol must be strictly followed. NASA’s research has also validated the ability of BEPs to improve oxygenation of the brain and body. As a result, Glenn was able to greatly increase the frequency of the application of the program and significantly improve the results. They have also proposed new respiratory methods that have significantly improved the results of our respiratory programs. 

In the 1950s, no one other than Glenn Doman and Temple Fay were thinking of respiratory solutions for these children. Glenn and Fay did something about it and changed history. It is a part of Glenn Doman’s legacy that he never stopped looking for solutions to develop the respiration of these children and oxygenate their brains better. The Doman International Institute proudly continues this legacy and will leave no stone unturned finding better ways to improve our children's respiration and provide more oxygen to their brains.