The Turner Foundation Scholarships
by Douglas Doman
It has been exactly 50 years since our first families began receiving scholarships to pay for Doman Method services. The very first families were Italian. They contacted and lobbied the bureaucrats who controlled the funds for brain-injured children in their region. Due to the parents’ perseverance, they received up to 80% of our tuition as well as travel, room, and board to see us in Italy or the United States. Many of the regions of Italy continue to do this till today. However, the parents have to constantly fight those who try to limit the reimbursement they receive.
One of the principal reasons we founded our European Institute in Italy was because Italian families never had to stop the program for financial reasons. The state supports them in their efforts. About 20 years ago, the Norwegian families started a similar campaign and are able to receive 100% reimbursement for all the expenses related to our program. This included physical equipment, respiratory machines, and vitamins.
Sadly, until now, American families have had no assistance. The Turner Foundation in Santa Barbara, California began supporting our work in 2006. Dean Wilson, the Director of the Foundation, and his wife, Susan have been on our program with their daughter now for 15 years. They understand the financial hardships of our families because they have lived them themselves. At the beginning of this year, the Turner Foundation launched a scholarship program for our American families. They have already awarded more than a dozen scholarships and may be able to supply another dozen before the end of the year. This is the first time in my 47 years doing this work that American families have been the recipients of such generosity. The first family to receive the scholarship was the Delgado family. The Delgados are a veteran family on our program and couldn’t be more deserving.
In addition to their support and generosity, the Turner Foundation also provides families from California with information as to how to get financial support from the government. The United States federal government and state governments have billions of dollars available for the families of special needs children. Our families will often not engage a government bureaucracy that can require lots of time and paperwork. The Turner Foundation removes this burden from our families in California by providing parents with guidance and help. The Foundation eliminates parent’s loss of time and energy necessary to deal with the government. In some cases, the government programs will pay 100% of the cost of the program in addition to equipment and travel. If our American families are interested in a Turner scholarship please contact your staff coach. If our California families are interested in helping to get government funds, contact the Turner Foundation at (805) 730-1200.