HELENA, 8 YEARS OLD, IS LEARNING TO READ, WALKING AND MORE PRESENT TO HER SURROUNDING [3P25 DELETION SYNDROME]

For the first three months of her pregnancy, mother needed to be on bedrest for fear of a miscarriage.  Helena was born prematurely and was in the breech position. She was delivered by an emergency C-Section since mother had placental abruption on the way to the hospital. Helena spent the next 2 weeks in the NICU.  In the NICU they found cardiological problems. Helena had two small holes in her heart. She also had her first seizure at 4 months of age which led doctors to place Helena on medication. 

Her mother felt strongly that there was a problem but it took 1½ years to get an answer and diagnosis. Doctors were finally able to diagnose Helena with the genetic diagnosis of 3p25 deletion.

Despite employing different therapies, development in general was too slow. On the recommendation of a good friend and doctor, her parents researched the Doman Method® and took the Doman Method Course: From Special Needs to Wellness offered in Spanish language.

When Helena’s parents attended the online course Helena was 7.5 years old. By this time, Helena had no words of speech and made very few sounds. She was unable to follow simple directions or understand words. She could walk a few steps without falling, but mostly crept on hands and knees for tranportation. Immediately after the course, Helena’s parents started a program of tactile stimulation, visual and auditory stimulation. They also took an immediate Advanced Doman Appointment. 

Parents followed the elimination diet and recommended recipes from the course. They began a program of patterning, along with giving Helena the opportunity to crawl and creep on the floor. Parents encouraged Helena to walk throughout the day. Among all of the other programs, Helena’s favorite activity was the Reading Program! 

As of her very first  appointment at Doman International, Helena has been on the Doman Method® Program for four months. She is stronger and healthier.  Her understanding has grown and her ability to follow directions has greatly improved. During her evaluation, Helena demonstrated that she can follow one-step instructions with ease. She enjoys her reading words, and can engage well enough to tell pictures apart. She is now walking more in the house and the quality of her movement is better than before.  She now has enough respiration to make sounds by which she can communicate meaningfully with her parents. This is the foundation to starting speech and spoken vocabulary.

Helena and her parents make a great team and Helena has made magnificent gains for the first time in her life. Great job Helena, Mom, and Dad!