(2 of 4)
Professor Hassenger mocks the possibility of students running their own university, and concludes that "It would be a shambles." I am curious to know how he can be so positive of the negative results of an experiment without first putting it to the test. Wouldn't it be horrible if, by some fluke of course, the entire program worked? Think, for a moment, of the consequences of a microcosm that would be allowed to determine the proper path for itself. That would be a terrible thing in a democracy. Betsy Ross would probably have dropped a stitch at the mere thought, and that long-haired rebel George Washington just might have fallen out of his boat.
MAX W. GURVITCH, '68
Long Island University
Brooklyn
Human Potential
Sir: Your critical article on the Doman-Delacato program [May 31] brought my dander up. Our poorly coordinated son could only walk up and down stairs holding on for dear life and had balance so poor that he couldn't lift up one foot without falling over. He spent a year each in nursery school and kindergarten, only taking up space and not knowing what was going on around him. He started the Doman-Delacato program, tailored to his needs, the summer after kindergarten. It's true, he may always have some problems, and we are aware of this. But when my husband and I watched him make his first Holy Communion fully aware of the meaning of the event, and as we watch him trot off to a den meeting in his Cub Scout uniform or do math problems a mile a minute, we remember those dark days before the program. We thank God that Glenn Doman and Carl Delacato were able to develop the techniques that so obviously helped our son.
MRS. DANIEL J. DUGGAN JR.
Elmwood Park, Ill.
Sir: As a physical therapist who has worked exclusively with physically handicapped children, I have been continually aware of the influence of the press releases concerning patterning on the parents of my patients. To them it is "hope for the hopeless." Some brain-damaged children improve without treatment; some never improve, even with the most attentive therapy sessions, which is heartbreaking for all, but a reality. I have seen too many families frustrated and emotionally and financially burdened when the hope they purchased from the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential was without results. Hopefully with the professional viewpoints emerging, the layman will become aware that it's not the "miracle technique" its press-agents have made it seem.
CHARLOTTE M. O'TOOLE, P.T.
Albany, N.Y.
Sir: We did not "withdraw from one comprehensive, Government-supported study designed to test their theory." We have documented proof that this study was scotched by the others involved when it became obvious that we intended to go through with the study which we initiated and which we had so long sought. Indeed, the primary money spent in this study was money provided through the institutes from a foundation that had already supported us for years.
GLENN DOMAN
Director
The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential
Philadelphia
Yurupmanship
Sir: Tears were in the eyes of this sentimental old codger (74) as I read the poem about Belmont [May 31]. It was absolutely wonderful.