ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the hard evidence for the success of the Glenn Doman-Carl Delacato techniques. An independent test of the Doman-Delacato style of intervention on mobility was carried out by J. R. Kershner. Measuring the effectiveness of intervention programmes is surprisingly difficult, and there are many traps for the unwary. One of the major considerations in cost-effectiveness is to ensure a match between the child's level of neurological maturation and the skill to be learned. There are numerous studies showing substantial delays in the development of disabled children, a process which M. Kinsbourne has termed a 'neuro-developmental lag'. As H. T. Cohen et al remarked, such spontaneous improvement can be considered as remarkable vindication for any special programme of therapy that has been simultaneously applied in the absence of an appropriate control group. A very important and pervasive force with the power to create all manner of change in human behaviour has come to be known as the Hawthorn effect.
