Introduction
Glenn Doman is a physical therapist and a pioneer in the field of child brain development. In 1955 he founded the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential (IAHP), a non-profit organization providing teaching programs and books designed to improve and accelerate the mental and physical development of normal as well as brain-damaged children.
The IAHP was originally set up to develop the capabilities of brain-damaged children through intense programs of mental and physical stimulation.
Starting from the 1960s, the IAHP began offering courses aimed at accelerating the development of normal children. Methods taught on these courses drew on many of the techniques used to help brain-damaged children.
Doman's books include How To Teach Your Baby To Read (1964), How To Teach Your Baby Math (1979) and How To Teach Your Baby To Be Physically Superb (1988).
Doman's daughter Janet (director of the IAHP) and son Douglas (vice director) have also contributed to the literature. In 2006 Janet coauthored (with Glenn) How Smart Is Your Baby?: Develop And Nurture Your Newborn's Full Potential, while Douglas authored How To Teach Your Baby To Swim: From Birth To Age Six.
The Domans' books are available from the IAHP's Gentle Revolution Press. On the IAHP website, Glenn Doman explains that the objective of his “gentle revolution” is “to give all parents the knowledge required to make highly intelligent, extremely capable, and delightful children, and, by so doing, to make a highly humane, sane and decent world.”