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Despite the recent advancements of modern medicine, there is usually little hope given to parents of severely brain injured children. Even the parents of children less affected are often told not to expect too much. There seems to be a general acceptance that the child will always have a problem, something that parents are told they must also accept. It is not often that they are given positive encouragement.
Such a negative view of brain injury is in part explained by the fact that there is still a lot to be learnt about the human brain. An important part of this education process involves updating our view of its recuperative powers. One of the most common misconceptions about the human brain is that since it cannot replace destroyed brain cells, it has a limited ability for self-repair. But this thinking is now out-dated and no longer valid. There is a vast amount of scientific evidence that demonstrates that an enormous spare capacity or potential for recovery exists in the human brain.
This evidence is so conclusive that the issue is no longer whether or not this potential exists, but rather how it can be reached and utilised so as to facilitate the recovery of function after brain injury.
Another approach?
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