The Serper Method
http://www.serpermethod.com
Our website of the month for May 2007 is the
Serper Method™. Each month, we try to find sites that are
unique, and we have an affinity for web resources and
organizations that
are created as result of an individual experience and even
self-discovery. That is the story of Dr. Lynn
Lazarus Serper, EdD.
Dr. Serper had been a teacher for children with
learning disabilities and had completed her course work
for a doctoral program at the University of
Massachusetts when in 1990 she became disabled by a
ruptured brain aneurysm. The day after her surgery she suffered a cerebral stroke and was
in a coma for three weeks. As a result Dr.
Serper was unable to read, speak, understand, remember
or write.
The two events left Dr. Serper with aphasia.
Her doctors told her that she would never recover and
they recommended that her family place her in a
nursing home. A friend and advocate intervened
and Dr. Serper began a six-year program of
rehabilitation. With determination and and the
help of many professionals she slowly regained her
cognitive abilities.
Remarkably she found that the reading,
history and geography activities she created during her teaching
years could be revamped into vital and practical
mental exercises. During her recovery, Dr.
Serper found that relearning familiar information
strengthened her brain function. It was during that time of rehabilitation that Dr.
Serper developed the techniques she was using to help
herself recover into what is now the Serper
Method™.
She noted:
My
doctor friend told me I would get my skills
back but that I’d have to work very hard on
brain exercises and that it would take a very
long time… and I believed him. A few years
later, as I was improving, he told me that he
really didn’t know if his advice would work.
We both learned a lot about the strength and
abilities of the brain.
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Her motivation was not only to inspire other people
who have gone through similar experiences but also to
actually teach people who have had a stroke, traumatic
brain injury, aphasia, anoxic conditions or other
cerebral events including age-related conditions.
Dr Serper's experiences and subsequent recovery led
her to write: BRAINSTORMING: The Serper Method™
of Brain Recovery, Re-Growth, and Vitality, as
well as three Serper
Method™
related workbooks and a Serper Booster™ supplemental
workbook. The book tells
about Dr. Serper's struggle with aphasia and how she
went from not being able to communicate to relearning
communication skills through her
recovery. In 1999 she founded Brain Enhancement
Services, located in Brookline Massachusetts.
The
Serper
Method™
website will give you more details about Dr. Serper and
her amazing recovery. You can also learn more
about the Serper
Method™,
workbook system which is an innovative program of brain exercises that
support word recognition, comprehension, memory, and
speech. These brain exercises are purposeful and,
as much as possible frustration-free. In addition
the information is often related to the specific interests
of the participant. The format is
based upon theories and step-by-step methods to help
learning take place. The method also makes use of
newspapers, television, puzzles and
previously learned information to turn life's activities
into brain therapy.
Dr. Serper told us:
It
appears that when individuals have a chance to
tap into subjects learned in the past they
recall more information, increase thinking
skills, develop more conversational skills and
socialize more easily. I turned myself into a
one-person laboratory. As I used materials I had
created as a teacher 20 years before and tried
teaching methods I had previously developed, my
skills expanded. Although it took 6 years of
hard work, the improvements in thinking,
conversational and memory skills were
remarkable. Incredibly, I found that the more I
practiced the exercises, the more of my skills
returned. People who use the program today are
finding the same thing. It’s very exciting.
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The Serper
Method™ website has sections for caregivers,
cognitive students and professionals, and there is
information about using the Serper
Method™ with individuals, with loved-ones, in
group settings and if you are a survivor of stroke or a
traumatic brain injury - by yourself. You
can also find out about training in-service and
Cognitive Educator™ training programs available
through Brain Enhancement Services.
People who experience events like a stroke or a
traumatic brain injury, gain knowledge and wisdom about
their conditions and lives through their determination,
hard work and recovery. We have seen brain injury
survivors go onto help others, become advocates and
generously pass on what they have learned.
Dr. Serper has done that as well and we wanted to make
you aware of her website and of the tools she has
created to assist others.
The wonderful thing is that five years after her
aneurysm and stroke Dr. Serper completed her dissertation,
received her doctorate, and authored her books.
Since then she has spoken at national and international
conferences and presented papers and poster sessions on
cognitive education and memory disorders. As
always we highlight interesting websites and information
to give you the opportunity to learn about different
resources. You can read more about the
Serper
Method™,
and Dr. Serper by logging onto the Serper
Method™
website.
Northeast Center for Special Care is pleased to present
the Serper
Method™
as our website of the month for May, 2007. They are
just a click
away, and don't forget to bookmark them so you can visit
again.
Disclaimer:
Reference in this web site to any specific
organizations, commercial products, process, service,
manufacturer, or company does not constitute its
endorsement or recommendation by Northeast Center for
Special Care.
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