Becoming Karl

Karl was born seriously damaged by toxoplasmosis and hydrocephalus. Barely alive at birth, he survived, but doctors said he would be ineducable. Today, fifty-six-year-old Karl is artistically talented and has been in the workforce for twenty-five years. In this revised edition, Norma Delgarno brings us up to date in telling the story of her son, describing in direct and flowing narrative his traumatic birth and difficult neonatal months, his early learning struggles, the cognitive therapy which enabled him to cope with mainstream education and enter the workforce, and his development as an artist. Poignant and fascinating, this success story with its theme of one child's development against the odds has universal implications: the plasticity of the human brain and its ability to reorganise and repair itself under the right stimuli; the vital role that music and language play in the development of social, cognitive and motor skills; and the resilience and strength of the human spirit under stress.