I think the idea of a "critical period" for learning and brain development is a silly, outdated notion, so I was very happy to see Dr Gutstein's quotable on the rdiconnect newsletter this week. In it, he said that he and most modern neurological researchers don't accept the idea of the 'critical period'. "We outright reject the myth that if certain abilities are not developed by a certain age it is too late. There is no evidence in autism to support this." You can read further on www.rdiconnect.com.

Isn't that amazing? It's incredible to me how these ideas get started and just spread around, like urban myths. I don't know who said we had reached our brain potential by the age of five, but boy, that's an idea whose time came and went about 30 years ago. Just let it go, please!

By the way, how could a stroke victim possibly rebuild a new brain pathway if this was the case? We all know that stroke victims can rebuild new brain pathways through therapy and special exercises well into old age. (aka over the age of five). -Sandra Sinclair