In wheelchairs, on crutches or with halting speech, children at Baltimore's Kennedy Krieger Institute School taught more than 350 visitors yesterday about the brain, acting as candid mentors to share what went wrong with theirs.
"Part of my brain got swollen," said Marcus Richards, 14, forcing out words that seemed to get tangled in his throat. The Baltimore boy was hit by a car while riding his bike four years ago.
"I learned that my brain controls my body," said Marcus. He almost died, then began a slow struggle to use his legs, write again and recover his voice. "I've been working to get my speech better. [My brain is] still a little bit swollen, but I'm good at my grades."
Across the country this week, the National Institutes of Health, the Dana Alliance for Brain Research and more than 100 health and advocacy organizations are joining to promote awareness of the brain. These groups are throwing open their doors to showcase research.
But instead of using physicians and scientists, Kennedy Krieger decided to let those affected by brain conditions describe them. A team of 20 students created mini-classrooms to explain various aspects of the brain, letting visitors temporarily step into their lives.
Roy Johnson, 15, who used to write his letters backward, and George Watkins, 11, whose dyslexia prevented him from reading, participated in an exercise showing the powerful link that normally develops between the body's visual and motor systems.
Guests had to outline a large numeral by following their pen's reflection in a mirror, rather than by looking directly at the paper. The difficult effort -- that few could accomplish -- imitates the disconnection between the visual and motor systems experienced by children with cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injuries and learning disabilities.
The audience included educators, medical staff, politicians and students from other schools. Some tried on glasses that simulated tunnel vision. Wearing two pairs of gloves to mimic the flattened sense of touch someone with a neurological impairment would have, they reached into a box to find a cotton ball among many other small items. Other visitors climbed into wheelchairsand, struggling with the control stick, tried to navigate a circular course.
The experiences covered topics such as distinctions between the left and right hemispheres, the senses and how the brain handles memory and organization.
