[luckystarmom]

This is a very encouraging article. I have a 5 1/2 year old daughter with brain damage. I know she has amazed her doctors in that she can walk, run, ride a bike, and swim. Unfortunately, she still is having severe speech problems.

Hopefully, she'll figure out how to speak.

[tortoise]

There have been a number of well-documented cases dating as far back as the 19th century of nominally normal people who were later discovered (many times after their death) to be missing a hemisphere or other substantial sections. There are deficiencies, but in many cases they are not immediately obvious or detectable, particularly if the person is otherwise treated as though they are perfectly normal.

Consciousness doesn't really matter, as anyone with enough brain to reasonably function at any level in society is also going to be sufficiently conscious to be recognized as such. Most meaningful tests for "consciousness" will actually come up positive for several families of higher mammals.

[deadhead]

"Hopefully, she'll figure out how to speak."

I hope so to luckystarmom. My cousin and her hubby have a beautiful daughter with MR. They were told she would never speak or walk. Well, Heather walks fine and runs even better :-) She can speak, very limited but what she says is always very sweet. Heather is a joy to their lives.