A Helping Hand for the Hopeless : Education: Students at Cleta Harder Development School in La Habra, some severely brain-injured, get opportunity for physical and academic success. ‘Everyone deserves a chance,’ says founder.

Vijay Rajan, a 17-year-old who has both cerebral palsy and a rare form of muscular dystrophy, could barely move by herself eight years ago.

Today, Rajan can sit up without assistance. Although she can’t speak, she is learning to communicate. She can understand people and has mastered the gestures for “yes” and “no” in sign language.

Years ago, doctors had told Rajan’s mother, Shawn Rajan, not to expect any such success because her condition was permanently crippling.

Today, Rajan is one of six students attending summer classes at the Cleta Harder Development School on Euclid Street, where brain-injured students learn to improve their sensory, motor, coordination and speech skills.

The school specializes in the neurological development of students, ages 3 to 22, whose disabilities range from mild to severe.

Cleta J. Harder opened the center 26 years ago because she had two friends with brain-injured children.

“They needed help, and I just felt I had to help. Nobody else was doing it,” she said.

Students who come to the school daily receive schooling and physical therapy. The parents of more than 100 other children receive instruction at the school for home therapy and teaching.

“Everybody deserves a chance to see what they can do,” Harder said. “It’s amazing what these kids can do after everybody thought they were hopeless.”

Tuition ranges from $200 to $480 a month, but financial assistance is provided to needy families through donations and money raised at auctions, benefit dinners and golf tournaments. The school employs a teacher and a physical therapist, who are assisted by dozens of volunteers and paid aides.

But, Harder said, parent participation is crucial to the students’ success, which comes in many forms.

Some children learn to sit up without help while others learn to speak clearly and some learn to excel in school. One alumnus even received a Rhodes scholarship and graduated from Stanford University.

Michael McCulloch, 27, was born with an abnormally large head. At age 10 when he first came to the school, he was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, or water on the brain.

Doctors placed a shunt in his head to drain the fluid, and McCulloch began a rehabilitation program. He went from having extreme problems in perception, coordination, speech and learning to making all As in high school, Harder said. Today, he is a medical student at UC San Francisco.

Doctors who are familiar with the school say the program may not work for everyone, but it works for some.

“Many times, these kids are labeled as physically or mentally deficient, and this program brings about some change,” said Peter Springall, a psychologist who runs a similar school in San Diego and who refers patients to Harder’s school.

Lisa Butts, a physical therapy aide at the school, said, “I think people think that if you’re brain-injured, you’re a vegetable. That’s not the case. I’ve seen a lot of improvement. Some can sit up, and some can communicate better.”

Shawn Rajan of Anaheim Hills, said she is amazed at her daughter’s improvement.

“She is a bright kid, but I never knew how much she understands,” Rajan said. “Doctors tell me she will never be independent, but I have hope that she’ll learn to be able to let me know when she’s hurting so I can help her. I think she’s getting there.”