Attention Deficit Disorder: “Christopher”

When our son Christopher was born, he experienced some trauma in that the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. His delivery was lengthened since every time he would start coming out he would then go back in. The doctor took him out finally with forceps.

His ankles were pronated and so he did not walk until late and really did not talk until he was over a year and a half old. When he got to be three we noticed that developmentally he seemed behind where we expected him to be. When we consulted with our doctor, he indicated that Chris was subject to a learning disability called “Attention Deficit Disorder.”

We enrolled Christopher in preschool in an effort to give him a leg up on school. The experience turned out to be positive and negative. He loved being with the teacher and kids and doing fun things. However, he became frustrated at learning numbers and letters.

During kindergarten the family moved to the Northwest from Nevada. The change in schools was disturbing to him. So the next year we decided to hold him back to give him a chance to have a successful kindergarten experience. We are glad we did.

During the kindergarten year we became friends with a couple who have been using the NACD program for some time. We listened to Bob Doman’s tapes about brain functioning and read some of the literature they had. We experimented using some of the activities that they had used, “games.” We saw immediate benefits and the teacher at school did also.

In March of 1988 we started on the NACD program and the benefits were incredible. For so long we were frustrated in going to people for advice and never feeling comfortable with the results. Now we were able to lovingly spend time with him working on developmental issues that attacked the source of the problem instead of the symptoms.

Crawling on the floor with my child gave me a new appreciation of his perspective. Our child has made dramatic progress in coordination, reading and math. He is now progressing well in his first grade work.

I am of the opinion that we will need to coach and work with Christopher for most of his youth, helping him to learn things, using repetition and periodically making sure that he is perceiving things using a strong right dominated (left brain) memory for intellectual activity. Christopher has proven to be a real persistent youngster and works much harder to achieve than a casual observer might perceive.

Christopher’s first grade teacher has applauded the progress and efforts taken. I only wish others could experience similar success. I believe that the concepts of programmed instruction and the emphasis for determining developmental steps to be sound. My wife and I are grateful that NACD and Bob Doman have made this program possible.

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 10 No. 8, 1996 ©NACD