by Staci Sargent I have always been moved by art—dance, music, sculpture, painting, and culinary creations. It excites my mind and heightens my senses. Imagine my joy when I was presented the opportunity to become the coach of a very talented young woman from Christchurch, New Zealand. Harini Weeratunga came to NACD at 7 years…
A study out of Simon Frazer University indicates that cognitive-motor function begins to decline at the age of 24. In this study the researchers analyzed the data derived from 3,305 players, ranging in age from 16 to 44, of a complex computer game called Starcraft 2. According to Joe Thompson, the lead investigator of the…
A 2012 study of child prodigies conducted by Joanne Ruthsatz and Jourdan B. Urbach found that all the children studied tested in the 99th percentile for working memory. Each of the child prodigies tested at what was considered a moderately elevated intelligence and exhibited high scores relative to their attention to detail. But the most…
Researchers at the University of Montreal and its affiliated Saint-Justine Mother and Child University Hospital reported that each weekly hour of TV watched by 2.5- to 4.5-year olds had statistically significant effect correlation to athletic ability and waist size by the second and fourth grade, respectively, for those children. Parents of 1,314 children reported…
By Ana Grosshauser It is hard to believe that my involvement with NACD started back in 1992, over 25 years ago. With that said I have had the pleasure of watching many young children grow up to be highly capable adults. Some of these wonderful families are in regular contact while other times I am…
by Ellen Doman Decades ago, I worked with a mental health service that is called “wraparound.” It provides Mobile Therapists and Behavior Specialists in family homes to work directly with children and their parents when the children are believed to be high risk for placement in residential treatment programs. I had the great opportunity…
The critical role of parents in child development and education and the need to understand and utilize the perspective of the “Whole Child” By Bob Doman My game plan this Saturday morning was to write an article speaking to the importance of working with “whole” children. Before I could get going on this, I…
by Lyn Waldeck Over the last few years, I have really been pleased to have families that we worked with in the past reconnect and provide updates. This week I received a very special call from a family that I worked very closely with for many years—the Giroux family. All three of their children were…
by Sara Erling It is never too late to change and improve one’s function. That tastes nice,” Austin said as he ate half of my banana. I couldn’t help but smile at him, remembering just a few short years ago, when at his initial evaluation I was told that for the past 20 years he…
by Bob Doman As a kid I played a lot of sports, and there was a term, “The Sweet Spot,” which was a bit of a mystery until I started hitting it. Since that time “The Sweet Spot” has come to be used in many situations; but in general, as it is applied, it means,…