Jake is the youngest of three children. He was first flagged as struggling academically in kindergarten and then again in grade one. Jake struggled with saying the alphabet, sounding out the alphabet, math, staying focused, sitting still and making/keeping friends. At home, he was busy physically with sports, but could not get along with siblings, couldn’t take a joke, had … Read More
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 old. Her mother, Aruni, stumbled … Read More
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 totally floored, when a voice … Read More
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 on the NACD program. It … Read More
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 had only eaten chips, fries, … Read More
In August 2017 Bob introduced you to his nine-year-old hero, Lucas Fritsche. Lucas started working with NACD when he was in pre-school and came to us with a bit of a rep and the label of autism. Lucas is now in third grade and has become a student leader in his community. In September 2016, Lucas informed the principal that … Read More
A Testimonial About a Family Helping Each Child Reach Their Full Potential When our son was about four, we took him for a consultation with a well-known pediatric neurologist. Because Ben used just a few words, made little eye contact and showed little interest in other children, the diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) was no surprise, yet … Read More
by Sue McFerren, as told to Iliana Clift I knew the risks of having a child in my 40s, and I intended to love and care for every child God blessed us with, no matter what. Still, when Sonya was born with Down syndrome I was stunned. Recognizing that having a special needs child in our family would dramatically change … Read More
by Kristina Houser & Lyn Waldeck In the years I have been associated with NACD, I have worked with a many wonderful families. Since I have been around long enough now (20 years + in one capacity of another), I have gotten the pleasure of watching many children become wonderful adults. At a recent evaluation I asked one of the … Read More
by Fatima Shaikh I am the mother of a lovely 12-year old boy, Usaid. He was diagnosed with Autism when he was 3 1/2 years old. We went through all the regular denials, nightmares, helplessness, and frustrations that all parents of newly diagnosed ASD children go through. As his language started developing with speech therapy, we discovered he was advanced … Read More