We had been through nearly four years of searching for answers to our oldest son, Matthew’s, angry outbursts, failure to follow through with instructions, with fear and stress weighing him down. When I was at my whit’s end and totally misunderstood by other moms, a woman from our church told me about a neighbor who had success in helping her child who was experiencing similar things. She handed me THE MIRACLES OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT. With great anticipation, I listened intently. When Robert Doman claimed that the kids with ADHD were the “easy” ones, I was ready to prove him wrong.

During this time, my life had been reduced to keeping our other children safe from their brother, who would throw heavy objects across the room, kick, punch or scare them with his hour -plus long temper tantrums. At bedtime, I would have to climb to the top bunk and lie next to my now eight-year-old son, who had never been able to sleep through the night. He would hold my hand in a death-grip for security and it would easily be 1 am before I could sneak away. By five a.m. he would awake and come into my and my husband’s bedroom. Being a bright child, he knew how to manipulate and confuse us, wearing us down.

When I say that we had tried everything under the sun as a solution, I mean it. From rewarding good behavior to taking away items or privileges for disobeying, to counseling and professionally recommended nutritional changes to medical exams. Yes, avoiding certain additives, preservatives and foods did help some with his hyperactivity, but overall, we were still facing what seemed like insurmountable obstacles.

On the day of our first appointment with NACD, Matthew was having an OCD meltdown. He turned pale and felt like vomiting. We literally had to drag him into the car and then into the building. As soon as Bob Doman greeted Matthew and instructed him to go upstairs, he got off the ground and walked behind Bob. It was as if he were following the Pied Piper!

After he was evaluated in each area of brain development, Bob called us into the room, while our son was instructed to wait in another area. Bob shared the results with us, explaining that Matthew felt like everything was out of control, and therefore felt the need to try to control everything around him. He proceeded to show us where there were neurological inefficiencies and how each of these areas would be addressed. He created and showed us how to implement a personalized program that would prove to bring success to our child’s life. Three key words were given to us:

Frequency

Intensity

Duration

Bob then shared with Matthew the new boundaries and consequences for breaking the new rules. He also emphasized to us the importance of giving ten times more positive input verses negative input. Knowing that our son would test the waters made me feel very nervous. Would I be strong enough to hold him accountable to the new standard? The next day, Matthew crossed the line and consequences were given. It was a whole year later before he attempted that again!

Each day, I endeavored to be consistent in doing each and every activity, exercise, or academic pursuit. During the years that we did NACD program, we grew into a family with nine children. You can imagine how busy it was as we homeschooled. Since Matthew required a quiet atmosphere to focus on his work, we eventually hired a tutor to help with some of his program and other academics. One day it dawned on me that Matthew was thriving! He had gone from not being able to read anything at eight years old to reading on an adult level at age eleven. Now he was able to carry out instructions and go through his routine without us having to constantly repeat ourselves. His interactions with family members was slowly getting better. He was finally ready to attempt writing skills. His auditory processing and visual memory were both improving. The OCD behaviors were decreasing.

At 17 years old, he wrote in to the NY TIMES for the OP-ED page and his response was published. He went on to have his writing appear about a dozen times on the Op-ed page over the next several years. Matthew graduated from Harvard University and is an excellent communicator.

What we discovered along the way is that finding answers is like searching for all of the pieces of a puzzle. In Matthew’s case, it was a combination of counseling, dietary changes, learning to be more consistent, endless prayers and for sure a key component was the brilliant assistance we found in the NACD family.

Two of our other children also experienced excellent assistance from their NACD programs. One of them was displaying what appeared to be autism. I love the fact that NACD does not label children, rather, they specialize in helping each child reach their full potential. Diligently working on auditory processing, visual memory, reading and math skills, etc., James made strides in every area of brain development.

Another son was born prematurely and needed assistance in the areas of kinesthetics and language development. It wasn’t too long before George went from not being able to utter even a single word to catching up in his language skills. Over time, he completed all of the areas of brain development as well.

We are forever grateful to Bob and his caring, qualified staff for coming alongside of us as parents. They equipped us with the tools needed to intervene where there were obstacles and encouraged us all along the way to do our best in helping our kids reach their full potential.

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 33 No. 4, 2020 ©NACD

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When Jennifer was a month old, she was given a brain scan and the results showed some abnormality. I was instructed to give her “phenobarbital” which just seemed to make her sleepy and unable to nurse. I, therefore, decided to discontinue the medication, and Jennifer appeared more alert and nursed more often after that.

We were told to stimulate Jennifer as much as possible. A nurse assigned by the hospital visited our home every 3 to 6 months to evaluate Jennifer’s progress.I then decided to show her bright colors and toys, take her to shopping malls for stimulation of objects and people. My husband, father-in- law, and I read to her and gave her lots of attention.

After 6 – 8 months, she began to show some improvement mentally and physically.

When Jennifer was twenty months old, my husband and I took an intensive early child development program where we learned some techniques to stimulate her physically and intellectually. I made large flash cards with pictures of famous people, animals places, objects, and words. I did lots of creeping and crawling with her. She ran, jumped on a trampoline, swam and brachiated. I flashed word cards in Spanish and English, played classical music and Wee Sing tapes and played tapes in Japanese, Spanish and French. She was also in two play groups with children her own age for socialization.

When Jennifer was three, she read books independently which was a shock to the hospital staff. At age 3 she read words in English and Spanish and showed gifted behavior on all her hospital tests. She was also enrolled in a small Montessori preschool for 3 hours twice a week, and I continued to teach her at home.

I remember one amusing incident when, at age 3, she read a book for the librarian who thought that Jennifer had “memorized” the words. Every time we returned to check out books for Jennifer after that, the librarian would call other adults over, open a book (2nd grade level), to any page and ask Jennifer to read it. Jennifer would read the page correctly and with expression. The librarian would then quiz Jennifer on the material. One day (several weeks later), I told the librarian that Jennifer’s delight in visiting the library was diminishing with her constant testing of my child. As a result, the testing ended, but Jennifer continued to be a wonder to the library staff.

When Jennifer was 5, we moved to Orange County, but continued to visit friends in San Diego once a week because she missed her friends terribly and was in Japanese and Spanish classes with them. She was tested privately and found to be gifted in every area but socialization. She also appeared to be borderline hyper and showed some aggressive behavior towards her peers. She excelled in both swimming and gymnastics. She went to school part-time (for socialization), and was taught at home by me. She also attended extra-curricular group classes in music and foreign language.

At age 7, the Children’s Hospital of San Diego discharged her since her overall I.Q. was in the highly gifted range. The doctors did not know what to make of her amazing progress due to her Apgar score at birth. The hyperactivity was still there, but she was still advancing intellectually. It wasn’t until we went to NACD when Jennifer was almost 10, that we were able to pinpoint the problem and work to resolve it. Since then, we’ve seen a tremendous change in her both physically and intellectually. Jennifer is 14 now, and we continue to have her evaluated once or twice a year.

With NACD’s guidance, we’ve resolved the hyperactivity, worked on correcting her dominance, and her ability to process and retain information which has helped her academic success. The digit span activities, specific listening exercises, chess lessons, and neurological exercises set up by NACD have prepared Jennifer to master college material. In addition, she continues to progress in her home program prepared by NACD.

Since Jennifer’s neurological evaluations by Mr. Doman, and her discharge from Children’s Hospital, she has won numerous trophies and plaques in essay contests, chess, art exhibits, vocal and violin competitions, science fairs, poetry and short story contests, Latin competitions, and swimming events. During the summers of 1992 and 1993, Jennifer auditioned and won to play in the 1st violin section in the Disney Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra.

Presently, Jennifer is the Concert Mistress for the Orange County Youth Symphony Junior Orchestra, a title she has held for two consecutive years.

Last July, Jennifer received a partial grant to attend the Maurice Ravel Violin Camp at St. Antoine, France, where she played a solo for the 26 French students enrolled in the camp with her.

Jennifer also scored in the 99th percentile (the ceiling scores) on the high school entrance exam for academically enriched classes. This was without being enrolled in school full time.She is a readaholic, favoring Isaac Asimov’s science fiction books. She has studied Japanese and Spanish, but is currently studying French and Latin, and sings in Latin, Italian, French, and German. She also enjoys composing music when she has the time.Jennifer’s favorite artists are Leonardo da Vinci and Picasso. She enjoys string music by Mozart, Hayden, and Lalo. Her favorite opera is “The Magic Flute” and her favorite musical is “The Phantom of the Opera.”

Jennifer is tutored in Latin and French, studies violin, piano and voice, plays 1st string in a chamber quartet group, is concert Mistress in a youth orchestra, and attends Orange Coast College.

At age 14, Jennifer seems socially, intellectually, and physically excellent. With the educational program designed for her by NACD, and through her own efforts, she has achieved many marvelous accomplishments.

JENNIFER ON NACD

I think that NACD is a very good program. Mr. Doman is pleasant, witty, and he really listens to me. His program works too. I’ve seen improvements in my memory skills and a decrease in hyperactive behavior. I can now study for longer periods of time with better concentration. I look forward to seeing Mr. Doman on my evaluation visits. He really looks out for the kid’s welfare and makes sure the parents are doing the program correctly for their children. He also defends my right to have free time and creative time in spite of my hectic schedule. He’s a neat person!

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 10 No. 7, 1996 ©NACD

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Andrew

I brought Andrew to NACD when he was 9½. He had always been homeschooled and was an early reader, but I knew he had some sensory issues and some problems with fine and gross motor skills. I had heard about NACD before, but I had no awareness of “sequential processing” and how improving that could help Andrew.

When Andrew came to his first evaluation, his auditory forward digit span was a 5, and his auditory reverse digit span was a 3. At this time, he had a lot of temper tantrums and frustration, often saying, “I can’t do this.” He struggled with math. Seven months later I had a different child. His auditory forward digit span was a seven, and his auditory reverse digit span was a five. As a result, not only had his behavior issues resolved, but also his math scores had gone up nearly 1½ years, and his vocabulary and reading comprehension had gone up 2 years’ worth.

When Andrew started on program, he was hyper-auditory (i.e. overly sensitive to sound). In noisy or congested areas, he would shut down emotionally or become very cranky. After listening to The Listening Program as part of his NACD program, this improved. He is still hyper-auditory (I call it his “super-sonic hearing”), but now he can cope with noisy, confined environments much better. He no longer feels claustrophobic or overwhelmed in such an environment.

Before NACD, Andrew seemed to have a chip on his shoulder; but now at age 14 he is very relaxed. He can deal with complicated situations and solve complex problems. He is more academically independent. His auditory forward digit span is a 10-11, and his reverse is a 9. He is now a very confident, capable young man. For Andrew, a defining moment occurred about a year ago and was related to how he dealt with a social situation. He was in a small group of teens that met once a week for a game night. Andrew was the youngest member of this group but was accepted as an equal. After about 18 months of consistent participation, he told me he was not enjoying the group any longer. Andrew found one of the boys highly manipulative, so game play was frustrating. He told me he was going to quit the group, and proceeded to do so, with no qualms. He remains in social contact with that group of teens, and he is on friendly terms. This to me is a reflection of his higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills, as well
as emotional maturity. I realized at that point what a long way he had come.

Daniel

Daniel came to NACD at age 6. He was doing reasonably well academically, although he was struggling some with reading. After seeing Andrew’s progress, I wanted Daniel to be on program as well. At his evaluation, his evaluator identified visual tracking and visual dominance problems. She said, “I bet you anything he’s seeing double some of the time.” When I talked to Daniel, I found out that he WAS seeing double — he thought that was how everyone saw!

We started his Targeted Developmental Intervention, and his reading ability skyrocketed. In one year, he jumped nearly 6 years in reading levels! Today at age 10, his auditory forward digit spans are 8-9, he does seventh grade math, and he reads on a 12th grade level.

A recent example of Daniel’s progress is related to a pet corn snake. Shortly after bringing it home, he scoured the Internet for instructions on how to care for it, what kind of habitat it required, how to feed it, etc. He was totally comfortable wading through the information presented to get the pieces he needed. He was also able to synthesize the information from several web sites into a mental summary of how to care for his new pet. Not only does this reflect his improved reading skills, but also his higher-order thinking skills.

As a parent, I appreciate NACD’s unique, holistic approach. I like the fact that NACD is function-based rather than skill-based. Rather than focusing on a symptom, they fix the source of the problem. NACD has helped both of my boys progress academically, socially, and emotionally.

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 22 No. 4 2009 ©NACD

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