Goad Family Testimonial

I knew when my husband and I adopted Jonathan as a newborn with Down’s Syndrome that he would face challenges in his development; however, I thought that our love for him, coupled with hard work, would be enough to help him achieve his developmental milestones. By the time Jonathan was two years old, we realized love and hard work were not enough. Though Jonathan had been part of our state’s early intervention program, we saw him falling further behind and did not know how to help him move forward in his development. We homeschooled Jonathan’s three siblings and wanted to give Jonathan this experience as well, but realized we did not have the expertise to handle his unique needs. As we investigated NACD, we realized we had found what we were missing: professionals who had the specific knowledge needed to remediate each of Jonathan’s developmental challenges. Their knowledge plus our love and hard work allowed Jonathan to reach those early milestones of walking and talking and so many more. NACD looked at Jonathan as a whole person. Their program activities not only addressed Jonathan’s academic needs but also his language development, fine and gross motor skills, sleep and nutritional needs and his behavior. This comprehensive approach allowed us to confidently homeschool Jonathan as we did his three siblings. NACD respected our role as Jonathan’s primary teachers and empowered my husband and I to give Jonathan a quality education.

Jonathan has been with NACD now for 27 years. Step by step the NACD program activities have guided us in helping Jonathan to progress to his next level of development. We saw his low muscle tone improve allowing him to walk, jump, run, dance, exercise and participate in sports. We witnessed his speech progress from single words to complete sentences allowing Jonathan to participate in conversations. Specific, targeted activities guided us to help him recognize numerals, count, add, subtract, multiply, divide and do all of these operations with fractions and decimals. Perhaps the most exciting milestone to witness was watching Jonathan discover the written word. The NACD activities led us incrementally to help Jonathan unlock the skills needed to read. What a blessing reading has been for Jonathan! Reading is one of Jonathan’s favorite leisure activities! The targeted activities provided by NACD staff have also aided us in helping Jonathan have appropriate behavior, from handling inappropriate outburst to treating others respectfully. Thanks to the knowledge and support from the staff at NACD, we have been able to guide Jonathan into adulthood as a successful, high functioning young man who is employed, who contributes to his community, and who has a positive influence on those who know him. As a son, Jonathan is a joy!  

We continue with NACD because Jonathan continues to grow, to mature and to move forward as an individual. At each NACD evaluation we are asked, “What are your concerns about Jonathan?” “What do you most want to focus on at this time?” I appreciate that our input as parents is valued and respected. I also appreciate that when we voice a concern, the problem isn’t just diagnosed; it is addressed, and we walk away with specific, targeted activities to help Jonathan solve the problem. In addition, we walk away encouraged and energized to continue helping Jonathan reach his full potential.