A special message for parents of children with autism and others by Bob Doman In a previous post, I talked about getting unstuck and how to help change the picture and the minds of children who have weak auditory processing and who are strong visualizers. This combination is never more of an issue than it is with children on the autism … 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
Historically, it has not been considered a “realistic” goal in the mainstream world for a child with autism to ever lose their diagnosis, let alone lose all the symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder and move completely into the non-autistic range of normal social interaction and communication. Although much recent research has documented individuals with ASD losing their diagnosis, there has … 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
We are sometimes asked how NACD differs from the ABA – Applied Behavior Analysis therapy approach to individuals with Autism. In simplistic terms, the two approaches have profound philosophical differences that impact on the specific practices as well as the understanding of what needs to be changed. NACD approaches any individual as a whole person. We seek to understand all … Read More
by Bob Doman Understanding and remediating the neurodevelopmental issues of those within the autism spectrum is critical if we are going to provide these children and adults with an opportunity to overcome their issues and to function at higher, “normal,” or even “superior” levels. It is important to understand that most neurodevelopmental issues will not simply go away. Merely teaching … Read More
Gregge Sandusky I would like to introduce myself to you. My name is Gregge and I’m 13 years old (1999) with Autism. When I was around 2 years old I became weird acting. Something began to change in me according to my parents. I became a stranger to my family and had a lot of symptoms such as I quit … Read More
as told to Iliana Clift Years ago I hung a quote by the Roman orator Cicero on Marcus’s bulletin board that said, “The greater the difficulty…the greater the glory.” This quote describes our journey with Marcus quite well. When we first started the NACD program, he hardly had any speech at all. He was extremely sensitive to sounds and textures, … Read More