Did you ever walk out of an evaluation and on the way home think of something you forgot to ask about in the evaluation? Did you ever think about the evaluation conversation the next day and think that you really didn’t get something the evaluator said? How about when you get a program activity that seems way above or below where you thought your child was? Has that ever happened? How about waking up in the middle of the night consumed with worry about your child and having no one to talk to about it, has that happened?

You have a coach for a reason. Good programs and good outcomes require a lot of communication with you and with us. Everything I mentioned in the first paragraph happens all of the time. You forget to bring things up. We’ve said something that you didn’t quite get. You are looking at a program activity that looks way too hard for your child to do or there are so many frequencies of an activity that you can’t even imagine how you could possibly do it. So, contact your coach. Your coach has answers and can get answers quickly and can give you that extra time you need to really sort something out and get it resolved.

One thing we tell you over and over is that the brain can change with the right input. Your child can change when you do program well and sometimes those changes happen way before four months are up. Not only is your coach available to celebrate accomplishments, but she is also there to pass the news on to your evaluator so that your program gets updated and you can move right along to new things. Programs are meant to be efficient and communication helps keep them that way. The reverse situation is true as well as it relates to program efficiency. If you cannot get your child to do an activity or you can’t access some equipment you need then the sooner your evaluator has that information the better. That makes sense, doesn’t it?

Program is a big deal in your life but there is a lot more going on than just programs. Families often have issues going on with their parents’ being ill, issues with jobs and helpers, relocations, weddings and all kinds of very major things to deal with as well as holidays and vacations. All of these things really do disrupt program and take time away from those activities. Wouldn’t it be wise to let your evaluator know so that the program could be adjusted for as long as it needs to be adjusted? Your coach can help make that happen.

A big thing that a coach can do is give you encouragement and listen to and understand your fears and worries. It is not easy having a child who is having difficulties of any kind. There often seem to be endless things to worry about and keep you up at night. We totally understand that. The important thing for you to know is that you aren’t alone in this. We are here to be of genuine help to you and sometimes that means just listening to what worries you the most and making sure that we are working on it with you. We are ready to support you on this journey.

If you are just using NACD to get evaluations and programs, you are missing out on a lot. We could be helping you find resources, get program done more efficiently and more happily. We can help with behavior issues, teacher issues, even grandparent issues. Don’t let all of our resources go to waste. Join the many parents who are great communicators and let us hear from you on a regular basis. We make a great team.

Reprinted by permission NACD Newsletter, November 2019 ©NACD

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When I was in college I took flying lessons. My dad, whose curriculum vitae included private pilot since age 16, instructor pilot, fighter pilot, and airline pilot, did not teach me. However, coming to visit me in Waco one weekend, he was happy to fly with me to see what I had learned, and I was anxious to show off my newly acquired skills. I had flown with him many times, but never from the left seat and never as the PIC (pilot in command).We went up for a pleasant little jaunt, and I flew brilliantly. (Anyone can take off and fly around. It’s just not that hard.) Then came the real piloting part—landing. I really wanted to make a good impression and diligently went through each step just like my instructor had taught me—enter downwind, power back at just the right moment, put in 10 degrees of flaps right when your shoulder is even with the touchdown point…. I said each one aloud to make sure I wasn’t missing a step. And to double check, I turned to my dad: “Am I forgetting anything?” I was fully expecting him either to point out a missed detail or to acknowledge that I’d performed impeccably so far. Instead, based on thousands of hours of flying experience, here was his response: “Lori. We are here (pointing to us). You want to be down there (pointing out my window to the runway below). Just do what it takes to get there.”
It’s easy to get so caught up in the nitty-gritty details sometimes that we lose sight of the big goals. I see this happen all the time with parents trying to accomplish their NACD program activities with their kids. While the details are important—I couldn’t have known how to get the plane on the ground without having learned it as a step-by-step procedure first—it’s important to understand the goal for a few reasons:

1. Program activities are just tools, not ends in themselves. If a tool isn’t used correctly or accurately or efficiently, just going through the motions with it won’t get the desired result. Let’s use articulation flashcards as an example. Pretend that your program activity says, “Practice words that start with /p/.” Frequency is 2, duration is 2 minutes. And I send you some word cards to use for this. If twice a day for two minutes you sit and flash picture cards of words starting with /p/ to your child while he says “uh” for each one, technically you can check off that you accomplished that activity that day. But did you, in reality, accomplish anything at all? No. No learning took place. The story is completely different if you spent that time actually working on each word—emphasizing the /p/ at the beginning, showing him how you put your lips together for the /p/, pinching his lips together to approximate a /p/ sound. Nowyou’ve done some therapy. The goal wasn’t to get through the stack of cards. The goal was to work towards producing a /p/ sound at the beginning of words.
2. Sometimes for some kids the activities don’t work. (What?) Everything we do here is based on the idea that kids’ programs should be individualized for them, right? Because kids are individuals, they don’t all respond the same way to every activity. So sometimes we need to modify an activity or maybe even discontinue it entirely. But as the program implementer, you won’t even know to ask about an activity if you don’t understand what the goal was to start with. Knowing what you are after gives you a basis for asking your coach for input on whether what you are seeing with a particular activity is what you should expect or if something needs to be changed.
3. If you understand what your goal is, you can get more creative with implementing program. Don’t have time for your trigeminal stim? Why not do it as part of bath time or cleaning up after meal time? Working on answering WH-questions? Try sneaking those in throughout the day as you make a meal, go to the park, or go through chores, rather than sitting at the table twice a day for 2 minutes drilling the list. Now, granted, some things simply must be done as a structured activity. And some things can’t be disguised as “play.” But some things can. And with some degree of understanding of your goal and lots of communication with your coach, you can figure out how to make that happen.
4. Life doesn’t always happen like it should. On occasion, when you’re downwind or crosswind or on final, going through your steps, something unexpected happens, like another airplane is sitting on the runway and doesn’t appear to be in a hurry to get out of your way. It doesn’t make any sense in that moment to continue your current course, putting in that next notch of flaps as you head towards the ground. You have to switch gears—take out flaps, put in full power, and go around. (That reminds me of another Dad-and-me flying story, but I’ll save it for another time.)If you think your goal is that next notch of flaps, you’ll be in big trouble. If you understand that the goal is a safe landing—even if that means going around and trying again—then eventually you will reach your goal. When your day doesn’t go as planned and your program doesn’t go as planned, understanding the goals allows you to switch gears, prompts you to pick up the phone and call your coach, or gives you permission to have a bad day and plan to try again tomorrow.

Here are the basics that you’ve heard us reiterate time and time again:

• Watch your program videos—more than once and not infrequently. Understand how to do an activity.
• Communicate with your coach. This is the only way to catch when things are being done incorrectly or when we need to make changes to program activities.
• Provide the videos that we ask for. We need to see what you’re doing.

But there’s more to it than that. What was it that caught your eye to start with about NACD when you first were looking for answers for your child? Was it the philosophy that parents are the experts on their children? You know your child. So you’re the perfect one to work with them. But neither you nor your child is a machine. You need to understand what it is that we are asking you to do and why so that you know when to ask questions and what questions to ask and understand how to be flexible when your child’s response was not what you expected. Knowing the step-by-step is important—even imperative. But understanding the big picture will make you much more effective in your role as Child Expert/Program Implementer Extraordinaire.

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 28 No. 1, 2015 ©NACD

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As we increase the number of Skype evaluations that we do and continue to request

videos through our coaching program, we need to look at why we are doing videos and

how to make the most of these opportunities.

As evaluators we have a perspective regarding your child based on our own

observations in evaluations, your written reports, your verbal reports, and feedback that

we get from the coaches. Although this can be quite a bit of information, we can really

never have too much information about how your child functions or how you function

with your child.

Videos allow us to look into the child’s life at home, which is frequently quite different

from the child’s behavior in evaluations. The behaviors that parents often describe, but

we never see, can be captured on video. The speech that the child may be too shy to

show in an evaluation can be shown on a video. How the child follows directions in the

home environment versus in an evaluation can be shown on video.

We also get to see the parent or the caregiver interacting with the child doing program

activities as well as other activities. So we get to see firsthand how the child is

responding and the nuances of these interactions. If a program activity isn’t working as

well as expected, we can often see exactly why that is happening. So this information

becomes extremely valuable in adjusting the program and gaining progress.

For Skype evaluations you will be given directions on what to capture on video. Coaches

will also ask you to video specific activities so that they can ensure that they are being

done properly. In addition to these two opportunities, you can send us video clips

through emails to explain a problem, show progress, or request clarification on an

activity or request an explanation of a behavior. Again, a video clip can provide a clear

indication of a problem, of progress, or of a behavior. This allows the evaluator to

rapidly assess what is happening and make specific targeted recommendations to best

respond.

Allow your child to become accustomed to being videotaped by taping both important

activities and trivial activities. We don’t want camera shy children. So video things that

are not going to be sent to us just to practice capturing things on camera and to get

everyone accustomed to the process. Allow yourself multiple opportunities to capture

the content you need. You want to capture material that is representative of what your

child is doing. Children are somewhat unpredictable in their performance, so allow more

than one day to capture the video you will use. Don’t make a big deal about recording

your child, or their behavior will be different than it typically is. We want to see what is

typical.

Video and Skype allow us to gather valuable information that we could not retrieve by

any other means short of spending large amounts of time in your home. Do not allow

this opportunity to be missed. Capture your child doing program, conversing with you,

and interacting with others. We will respond with a better understanding of your reality

at home. This will produce more efficient and effective programs which saves you time

and results in improved progress.

NACD Newsletter, Volume 6 Issue 1, 2013 ©NACD

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If you are an NACD family already, you know that NACD is a very dynamic organization. Nothing is status quo-we’re always looking for and thinking of ideas to make what we do better. One of the best “better” things we have done, in my opinion, is to add the coaches to our staff in 2010. While you typically don’t see their names front-and-center in our newsletter, they are daily hard at work behind the scenes, offering our families as much program support as they can give.

One thing that makes our coaches uniquely designed to help you is that they have (or have had) children on program themselves. They know what it means to have to prioritize, to fit program into real life, and to persevere with the daily routine. Because of their own experiences, they truly can and want to help you, support you, and answer your questions.

If you are not currently taking advantage of the support your coach has to offer, I encourage you to do so right away. You already have someone in your court who is willing to provide as much hand-holding or problem-solving as you need. They are there for you-so stay in touch with them! And please keep in mind that our coaches have very busy schedules, with lots and lots of calls and e-mail every day. So please be considerate of their time and let them know if you will not be available for your scheduled call from them.

We are very proud of the work that our coaches are doing and want to give a big THANK YOU to each of them!

• Glenda Girazian
• Sara Erling
• BJ Owen-Tubbs
• Jennifer Virgin
• Marta Palmes
• Sunette Payne

NACD Newsletter, Volume 4 Issue 4, 2011 ©NACD

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As I would hope you all know, we are always trying to find ways to do everything we do better, and that includes finding ways to help you do what you do better. We are instituting some changes that should help us all do a better job of implementing program and producing the results and changes that we all want to see.

Our job is to help you achieve your goals and to educate and support you in the process.  We believe that between our extensive experience, knowledge, and commitment and your need and desire to assist yourself or your loved ones to have the greatest life possible, we can achieve great things.

One of my greatest frustrations is that I don’t know how to have you look at your potential, or that of your children, through my eyes.  As it has been said, “I’ve been there and done that.” Well, after 40 plus years of seeing kids and working with and through tens of thousands of parents, I often have a pretty good idea of what can be, but not such a great insight as to what will be.  My job and the job of NACD is to educate and empower you so that you can be all that you can be and so that you can help your children be all that they can be.  All of us are to degrees frustrated with some tough realities, and the present economic situation doesn’t help at all. Not the best of times, but this is the time; and we need to maximize our time and resources and renew our efforts to succeed.  Tough times may require some tough decisions and perhaps thinking outside of the box; but there are usually solutions that will permit you to maintain and achieve your goals. We have worked to create a plan that will help you see what we see and help you maximize your efforts.  As a parent implementing a program, you need to start seeing yourself as the person responsible for helping your child. You may not necessarily be the person doing everything, but you are the general running the show, organizing, evaluating resources and efforts, directing, building and motivating the army, even if you’re an army of one. Our job is to help you do that.

We have created our new NACD Daily Planners to help you be as organized as you possibly can be.  We also want to help you assess the effectiveness and value of everything you are doing and see to it that the plan moving forward is going to achieve your goals.  There are actually many alternatives, and with the help of your NACD Daily Planners, our coaches and evaluators can help you use our experience to help you make your day and your child’s day as productive as possible.  The Planners are going to assist you, your coach, and your evaluator. Together we can make it all happen.

NACD Daily Planners

Below you will find your guidelines for accessing and creating your NACD Daily Planners.  You should find a Planner (or Planners) to fit your needs. For your convenience, there are three different Planners from which to choose:

1. NACD Daily Planner for Parents/Adults—This planner is ideal for a parent who is the sole person implementing an NACD program with a child. It is also appropriate for an adult on program, wanting to schedule their program into their day, or any adult wanting to be more productive by organizing and structuring their day.
2. NACD Daily Planner for Program Implementation—This planner is appropriate when other people are assisting the parents in completing the program, such as school personnel or caregivers at home.
3. NACD Child’s Personal Planner—This planner is for a child who has independent activities on their NACD program and therefore needs a planner that is separate from the parent’s.

You may just choose to use one planner, or you may find it helpful to take advantage of all three.  We ask that you create your weekly plan and contact your coach if you have any questions or need assistance.  If you are unable to fit in your entire program, please let us help you.  Where there is a will, there is a way.

New Coaching Guidelines

• Coaches will no longer be initiating calls every two weeks. 
• You will begin receiving daily e-mails from your coach indicating when they will be available on that day to receive calls.
• If you call and your coach is busy with another family, please call back during their allotted times or leave a message and your coach will return your call.
• We are going to depend on you to contact your coach via e-mail or phone if you have questions or problems or need any assistance.
• Your coach will be able to access your NACD Daily Planners and can assist you with these.
• The coaches cannot create your Planners. Please do your best to organize your Planners yourself before asking for assistance.
• We welcome your e-mails and calls. Please contact us as often as you need.

How do we transition?

We are initiating the coaching changes and Planners starting immediately.  It is obviously going to take some time to get everyone up and running with their Planners, and our coaches are going to have their hands full during this transition; so please be patient.  We are bound to run into some glitches and, of course, we are instituting all of this during the Holiday season just to make it interesting.  But in truth the Holiday season is always interesting and challenging; so why not now?  Our hope is that by the New Year, we are all organized, Planners operating, and all systems are “go.”

Happy New Year,

Bob

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 24 No. 6, 2011 ©NACD

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