by Melody DeLuca Quite a few of you know my story and journey with NACD, but for those of you who do not here it is in brief: We started our journey with NACD in December 2008. At the time my son Grant, who was five years old, was completely non-verbal, developmentally delayed, a flight risk, very stimmy, and had … Read More
by Bob Doman Most of us have no idea what creatures of habit and patterns we are, nor how stuck we can be in these behavior patterns. I have three dogs that keep reminding me of what a creature of habit I am. If I’m watching TV in the evening and pick up the TV remote, my dogs notice; and … Read More
by Bob Doman What is the difference between a parent or a caregiver trying to push a child to take a developmental step and a child being driven to take that step? For all children it is very significant; but for the developmentally challenged child it can literally be the difference between success and failure. If you observe the changes … Read More
by Bob Doman These COVID-19 Coronavirus times have certainly turned many of our worlds upside down. We now virtually have a world full of homeschoolers; more parents are at home with their children than at any time in the history of the world. Exceptional times and exceptional circumstances can also result in exceptional opportunities. Many of us are rediscovering and … Read More
by Mandy Oliver When Bowen was almost three years old, we received a formal diagnosis of autism. The diagnosis didn’t scare us, but the lack of therapies that were offered, particularly in our area of the country, did. We were looking at shuttling our child around to multiple 30 minute appointments, all in various cities, multiple times a week. We … Read More
by Bob Doman To be proactive is to anticipate, prepare, and intervene based on a long-term vision and perspective. When anticipating the future, you react accordingly before it actually happens. To be reactive is to respond to a situation, rather than creating or controlling it. How does this relate to what we do with our children? What we do in … Read More
Introduction by Lyn Waldeck Let me introduce you to a lovely young lady that I think the world of, Ava Penkilo. I have had the pleasure of working with Ava for some time now and can honestly say that to know Ava is to love Ava. She is an exceptionally kind girl and a very hard worker. Not everything has … Read More
by Robert J. Doman Jr. It appears that middle ear fluid (otitis media with effusion) is a significant problem for children with Down syndrome. Our experience at NACD with literally thousands of children with Down syndrome indicates that middle ear fluid issues are ubiquitous and are of tremendous concern relative to the global development in this population. For forty years … Read More
by Bob Doman In an effort to help our NACD families and others maximize their efforts and make the most out of the time they have to work with their children, it is incredibly important to keep reminding everyone about the significance of intensity. The foundation of what we do at NACD is designing very targeted individualized programs that are … Read More
by Sunette Payne One of the aspects that I love about working with NACD is meeting and working with so many amazing families. Being a “program-doing-mom” in this role, has also added many other unexpected benefits, some of which would be, being inspired by, challenged by and motivated by our wonderful parents and their children. We really do have the … Read More