Back in May we introduced you to Coco Manole, the incredible little boy who was developing really fantastic processing abilities. This little brain injured/cerebral palsy four-year-old had developed astonishing digit spans of 10 forward and 9 reverse, which is absolutely phenomenal. Very few adults have short term and working memory at this level. Well, that was then and this is now. He was just getting started.

Just for the sake of perspective, shortly after starting program in July of 2016, Coco was just learning to process very simple one-step directions, such as “touch your nose” and was unable to follow a two-step direction. He was also only was able to say three words and understood no English.

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Video: One Step Directions

Coco today, not yet even having reached his fifth birthday, is doing much better. Coco’s improved processing has helped him in every aspect of his development. Developing motor skills for a brain injured/cerebral palsy child, from creeping on the hands and knees, to manipulating the hands to pick up food to feed oneself is much easier when they can take direction and think through and mentally manage all of the little pieces required to start learning and performing these apparently simple functions. The difference in developing motor skills in a child with good cognitive abilities vs. one with lower cognitive function is no different than trying to teach quantum mechanics to an individual with strong working memory compared to one without.

Coco is now amazing all of us with his extraordinary processing abilities. His forward digit span is now an amazing 16! His auditory reverse is now an unimaginable 13, and after just a couple of months since starting on visual digit spans, his visual digit span is already a 13!

Video: Auditory Forward 16

Video: Auditory Reverse 13

Video: Visual Digit Span 13

I hope that everyone will be inspired by little Coco. Although the majority of his day and program is dedicated to developing his motor function, we are certainly not ignoring his academic/intellectual development. Coco reads close to 500 words in Romania and English and enjoys reading books in spite of his visual issues, which we are addressing and improving as well. He understands addition and subtraction and identifies and labels literally thousands of items in some detail and is very conversational. In July when I met with the family in London for Coco’s evaluation, I had the privilege of having dinner with the family. Coco was not only totally tuned into our conversations, but was a polite active participant who could have served as a model for some college students I know. He is also perhaps the sweetest and most compassionate child you will ever meet and is doing great as a big brother to his little sister, Ellen.

I firmly believe that we all have the potential to function at incredible levels and our ability to fulfill this potential is only limited by our vision, our commitment, and our knowledge.

Lack of function is not a prognosis of what can be.

Congratulations, team Manole! You are an inspiration for us all.

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 32 No. 7, 2019 ©NACD

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First the Vision, Then the Plan, and Then the Implementation

Most real successes begin with a vision, a vision that defines what we want to achieve. One would hope that we are all directed by and driven by a vision of what can be for us as individuals, for our children, and even for our communities, our nation, and the world. Having a vision, a direction, and hopefully a map to help us realize that vision, followed by conscientious implementation of the plan, determines the ultimate outcome.

For many, if not most, parents who have children with developmental issues, the world tends to make it extremely difficult to create an optimistic vision of what can be. Read virtually any psychological report on any child and you discover nothing more than an almost endless list of labeled “diseases,” issues, and problems, a disaster described in minute detail in ten thousand words, that ends without anything concrete that is going to make a difference. It’s difficult for virtually any parent who listens to the experts to believe there is any real hope, let alone a real plan to achieve anything close to an optimistic outcome. Make the diagnosis, attach the label, follow the “plan,” create no vision, and accept the outcome. Forget that your child has never existed before, that you who lives and works with your child every day have never existed before, and that your child’s future cannot nor should not be dictated by historic failures with “similar” children.

Limited or pessimistic visions of what can be are by no means limited to the special needs community. Virtually our entire educational system ignores the very tenants of neuroplasticity and the ability to build processing power—short term memory, working memory, executive function, and neurological/cognitive efficiency. The educational system functions like a NASCAR racing team given a stock engine who does nothing to actually build the horsepower of that engine, yet feels they are doing their job if they just run their car around the track. They certainly would consistently finish last, except for the fact that they would have been laughed off the track. But “education” continues to almost universally ignore the science and attempts to pour information into children’s brains without doing anything to really develop the brain. The reality is that it’s easier to increase a child’s horsepower than it is a Ford’s.

Realizing that it’s difficult for any parent to create and maintain a vision that is strong enough to sustain daily adherence to a plan and provide the strength of intention to keep moving forward, it’s fortunate that we have families like the Manoles to show us what can be. In a previous newsletter you read about Razvan and Christiana Manole, who had a vision for what they could be and how through dedicated use of our Simply Smarter program dramatically developed their processing skills. Their newfound processing skills helped them formulate a new vision and implement a drastic plan for their son Cosmin, aka Coco. This family, realizing the limited opportunities and prejudices that existed in their ancestral country of Romania toward children with developmental problems, formulated a new bold vision and moved to Ireland, a new country with a new language.

The Manole’s vision and plan for Coco is being realized. Razvan’s story and Coco’s video should be an inspiration for parents of children with disabilities and typical children alike.

Where any of us ultimately functions is not predetermined by what we were born with, but by the stimulation and opportunities that are afforded to us. Those opportunities are in large part dictated by the vision. Limit the vision, limit the perception of what can be, and we limit our expectations, the opportunities, and our futures.

Create a new vision of what could be, what should be, and what will be.

If you watch the video accompanying the following article and are not inspired, please watch it again.

Note: For those new to NACD who may not be aware of processing, short-term and working memory, forward digit spans are a simple measurement of short-term memory and reverse digit spans of working memory, which is now appropriately being called the new IQ. Forward digit spans for a typical four year old are 3-4 digits and reverse 2 digits. A typical adult has forward digit spans that are about a 7 on average and 5 reverse. These processing skills determine how much you take in of what you see and hear and the complexity of your ability to think- your cognitive function. It is very important.

Coco the Wonder Boy – Raising the Bar

by Razvan Manole

I would like to share a little story with you, hoping to encourage you or motivate you a little bit!

At this point, Coco processes 10 digits on auditory and visual forward and 9 reverse. I’m sure everyone in NACD knows what that means and how great this accomplishment is. How is it possible that a child with brain damage, at four and a half years old, has gotten this far? The answer is NACD and a lot of work.

Before we started the program, in 2016, Cosmin was more of a body at almost two years of age. He could process zero. After two weeks of the program, he could follow one step directions. That was at the end of July. In November he could process 3-4 directions. From there we focused on mobility and tactility as well as fine motor skills and vision. NACD works with the whole child so as these various functions and pieces are ready to improve, we work to improve them.

Probably like many of you, I have all kinds of questions like, “When will he walk, or when will he speak? When he will go to school alone? Can he do that?”

My biggest concern is about mobility. I have to work so hard for something most kids have without any effort and no one at all even appreciates it! In the desire to understand what is happening in my child’s head, I studied and studied all that is related to the brain. Last year I discovered a brain researcher’s story and it really helped me understand my son’s situation. After having had a stroke, this scientist practically lost all of her processing and became a body, processing zero. While she sat on a couch without moving, salivating and not understanding anything that was happening around her, she was happy and did not care. After reading the book she wrote, I realized that our children do not have our desires or our passions, our ideals and our goals. They don’t function with our goals or desire achievements that we want for them. This is all because they do not think with complexity until their processing is higher.

Then I said, “There is no point for me to want my son to walk if he does not want it! And how is it possible for him to want that? It’s not something that he had and lost. He never walked and does not feel the lack of walking, as I do not feel the lack of artistic skating. I’m not skating, I have no passion for that. I do not want to skate. Do you think I have a chance to become a skater?” And then I realized I should teach him to love to walk, to teach him what it means to walk, and what benefits he would have to be able to move independently. To understand my plan for him, he needed to be very smart. Last year, I believe it was in February, I started to be aggressive with the cognitive part of the program. From 4-5 auditory forward, we have reached 8 and 6-7 reverse. Now he is so aware. He understands what I am requesting of him, speaks Romanian and English, socializes, does not have tantrums. He is grateful, happy all the time. Walking is not easy to accomplish. There are many steps, but with much work and patience, we will get there too.

Probably you are not far away from us and you are struck by the distrust of family, friends, specialists, neighbors. No one has ever seen potential in my child except for NACD and us, his parents. It’s hard to keep a clear vision when you have unbelieving people around you. That’s why I wanted to write to you today! Keep your trust. My baby was just a body 3 years ago that could process zero. Slowly, together with Mr. Bob and Ms. Ellen, we woke him up and raised him way over the children of his age. If Coco can do it, all the children can! Trust yourself and your children! Good luck!

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 32 No. 5, 2019 ©NACD

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We love hearing from our past and present families. It’s always tough for us when we graduate a child, seeing them move on, full of expectation and hope, and hopefully armed with a solid foundation. We always appreciate hearing from the families and learning how they fared.

We just received this note from Charles Smith and Marilyng Perez Montero regarding their daughter Ilaria. I recall meeting Ilaria and her family for the first time. Ilaria was a very sweet, quiet, well-mannered 10-year-old who lacked confidence and who came to us with a combination of processing issues, academic problems, and physical strength and coordination challenges. She was very anxious to do what she needed to do to better herself, and her parents were obviously dedicated to doing all they could do to make it happen.

Ilaria’s family was very organized and hit her program running and started seeing changes almost immediately. The family kept in close contact with me through their coach, Marta Palmes, and worked not only hard, but smart. The plan from the beginning was to keep Ilaria home and do NACD homeschool, get her “pieces” put together, and then to have her go back to school. Ilaria was with us for less than 18 months, but we were delighted to see her transform into a confident and capable young lady in that relatively short period.

When Charles, Ilaria’s dad, asked me if I thought Ilaria was able to handle going back to school, I told him that I felt she was; but when he told me where he wanted her to go, I was a bit concerned. He wasn’t going to just send her to school, he wanted her to go to a very challenging, tough academic school. I should not have worried. I will let Dad’s words speak for how she has done.

Congratulations, Team Smith!

—Bob Doman

Dear Marta [at NACD],

I am writing to inform you of our daughter Ilaria’s achievement of a 4.0 GPS her first year in middle school and being recognized as a recipient of the President’s Education Awards Program—all this less than six months after graduating from the NACD program. It is a momentous achievement and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you and Bob Doman for all the efforts you have contributed on behalf of Marilyng, myself and Ilaria.

Your support during the design and implementation of Ilaria’s NACD program has been nothing short of overwhelming. Needless to say, without your and Bob’s expertise, input and encouragement, Marilyn and I would never have been able to achieve success in carrying out the program with Ilaria.

As you may recall, we were introduced to Bob Doman and NACD in the Summer of 2016. I was doing some research online for organizations that could assist our 10-year-old daughter, Ilaria, whom had been officially diagnosed as having a “learning disorder”. Ilaria was falling behind in mathematics as well as English and was lacking in physical strength and coordination.

We had tried a number of different private companies and public resources but did not feel any were right for Ilaria’s circumstances. Some were very expensive, and others did not provide the personalized attention we felt was necessary. Fortunately, I came across Bob’s name along with NACD when I was reading reviews by a client of one of the private companies we were meeting with. That day changed our lives!

After watching the online videos of Bob explaining how a child’s brain develops and why it is important to use teaching methods that take into account, we made contact with NACD. My wife and I were very excited to work with Bob and create a personalized development program for Ilaria.

We started implementation of the program in July 2016 and found that your input and weekly support was invaluable. In addition to your encouragement and support you greatly assisted us with the practical implementation of the program. I can distinctly remember your suggestion of creating an excel spreadsheet to keep track of and monitor the daily activities and progress of the program. This helped us tremendously.

Ilaria made steady progress throughout the remainder of 2016 and through the first half of 2017. In august of 2017, she started 6^th grade at a new middle school considered to be one of the most academically challenging schools in Florida. By the end of the first semester in December, she had achieved the honor roll during both quarters and finished with a 3.6 GPA. It was at that time, during her December evaluation with Bob, that he informed her she had successfully graduated from the NACD program.

The NACD program along with the support from yourself and Bob changed our lives and gave Ilaria the confidence to believe in herself and achieve her goals of making the honor roll in her first year of middle school. Thank you very much!

NACD Newsletter, October 2018 ©NACD

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After being gone several weeks this summer, I had not maintained my normal fitness routine. You see, I am one of those crazy people who likes to run marathons and work out at 5 a.m. I also like food. I figure the more I work out, the less restrictive I have to be with what food I eat. Anyway, while I am home I am used to doing classes daily that consist of strength training, Pilates, etc. However, when I am on the road, I mostly just have time for a quick run on the treadmill. It is exercise, but it is different exercise. This week since I have been home, I am EXTRA sore. Why? Because I am back to my strength training and muscle building activities that I haven’t done for three weeks. I am sure many of you have been there. You get good with working out or doing weights, then you stop, then you go back to it and you feel like you are going to die. That has been me this week!

So what does this have to do with your NACD program? I would like to specifically talk about gross and fine motor function and development. The cliché “if you don’t use it you lose it” comes to mind. While I have been working out this week, I have been thinking about some of the kids that I have worked with over the past several weeks – specifically, kids who have muscle balance issues and tone issues (high or low), which are impacting their ability to walk well or run. Due to summer schedules, it has been difficult for many of the families to stay on track with their programs. Believe me, I know. However, these kids haven’t improved in their mobility, and in some cases, they have regressed due to lack of input.

So I put the two different scenarios together and started to do some research. In a study in the Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, researchers from the University of Copenhagen took 32 young and older men and had them stop exercising, using immobilization devices on one of their legs. In as little as 2 weeks, the younger men lost up to a 3^rd of their muscle mass and strength in the immobilized leg. Two weeks! The older men in the study lost 25%. What is more interesting is that even after 6 weeks of retraining the muscle, the muscle strength for the men was still 5-10% lower than when they started. This was for a neurotypical adult. So if you think of your child with developmental issues, imagine what not working on muscle balance can do to their muscles. While the brain has plasticity and stores the muscle memory, muscle fibers grow but then can atrophy – really quickly. Whether we are doing sit-stands, or standers, or leg extensions, or crawling on a floor, the more the child is able to do that specific muscle building activity CORRECTLY, the more rapid the muscle fibers will grow, therefore not only increasing the strength and mass, but the muscle balance and tone. If we do the activities for a bit, then take time off and don’t exercise them, the less likely those muscles will stay developed, and they actually lose their ability to function. We see this with ourselves when we stop a workout plan; the same is true, and even more so, for a child with developmental issues.

Something to remember while on the subject of developing good muscle tone and strength is that function determines structure. The more a child (or adult for that matter) sits a certain way, sleeps a certain way, or even walks a certain way, the more likely they will continue to develop the muscle memory for that type of movement or position. For example, for a child who tends to always be in flexion – think back rounded, legs bent and curled up — the more likely their mobility will be like that – knees in flexion instead of straight, posture slumped instead of straight. That child needs extension. If the child is in that position too much of the time, so that their tone is then high (or tight), then they need even more extension. The flexor and extensor muscles essentially need to be equally strong to have good muscle balance. It is the same with abductor and adductor muscles or abdominals and back: they all work together to create a strong movement.  If we are to look at neurotypical development, especially with the younger kids, our goal is to build the proprioception/tactility and muscle balance to develop good tone. So if your child is like I am describing, and you see on your program that a high frequency of those mobility exercises has been recommended, that is why. We want to create an opportunity for each child, regardless of their diagnosis, to move well. The reality with this is that the more involved the child is, the more INPUT their brain and muscles need to make it happen. Tactility work is important for this also, as it provides the sensory input necessary for the brain to register the output. Finally, working the muscle in the correct way with frequency, intensity, and duration builds the mass and strength, therefore allowing the movements to occur.

The next time you are working out and your hamstrings and abs are sore in the morning, remember how important it is to stay the course. Stay consistent, not just with your own workout regimen, but your kids’. Happy programming!

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 29 No. 4, 2016 ©NACD

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