By Bob Doman My colleagues and I have a fantastic job. We spend our days helping families help their children develop and improve their lives. We do this without actually working hands-on with any children beyond doing evaluations and then designing the children’s comprehensive home programs. As an organization, NACD has proudly been changing lives…
Picking up the pieces after ABA By Carolyn Takos Intro by Lyn Waldeck In many of our recent newsletters, NACD has been focusing on creating and changing behavior for the better by the feedback the child is given. Carolyn Takos is a very dedicated NACD mom who first came to us in desperation to reverse…
New research disputes a previous study involving the efficacy of EIBI/ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) and investigates whether it actually produces adverse effects and can even be harmful. A new study published in JAMA Pediatrics involving 9,038 young autistic children has confirmed what we have known for decades. The research disputes the “study” from the ‘80s that had…
How to Provide Your Child with Effective Feedback by Bob Doman Rewards and consequences are the tools we have as parents, or, for that matter, as a society, to provide feedback, guidance, encouragement, and instruction, and to maintain order. Lack of consistent quality feedback leads to ambiguity, confusion, poor outcomes, and potentially chaos. We need…
by Lyn Waldeck Recently I ran across a study from 2006 that presented what was labeled as “new” and exciting findings. Let me start by explaining why I placed the word “new” in quotations. I began as a parent on program and quickly moved into being a volunteer and then on to being a staff…
Understanding the Relevance and Significance of Cognitive Function by Bob Doman The key to understanding and improving global function in children and adults with Down syndrome is determining and developing their cognitive function. Whether we are looking at a two-year-old or an adult with Down syndrome, their level of function, their ability to learn, think,…
One of the greatest gifts you, Mom and Dad, can give your children is your attention. Face to face talking to your children, particularly your young children, is vitaI. A child’s first and hopefully best and most influential teachers are their parents. Today parents tend to rate their parenting on how nice their house is,…
by Bob Doman We all have the tendency to get stuck in many patterns and ruts that can make it very difficult for us to achieve our potential as individuals, parents, and as families. When we take time to assess what and how we are doing, we can usually come up with a list of…
by Bob Doman “All great change in America starts at the dinner table.” — Ronald Reagan If your children are infants, toddlers, of school age, or adults, or somewhere in between, family meals can be incredibly important. Whether our motivation is teaching a skill (such as eating or participating in meal preparation) or fostering…
by Captain Carol Benbrook I will never forget the feeling I had the day when Jack was labelled as autistic, he was five years old and had received a heavy educational input from myself and my supportive family with reading, math and general learning. My husband and I had left our jobs to take our…