The quote “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” is often attributed to Albert Einstein, but it actually came from novelist Rita Mae Brown. I must admit I liked it better when I thought it was Einstein’s, but coming from a novelist doesn’t make it any less true. And nowhere is it more true than in education.

Look at a 1971 Cadillac, the top-of-the-line American car of its day and compare it to a self-driving Tesla. The development and change have been more than dramatic. As an old Star Trek fan, I notice the same thing watching reruns: in many ways we’ve already surpassed what those writers could even imagine. Captain Kirk used a flip phone.

Almost everything has changed dramatically over the last fifty years, with one glaring exception: education. I can think of nothing that has progressed slower. Long-term trends in educational outcomes show a graph that is virtually a straight line from 1971 to today.

Why Education Is Stuck

There are many contributing factors. A few of the biggest:

• Self-perpetuating training. Most professors in college departments of education are themselves graduates of the very programs they now teach, preserving the same practices decade after decade.
• Questionable curriculum and resistance to choice. There are little real competition and little willingness to let parents choose what works.
• Lack of parental involvement. Many homes have effectively been removed from the educational equation.
• Homework that does more harm than good. Schools try to make up for ineffective use of the six hours a child is in class by sending more work home, often with negative results.
• Teach, test, forget. Material is taught, tested once, and for the most part never revisited, so it never truly enters long-term memory.

One Size Fits No One

But high on my list as to why progress has been so minimal is that our schools are still focused on set curricula, one-size-fits-all education. What is taught is grade or class dependent, not student dependent. In any classroom, at any grade level, there can easily be a disparity of two, three, or even more years in students’ academic levels, with similar differences in their processing levels. A child’s processing level determines how much of what they hear, read, or see they can actually take in, understand, and assimilate.

What Targeted Education Looks Like

At NACD, we see every day what targeted education can do: education tailored to the individual. Targeted education means teaching the child at their level in each subject, tailoring instruction to the child’s processing level, leveraging the principles of neuroplasticity, and providing targeted input with sufficient frequency, intensity, and duration until the information moves into long-term memory and is associated with other things the child has learned. Developing processing abilities changes the whole picture and the child’s future.

Parents, You Don’t Have to Wait

Changing a system that doesn’t really want to change is going to take a long time. But parents, you don’t have to wait. Consider taking charge: if possible, bring your kids home and provide them with a targeted, tailored education. It can accelerate your child’s learning, turn them into active learners and readers, and yes, make them smarter.

If you’d like to learn how NACD can help you build an individualized program for your child, visit nacd.org or contact us directly. The system may not change in time. Your child doesn’t have to wait.

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 40 No. 1 , 2026 ©NACD

The post Preventing Educational Insanity: Why One-Size-Fits-All Is Failing Our Kids  appeared first on NACD International | The National Association for Child Development.

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably already tried ABA therapy. Maybe for months. Maybe for years. And somewhere along the way, a quiet voice started asking: Is this actually working?

You’re not alone. And you’re not wrong for asking.

The Problem Isn’t You. It’s the Model.

Here’s what we’re hearing from parents right now:

“Currently we aren’t seeing much progress, so I’m looking into other therapeutic support models.”

“We had to switch therapists. I like to say we fired them. It just wasn’t the right fit.”

“The constant turnover makes it very difficult for him to get acclimated.”

These aren’t outliers. A recent analysis of parent conversations across major online communities found that 68% of parents who question ABA aren’t anti-therapy. They’re frustrated with compliance-focused therapy that doesn’t honor who their child actually is.

And they’re right to be frustrated.

Why ABA Doesn’t Work

ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) is built on a simple premise: reinforce desired behaviors, reduce undesired ones. On paper, it sounds reasonable. In practice, it misses the point entirely.

It treats symptoms, not the whole child. A child who struggles with transitions isn’t just exhibiting a “behavior to extinguish.” They may have sensory processing differences, working memory challenges, or anxiety rooted in unpredictability. Targeting the behavior without addressing the underlying neurodevelopment is like putting a bandage on a broken bone.

It doesn’t happen often enough (or it happens too much, in the wrong way). Many families receive in-home ABA services 40 hours a week. That sounds intensive. But here’s the problem: those 40 hours are often spent on compliance training and behavior management, not neurodevelopment. And let’s be honest. For exhausted parents, having someone in the home for 40 hours a week is attractive even when progress stalls. It becomes free help. Free babysitting. That’s not therapy. Meanwhile, the brain doesn’t change from this kind of exposure. Neuroplasticity requires the right kind of input, delivered with frequency and intensity, in the environment where the child actually lives. Skills learned through compliance drills often don’t transfer because they were never built on a foundation of real development.

Staff turnover destroys any progress. The ABA industry has a well-documented retention crisis. Therapists leave. New ones arrive. Your child has to start over, again and again, with people who don’t know them. One parent described her adult son (6’5″, nonverbal) who hasn’t had consistent therapy “for YEARS” because of this revolving door.

It labels behaviors without understanding them. Because ABA doesn’t look at or understand the whole child, behaviors like collecting things, lining up items, or deep interest in specific topics are automatically labeled as “stims” to reduce. But that may or may not be true. Some of these behaviors are developmentally appropriate. Some are meaningful ways your child engages with the world. You can only determine what a specific behavior actually is by looking at and understanding the whole child. ABA doesn’t do that. So it treats everything the same way, regardless of what’s actually going on.

The Research Confirms What Parents Already Know

For years, ABA was the default recommendation because it was the most studied. But newer research confirms what frustrated parents have been saying all along:

A 2018 study found that ABA participants were 86% more likely to meet criteria for PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) than autistic people not exposed to ABA. To be clear: PTSD is the same condition we see in combat veterans and trauma survivors. The fact that a childhood therapy is associated with this level of psychological harm should stop every parent in their tracks.

Academic peer reviews have called for significant reform of ABA-based interventions.

Major publications (including STAT News and The 74 Million) have investigated whether ABA may be doing more harm than good.

Meanwhile, insurance remains the gatekeeper. Many parents stay in ABA not because it’s working, but because it’s the only covered option. That’s not a therapeutic choice. It’s a financial trap.

What Actually Changes the Brain

At NACD, we’ve spent 45 years developing a different approach. One built on how neurodevelopment actually works.

Parents are the intervention. Not therapists who rotate out every few months. You. The person who knows your child best, who sees them every day, who has the most to gain from their success. We train and coach parents to implement targeted activities at home. Not once a week, but daily. That’s how you get the frequency and intensity the brain needs to change.

We see the whole child. Not a collection of behaviors to manage, but a complete human being with interconnected challenges and strengths. Our evaluators look at sensory processing, motor development, cognition, language, behavior, what they eat, how they sleep, how they play. Because none of it exists in isolation. You can’t fix one piece without understanding how it connects to everything else.

3,000+ techniques, individualized to your child. There’s no one-size-fits-all protocol. Every child gets a program built specifically for them, drawing from a toolbox we’ve developed over four decades. And that program evolves. We re-evaluate quarterly and adjust based on what’s working.

Your child’s interests are assets, not problems. We don’t suppress what makes your child unique. We build on it. Those “obsessive” interests? They’re often the key to unlocking engagement, motivation, and learning.

You’re Not Starting Over. You’re Moving Forward.

If you’ve been in ABA and it’s not working, you haven’t failed. You’ve learned something important: your child needs something different.

The brain can change. Every child has unlimited potential. And parents are the most powerful change agents in a child’s life.

That’s not hope. That’s neuroscience. And it’s been our foundation for 45 years.

About the Author: Laird Doman is the COO of NACD International (nacd.org), a neurodevelopmental organization that has served over 30,000 families since 1979. NACD was founded by his father, Bob Doman, who continues to lead the organization’s methodology development.

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 40 No. 1 , 2026 ©NACD

The post When ABA Therapy Isn’t Working: A Different Path Forward appeared first on NACD International | The National Association for Child Development.

Today, we pause to honor the beauty, strength, and profound humanity expressed through those with Down syndrome. For me, this day is deeply personal. It is a celebration of my daughter, Gitane — a true master of the heart.

She was born with severe hypotonia, with almost no connection between her brain and body. She could not even open her eyes. In those early moments, I searched for the most advanced understanding and care I could find, which led me to Bob Doman and the National Association for Child Development, an organization where I later proudly became their Director of Health.

His words were simple, but powerful:
“We’re going to wake her up.” And wake her up he did.

Gitane went on to graduate with honors from a mainstream high school. She surfs. She practices Karate. She creates art. And now, she is an actress — starring in a film that begins shooting next week. She has taught me something that goes far beyond any diagnosis:

When we say “special needs,” what we truly mean is special abilities. The ability to love without condition. To live with presence. To meet life with courage and joy.

At Neil Naturopathic, we honor the uniqueness of every individual and the truth that healing, growth, and potential exist in many forms. Today, we celebrate Gitane — and all those who remind us that the heart is our greatest intelligence.

With gratitude and love,
Dr. Julian Neil
Neil Naturopathic 

More about Gitane’s journey with NACD:

• Gitane’s early years with NACD
• Getting serious about processing and working memory

The post Honoring World Down syndrome Day appeared first on NACD International | The National Association for Child Development.

I’ll be honest with you. Some nights, dinner at our house looks nothing like what I know it should be.

My daughter Arielle is nine. My son Lachlan just turned six. By the time we all sit down together, everyone is carrying the weight of the day. Lachlan is often a little hungry and short-fused by dinnertime, which any parent of a six-year-old will recognize instantly. Ari has her own version of the end-of-day wind-down. My wife Sadie and I are fielding the usual logistics. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, there’s a screen nearby with its particular pull, always available, always easier than the work of actual conversation.

I know this because I live it. And I know it because at NACD, we have spent more than four decades studying exactly what happens to children’s brains when the people around them talk to them, and what happens when they don’t.

What the Research Has Been Telling Us for Years

My father, Bob Doman, has written extensively about the family meal as one of the most important developmental events in a child’s day. In his piece The Most Important Meal of the Day Is Not Breakfast — It’s the Meal(s) the Family Has Together, he makes a case that most parents don’t fully appreciate: the dinner table isn’t just where you eat. It’s where your child’s brain learns to process language, build memory, attend to others, and begin to understand the structure of the world they live in.

The mechanism behind this is auditory processing, which is the brain’s ability to take in spoken language, hold it, interpret it, and respond to it. As Lori Eby Riggs has written in Auditory Processing — What Is It?, auditory processing underlies virtually everything we associate with a child’s cognitive function: attention span, language development, the ability to think in words, and the complexity of their reasoning. And what builds auditory processing more than anything else? Targeted language input. Real conversation. The kind that happens when a parent asks a child something genuine, listens to the answer, and pushes a little further.

There’s a line from that article on family meals that has stuck with me: “No one is better suited to this job than the people who know the child best; and no time may be better suited to this development than the family meal.”

That’s not a soft sentiment. That’s the neurodevelopmental science of 45 years of work with tens of thousands of families, distilled into one sentence.

And yet most family dinners don’t look like that. Most of them are one-word answers and glowing screens.

The Challenges Are Real

When I talk about the dinner table as a developmental opportunity, I’m not describing a magazine photograph of a family glowing with perfect conversation over a home-cooked meal. I’m describing something that requires real effort, most nights, against real resistance.

Here’s what I run into constantly, even knowing everything I know:

Devices

The pull is relentless. New studies are coming out by the day documenting how harmful screens are on developing brains, and yet the phone is still there, the tablet is still there, and children have absorbed from the culture around them that screens are the default way to fill any available moment. We have a no-devices rule at our dinner table, but that rule requires active enforcement every single time. It doesn’t just happen.

Exhaustion

By dinner, everyone is tired. Lachlan at six is a bright, curious kid, but by the end of the day he’s hungry and has run out of patience for things that don’t immediately interest him. Ari at nine wants to talk, but only about the specific things on her mind at that moment, and if the conversation doesn’t head there quickly, she checks out. Sadie and I are not exempt from this either. The desire to just sit quietly and not manage anything for ten minutes is something every parent understands.

The question problem

This is the one that took me the longest to name. Even when we manage to get everyone to the table without a device, even when the kids are present and willing, I often find myself asking the same questions: “How was your day? What did you do? What did you learn?” And getting the answers those questions deserve: “Fine. Nothing. I don’t know.” The questions aren’t bad. They’re just not good enough. They don’t open anything. They invite a one-word exit and everyone moves on.

This is where, in our work at NACD, we’ve always understood something important: the quality of input determines the quality of output. We say this constantly in the context of neurodevelopmental programs — the specificity of what you give a child’s brain matters enormously. It turns out this principle applies equally to conversation.

What Happens When You Get It Right

I want to tell you about something that changed at our dinner table, because it was Ari and Lachlan who taught it to me rather than the other way around.

We started asking about family history. Not heavily, not as a formal exercise. Just questions like: “What do you think Dad’s childhood was like? What do you think Grandpa did when he was your age? What stories do you think our family has that nobody has written down?”

What happened surprised me. Lachlan, who is full of ideas and moves quickly from one thought to the next, got completely still and started asking questions I didn’t expect him to have. Ari, who I sometimes struggle to keep at the table, leaned in. They wanted to know. They wanted to know us — the people who came before them, the choices that were made, the world that existed before they arrived in it.

What I also realized is that the questions didn’t just flow one direction. Ari started asking me things I hadn’t thought about in years. Lachlan wanted to know what my grandfather was like. The conversation became something genuinely mutual — kids asking parents, parents asking kids, everyone at the table actually curious about what the other person would say. That’s what good family history questions do. They make the parents as interesting as the children, and they give kids the feeling that their questions matter just as much as ours.

The family history conversation opened something that “How was your day?” never could. It gave them a sense of place in something larger than themselves. It built what NACD has long recognized as one of the most important things we can give a child: identity. A felt sense of who they are and where they come from.

Neurologically, what was happening is exactly what my father describes in his work on parents as the primary architects of their children’s development. See Where Have All the Mothers Gone? and 

Parents Are the Solution for the deeper framework. Autobiographical memory, sequential narrative, perspective-taking, the ability to hold a multi-part story in working memory and reason about it — these are all cognitive skills, and dinner conversation is one of the richest environments for developing all of them simultaneously.

The difference wasn’t the effort we put in. It was the quality of the question we started with.

What a Good Question Actually Does

At NACD, we think about intervention specificity constantly. The whole framework of Targeted Developmental Intervention — the approach that has guided our work for decades — is built on the idea that the more targeted and specific the input, the more targeted and effective the result. A vague program produces vague results. A precisely designed program, delivered consistently, produces real change.

The same logic applies to conversation.

A vague question like “How was school?” produces a vague answer. It asks nothing specific of a child’s brain. There’s no cognitive demand. They can answer it honestly and completely with a single syllable and move on.

A good question is different. A good question requires a child to retrieve a memory, construct a narrative, evaluate a perspective, or make a decision under constraints. “If you could change one rule in our house, what would it be and why?” asks Lachlan to do half a dozen cognitive operations before he opens his mouth. “Tell me about a time when you felt really proud of yourself — not because anyone told you to be, but because you just knew” asks Ari to access autobiographical memory, evaluate an emotional experience, and find the language to describe an internal state. These are not trivial tasks. These are exactly the kinds of tasks that build auditory processing, working memory, perspective-taking, and executive function — the foundational capacities that all of NACD’s work is built around.

For more on why these cognitive foundations matter so profoundly, read Processing Power: What Every Parent Needs to Know.

Why We Built an App

I’ll be direct about this, because I think the honesty matters.

We didn’t build Family Conversations because we thought parents didn’t know dinner conversation mattered. Most parents, at some level, already know. We built it because knowing isn’t enough. Knowing doesn’t solve the problem of sitting down at the table at 6:30pm, exhausted, with a six-year-old who has run out of patience and a nine-year-old who wants to talk about something specific you haven’t thought to ask about — and needing, in that moment, the right question.

The problem isn’t intention. The problem is the gap between intention and execution, in the moment when it’s hardest.

We also know, from 45 years of working with families, that parents are the most powerful force in a child’s development when they’re equipped with the right approach, the right tools, the right questions. That’s the entire NACD model — we don’t work with children directly. We train and equip the people who know those children best. As my father has written in All Our Mothers Need to Be 10s (and Our Dads Too!), the parent’s function is the first variable we look at — because the parent is the program.

Family Conversations is built on that same principle. Every question in the app is designed around a real cognitive or emotional skill: perspective-taking, moral reasoning, autobiographical memory, creative inference, values clarification. Every card includes follow-up prompts, so when the conversation stalls (and it will stall), you have somewhere to go. Each question is calibrated to your child’s age and developmental level. There’s a “Go Deeper” option for when your family is ready for more. And there’s a Quote Journal, because some of what your children say at the dinner table deserves to be kept.

One thing we were intentional about: the app is designed so the phone doesn’t have to be out at all. Family Conversations works on Apple Watch, so you can glance at a question on your wrist and leave your phone in the other room where it belongs. It also works beautifully on iPad, which is a natural fit for families who want something propped up at the table. Pull up a question, start the conversation, then set it aside and be present. That’s the whole idea.

The Table Is Where Your Family Lives

I think about my grandfather, Dr. Robert J. Doman, and the work he did as a physiatrist pioneering the field of brain injury rehabilitation. I think about my father, building on that work for half a century, developing the neurodevelopmental framework that has changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of families. And I think about what it means to be the third generation of this family devoted to the idea that children have unlimited potential — and that the people most positioned to unlock it are the ones sitting across from them at the dinner table every night.

Ronald Reagan once said, “All great change in America starts at the dinner table.” He was talking about politics. But he was right about something deeper: the dinner table is where families become families. It’s where children learn who they are, where they come from, what they believe, how to think, how to listen, how to disagree with someone they love, and how to tell a story that matters.

Put the devices away. Ask a better question. See what happens.

And if you need a little help with the question, we built something for that.

Try Family Conversations

Learn more and download the app here!
Available on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Designed for every family, every night.

Laird Doman is the third generation of his family devoted to the neurodevelopmental well-being of children worldwide. He lives with his wife Sadie and their children Arielle and Lachlan.

Related Reading at NACD

• The Most Important Meal of the Day Is Not Breakfast
• Auditory Processing — What Is It?
• Processing Power: What Every Parent Needs to Know
• Where Have All the Mothers Gone?
• Parents Are the Solution
• All Our Mothers Need to Be 10s (and Our Dads Too!)
• Confidence Through Chores

The post The Dinner Table Is the Most Underestimated Classroom in Your Home appeared first on NACD International | The National Association for Child Development.

So we felt very alone as we tried to figure out what was going on. For the first year of Jake’s life we frequently felt alarmed as we noticed non-typical behaviors and responses, but they were subtle, and as he was such a smiley, happy and alert child, we were told not to worry. 

Then we noticed that our child wasn’t learning properly. He was late with walking and talking. He never crawled. We had done the alternative method of potty training from birth so he skipped crawling and instead bounced around on his bottom. I noticed that he never signed back to us, communication being a part of the early potty training method. He was late to walk and talk and even then, he would come up with a word, say it exclusively and constantly for a few weeks and then forget it. When we taught him things like how to clap, we had to practice it for a while every day before he would try to imitate it, then if we didn’t practice it daily, he would forget that too. His adorable little body seemed oddly stiff, he didn’t cuddle in like most babies did and while he would sit there and smile, he seemed lost in his own dream world and did not respond to much around him. 

After rounds of specialists, three days after the birth of our second child, when Jake was 19 months old, we were given the diagnosis of Potocki-Lupski Syndrome, a genetic disorder, a replication of a tricky part of chromosome 17. The pediatrician gave us some pages photocopied from a sterile medical textbook listing the myriad of things that our child was never supposed to do and all the difficulties that he would face throughout life. We were floored and devastated. I leapt into research but everything I found on his diagnosis upset me more and I spent the first few months of our second child’s life crying. I remember asking another pediatrician about what Jake could be expected to achieve in his life and he told me proudly about a similar child who had made his first independent phone call with some limited language by the age of 18. While I understand now how incredible these milestones are for families of children with special needs, however as a new parent at the time, I did not find that information comforting. I asked another doctor what “developmentally delayed” meant, hoping that it meant he would just catch up later. She gently told me that it was a polite term for “mentally retarded”. Indeed as my darling baby could not even master or remember “clap”, how on earth was he going to build higher order skills to handle life? 

Fortunately we have always been alternative minded and I managed to shake myself away from depressing mainstream research. I turned to Down’s Syndrome as a more commonly known genetic disorder, figuring that some clever parent there had found some breakthroughs for their child. And indeed I was right! After scouring FB pages and parent groups, I found in the Down’s Syndrome world that amazing things were happening for children who had either one or both of two things: biomedical intervention and neurodevelopmental therapy. So we decided to launch into both. It took a few years to get going with the biomedical, but with NACD we were able to start immediately. Out of all the neurodevelopmental organizations I liked NACD the most as they had a program that cut to the chase with the most time effective and modern methods, and they also offered ongoing parent support and coaching which as a floundering and disorganized parent, I knew I would need. 

At the time we stared, I remember Jake had a lot of unusual behaviors, every time he saw the ocean he would freeze and stare it and refuse to move on. As we lived in a small island community glimpses of the ocean were frequent. He’d open and close cupboard doors, arrange things in straight lines and never wanted to interact with other kids. He had very limited speech, and all sorts of motor skills problems. He could not even pedal a tricycle. 

I can’t remember much about that time now quite honestly. I was frequently sick and exhausted from having 2 children close together and with an undiagnosed autoimmune condition in the background. My husband and I did program as best as we could though and I remember starting to feel hope. Jake’s mind started to unlock, he started to be able to learn and we discovered he had a few superpowers, an amazing ability understand and order numbers, remember items on sight and he could even say his alphabet backwards. For a child diagnosed with a severe short term memory problem, this felt like sunshine from the heavens. NACD kept guiding us with program and as a family we were feeling more and more normal every day. We started a biomedical approach with specially developed Nutrivene vitamin supplements around the age of 4 and then everything really came together, Jake seemed to “wake up” to a new level of awareness, his speech and motor skills took off and we were so happy. Our second child, typically developing was put on program too and he was well ahead with all his milestones. 

While I don’t remember too many details of that time now, suffice to say we went from despair, hopelessness and rounds of specialists who used lots of big words but actually did nothing to actually help, to feeling like a happy, hopeful and normal family. We no longer felt like a “special needs” family. Program was very hard in those first years, but we were getting results and our lives back! It was wonderful to finally feel like a “normal” family.

We moved overseas then and stopped our NACD program for many years, happy to just live a normal life. Jake still had challenges, but he doing so much better. He started school with an aide but his superpowers really helped him through, from a child who couldn’t remember how to clap he now had the most astonishing memory! He had a phenomenal ability with geography, and started winning the school’s geography contests from first grade. He beat all the high school kids and even the school superintendent when he stepped in as a special guest. He knew every country, capital, flag, location, shape, and once he mastered that he turned to history and somehow developed an incredible grasp of historical details on top of that too! 

We started formal homeschooling formally around third grade when the covid lockdowns started and muddled through that for a few years. When Jake hit puberty it became apparent to his father and I that he needed further help. He was still having a lot of trouble with reading, he’d been recently diagnosed with an eye tracking problem but the mainstream offered us nothing except devices to learn to live with it. We had tried everything but gotten nowhere. He still had struggles with social skills and motor skills, and while his speech was reasonably good, it was still hard for him. 

As the worry started rising again, we turned to the place where we’d found hope before, the NACD! And in just 7 months back the results have already been incredible! Jake started in November at an auditory processing of 4-5 and in 7 months is has now just touched on a 7! His maturity and awareness has developed in leaps and bounds with it. His eye tracking is improving and reading is getting easier for him every day. He can swim now, and his social skills are improving. He has developed a love for math as the NACD teaches it, and will joyfully tackle page after page of his math text book just for fun. Before NACD he struggled with basic concepts. He is taking off and once again we couldn’t be happier. My only regret is we didn’t get back to it sooner, but fortunately NACD is helping us to catch up and overcome for that lapse quickly! 

I should mention my second son, DJ too. While typically developing he did program for a year or two when he was barely a toddler, and he has continued to go from strength to strength. When he started school the testing they gave him said that he was in the top 1% and was considered gifted and talented. When he was 9, he started getting impatient with all the attention Jake got for his his impressive history and geography knowledge and told me he wanted a superpower too. After watching Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata on you tube he decided that it was a pretty nice song, and he wanted to play it. He slowed down the finger movements from a You Tube video and copied them. Within just a few months he was playing piano surprisingly fluently. A music teacher at a summer camp a few months after he started hailed me down one day with wide eyes asking me if I knew that DJ was unusually talented. He is now 12 and works in our community playing piano at events. He is well paid and makes great tips too! 

Everything that DJ does he does so easily and at a high standard. Around the age of 10 he the took up the Rubik’s cube, mastered it in record time and at high speed. It didn’t take him long to get to world competition speeds on nearly of the all the cubes, but then he lost interest and moved on. He is very entrepreneurial, and through primary school would frequently came up with new games or projects which fascinated and created a following amongst other kids. 

Previously homeschooling DJ in math was not working and he had seemed to be going backwards so I put him back in school for math. He was doing reasonably well, but after starting NACD for just a few months his teacher contacted me in amazement asking what we were doing as in the MAPS testing DJ had suddenly jumped from a 6th grade level to an 11th grade level almost overnight! Here’s the message I got from his teacher: “Hey Melissa, just wanted to share some great growth from DJ on our winter math Maps test! He improved his score by +18 points from his fall score! (+3-5 is a significant amount for a year so this is pretty impressive!). Went from a 6th grade average to testing at the 11th grade average! Very proud of him and the hard work he has put in.” A jump of 18 points in a season when 3-5 is a significant amount for a year? Wow. The only thing we had done differently was to start NACD again and get to work on his processing! 

Would DJ be doing so well without the early intervention of NACD in making sure his development was all so perfectly addressed? I guess we will never know but as a mom I am sure NACD had a lot to do with it! 

NACD are truly miracle makers. Sara, our evaluator has laser vision and doesn’t miss a thing. Our program is perfectly tailored to both children, exactly what they need. The parental support and coaching is beyond invaluable. Any behavioral, teen attitude issue is quickly nipped in the bud, and we have a smooth running household now where my boys help out, are well behaved, and are developing into responsible, helpful young adults with initiative. Amy is a coaching wonder woman, and has helped me tremendously to get my act together. NACD offers a whole family, whole life perspective that gives you the perfectly tailored program to your child and life, with the support you need to put it into action, while missing nothing. Chores, responsibilities, and the child’s personal growth and happiness are all a part of it. And guess what? The kids love it. They think homeschooling is fun. Working on processing is central, and we celebrate every step up. Processing parties are the new fun thing in our family! 

Our life can truly be measured in BEFORE and AFTER NACD. All the behind the scenes staff are incredible too, and I can honestly say that I feel like they are family, a group who has always been there for us, giving us the answers and support we need to live our best lives. We are living our dream in remote Alaska, a wild and different life, unconstrained from needing to be in city centers, near specialists and therapists. Life is happy, hopeful and wonderful and I will be forever grateful. 

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Parents can become aware of their child’s lack of progress from report cards, meetings with teachers, standardized test results, or even helping with homework. It’s a terrible feeling to realize that your child isn’t learning as well as is expected, particularly when you may not have been previously aware of it. 

A failure to progress academically can have multiple causes, of course, but there are a few things that parents and professionals in the field of education need to keep in mind. The curriculum that master plan implemented by schools and mandated by states is not written, designed, and implemented for YOUR child. This massive plan, which dictates the scope of what is taught and in what order it is taught, is not aimed at any particular student but rather designed to reach some overall goals far removed from specific students. 

Students, including your child, vary enormously in their ability to process information and utilize that information in any way. Although the concepts of visual and auditory learners, for example, are often over-simplified, there are real processing differences among students in every class, in every school. What your child is able to learn and retain out of what is being presented is based on his or her ability to take in what is being presented and store it in a way that can be recalled. 

So, although schools have this massive curriculum designed with no particular student in mind at all, your student may not be equipped to learn it. In other words, this may well be the wrong curriculum and instructional approach for your child. In fact, your child might be able to do an outstanding job of learning, given another approach and a different type of curriculum. Too often, schools function like the military. We have this institution with this structure and this agenda. Your child must fit in and learn to meet expectations. 

Consider that the issue may not be caused by a flaw in your child but rather by flaws in how this system is imposing itself on your child. No school can fully individualize what they do. Even students with IEPs don’t actually get their own curriculum but rather a slowed-down, abbreviated version of the overall curriculum. Homeschooling provides a solution, of course, as long as the parent does not simply replicate the errors the schools have made. Improving how a child processes information allows the child to learn from a wider array of instructional styles and permits the child to learn with less effort.

NACD is here to help your child improve his or her processing and also design a truly child-specific learning plan that paves the way for successful and rapid learning. 

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 39 No. 3 , 2025 ©NACD

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Understanding the Whole Child

To truly understand a child, we must take a top-down approach, viewing them as a complete individual rather than a sum of disconnected parts. Every child is more than a diagnosis, a test score, or an isolated challenge. Yet too often, professionals—whether doctors, therapists, educators, or psychologists—focus on just one piece of the puzzle without seeing how it connects to the whole.

This fragmented approach is much like the classic parable of the three blind men and the elephant, where each man touches a different part of the animal and comes away with a completely different impression. One thinks he’s found a tree trunk, another a snake, another a fan—none of them realizing they are all describing the same elephant. In the same way, when we look at just one aspect of a child’s development without considering the bigger picture, we risk missing their true potential.

Parents, who know their children better than anyone, are often left out of the equation. Yet, they are the experts on their own child and an essential part of any effective intervention. Whether a child has a formal diagnosis or not, each one is unique, complex, and capable of growth beyond expectations—if we take the time to understand them holistically.

The Power of a Top-Down Perspective

One of the first things we teach professionals learning to assess children is to start with the big picture. The first 30 seconds of interaction can often reveal a wealth of insight into a child’s development, personality, and challenges. This top-down approach allows us to quickly identify strengths, pinpoint underlying issues, and develop a roadmap for meaningful progress.

In contrast, starting with individual symptoms or isolated skill sets often leads to a distorted and incomplete understanding of the child. To truly help a child thrive, we must first see who they are as a whole person, then work backward to address the specific areas that need support.

Beyond Labels: Every Child is Unique

Labels can be useful for categorization, but they do not define a child’s potential. Consider:

• Josh, who has a brain injury
• Olivia, diagnosed with Down syndrome
• Jaxon, labeled as being on the autism spectrum
• Lindy, identified with ADHD
• Ryan, considered “typical”
• Lucas, placed in a gifted program

Each of these children is more than their label. They all have complex needs, unique abilities, and untapped potential. When we focus only on the diagnosis, we limit expectations—but when we recognize the whole child, we open the door for extraordinary growth.

Building a Support System for Success

Helping a child reach their full potential requires a coordinated, individualized approach that includes:

• The Child – at the center of the process
• Parents – the true experts on their child’s strengths and needs
• NACD Developmentalist – a trained specialist who designs a customized developmental program based on a holistic assessment
• Family Coach – available nearly seven days a week to provide ongoing support
• The NACD Team – an extended network of specialists with decades of experience and over 3,000 targeted intervention strategies

This team approach ensures that each child receives personalized, strategic input designed to help them develop the skills they need to succeed.

The Truth About Neuroplasticity: No Magic Pills, Just Consistent, Targeted Work

In today’s world, families are bombarded with promises of quick fixes—from supplements to therapies that claim to offer overnight transformations. But the reality is that meaningful change takes time, consistency, and strategic input.

Brain development follows the principles of neuroplasticity—the process by which the brain creates new neural connections and adapts over time. While neuroplasticity offers incredible potential, it does not happen instantly. Real progress requires interventions that follow three critical principles:

1. Frequency – The brain needs repetitive exposure to new information and activities. Ideally, children receive targeted input multiple times per day rather than once or twice per week.
2. Intensity – Learning must be engaging and appropriately challenging to stimulate growth.
3. Duration – Change takes weeks or months, not minutes or days. Sustainable progress requires a long-term commitment.

Unlocking Every Child’s Potential

Every child—regardless of their background, challenges, or strengths—has the potential to exceed expectations when given the right opportunities. The key lies in seeing the whole child, not just their difficulties, and applying customized, targeted strategies that nurture growth at every level.

At NACD, we believe that no child’s future should be predetermined by a label. By focusing on the whole child, working as a team with families, and harnessing the power of neuroplasticity, we help children break barriers, develop skills, and thrive beyond what anyone thought possible.

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 39 No. 1 , 2025 ©NACD

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Those of us who have passed that 60-year-old mile marker will often ponder the things of our past. What would we do differently? How do we mend past transgressions? What could have been avoided had a different fork in the road been followed? I am no exception. On a personal level, after raising 5 boys I have plenty of those moments that I wish I could go back and redo. I am sure my parents did the same. So many “If only I had known.” 

Today, though, I take the time to look back on those years and ponder, “What did I do right?” One thing, without a doubt, revolves around what I share with you parents in this article. I lovingly, sometimes not easily, trained my special needs son to know how to fit into a social gathering, to be appreciated, to have good manners, and to be enjoyed. This was truly a monumental task that I did not do alone. Our extended family members played incredible parts. The NACD families and staff members that I worked alongside had a huge impact on him, as did, most importantly, his siblings. 

I can remember the early painful years when the doctor reviewed his scans with us. The thoughts of “What will he miss out on?” “Where will his life take him as an adult?” “Will people accept him?” Those thoughts were so prevalent and so constant in the beginning. There was a time at when I had to buckle down and think, “Well, whatever will be, we will do our darndest to make it as good for him as possible.” Once I found NACD, things got easier for me emotionally. Most likely the reason is that I was so busy putting into action a plan to help him that there wasn’t as much time to focus on pain. However, there were always those hurtful moments, usually when someone asked a thoughtless question or gave us “the look” that special needs families often get. At those times the hurt would come like an unexpected wave, I would sink a little, then rise up and fight again in the only ways I knew how: unconditional love, doing program, and training him to be pleasant. 

The love was the easy part. That child was seared into my heart the minute I saw a picture shown to me by a mission group looking to find him a home. You would think that the hard part would be all the hours of input needed through program to help him develop. I will confess, I did not carry that load alone. Evan’s brothers did as much program as I did with him, if not more. After getting into the rhythm of doing program, the ups and downs, the 90% days and the 2% days, NACD really became a matter of a lifestyle rather than a long intimidating list of activities to do. The hard part, though, was really focusing on social training.

I once heard a mother at one of our seminars put it in words in a way that spoke to me. She said, “At first, I thought my special needs son’s behavior had to be as good as other children, but I later found I was wrong. His behavior had to be BETTER to be accepted. If he stepped out of line from time to time, like all children do, the thought was never that he was behaving like a child, but rather a ‘special needs child.’” So many of you know the situations I refer to. You have been there and felt those kicks to the gut. 

To give you an idea of the hurdles we faced, prior to adoption, Evan was one of the most severely abused children that I have ever heard of that actually survived. In fact, he was at death’s door when I finally found him. You would think that it would be hard to overcome the kind of suffering he went through, but the real difficulty came from the tendency of others, including myself, to give him too much slack during the early years of his recovery. From the day we first had him, Evan was truly welcomed by our family members and the people in our orbit at the time. His story was so incredible that people wanted all the details, wanted to surround him with kindness and acceptance, and in some way felt a need to “make things up to him.” Within a short amount of time, that started to backfire just a bit to some degree. All the attention, all of the preference shown, started to create a situation where he became a child who wanted to monopolize everyone in his world. At parties he would pick his favorite people and want to hang on them, perseverating on the same comments. He wanted to always be the center of attention. He was overly affectionate at an age that made it awkward. There was point in time that I had to wake up and think, “I don’t want him to grow to be a person other people avoid.” We went through a time of intensively training him how to shake hands rather than hug his brothers’ teammates, to give social space, and to wait and let others speak. The social training years were tough. There was a lot of redirecting at gatherings, which he would often show displeasure at. In noticing my correction and training, often other people would say, “It’s ok. I understand. He can do— (whatever annoying thing he was doing).” There were even family members that would feed into his annoyances. I really had to put my foot down and explain that they may love him and want to patiently tolerate those immature habits, but …what about other people? How will he be received by the friends of siblings, or strangers we run across? The more pleasant he is, the more opportunities he has to be included, which allows him to experience more joy. The hardest place, I do believe, for that training was in our NACD waiting room. Keep in mind the parents we work with are the most accepting, caring people you could encounter. I remember walking out of an evaluation one day to find him sitting in someone’s lap. A new client at that. At the age of TEN! It only took one stern “Evan Waldeck” to see him jump up and know he was busted over ignoring the “space” rule we made him follow with most people. We even had to make a list of who got a front hug, who got a side hug, and everyone else needed to get a handshake. I looked so mean. I really was convinced it would pay off, and all along it was an act of love.

Fast forward to a trip we recently took. We were staying in the home of a family Evan and I had never met. At first it was just to be me and a friend, and Evan was going to spend time at home with his brother. But things got moved around, and at the last minute, Evan was included in the trip. Let me set this up for you. The adults that we were staying with both had careers working with special needs adults. After a few days, I was pulled aside and told, “We have to confess, at first we were a bit concerned. We thought about all we had planned to do. There were hikes, nice restaurants, and lot of sites to see. When we heard your special needs, blind son would be coming, we figured all plans would have to change.” They were shocked to see how easily he fit in and how much fun he added to the group. They even asked me, “How did you produce such a mature special needs adult?” Keep in mind, both of them had spent decades working with special needs adults. I have to tell you; it was a moment I will never forget. To realize that “what I knew then” was right on target gave me a real sense of achievement. The icing on the cake was that Evan had a blast.

Please know that as a staff we have decades of experience working with children at every level of accomplishment. We have experience with families we have worked with their entire lives. We also have children and grandchildren ourselves that we have raised or are currently raising. We see what happens when appropriate behavior is made a priority. As you travel this journey, always remember one of the kindest things you can do for any child is to train them up in a way that makes them a delight to be around.

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 39 No. 1 , 2025 ©NACD

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At NACD, we emphasize the importance of brain health through nutrition. Research continues to show that high-sugar breakfasts lead to blood sugar spikes, crashes, and difficulties in learning and behavior. While this affects everyone, children with ADHD, autism, and other neurodevelopmental challenges often experience these effects more severely.

Many parents unknowingly fall into the trap of feeding their kids what they assume is a healthy breakfast. But much of what is marketed as a “balanced meal” is anything but.

Why the Standard American Breakfast Fails Kids

Most traditional breakfast foods are built around sugar and refined carbohydrates. Cereal, toast, bagels, waffles, pancakes, and flavored yogurts may seem like normal morning staples, but they spike blood sugar quickly.

When blood sugar rises too fast, kids may seem energetic at first, but soon after, their levels crash. This can lead to:

• Fatigue and sluggishness
• Difficulty focusing in school
• Emotional outbursts and irritability
• Strong cravings for more sugar

For children with special needs, these crashes can be especially problematic. Unstable blood sugar can contribute to hyperactivity, increased anxiety, aggression, and difficulties with emotional regulation.

Beyond the immediate impact, long-term exposure to high blood sugar contributes to inflammation, cognitive decline, and metabolic issues like insulin resistance. A morning blood sugar spike can also make children more prone to cravings throughout the day, setting them up for poor eating habits.

Read more: The Science of a Smart Breakfast

The Best Type of Breakfast for Brain Function and Stability

A well-balanced breakfast should be built around protein, healthy fats, and fiber. This combination helps stabilize blood sugar, sustain energy levels, and improve focus and behavior.

Rethinking Breakfast: It’s Just Another Meal

What we consider “breakfast food” is largely shaped by marketing and cultural history, not nutrition. There is no scientific reason why breakfast needs to include cereal, toast, or pancakes. In fact, many cultures around the world start their day with meals that resemble lunch or dinner—often including meats, vegetables, and healthy fats.

A child could just as easily eat chicken and roasted vegetables in the morning as they would in the evening. What matters most is the nutrient content, not the label of “breakfast food.”

Smart Breakfast Choices

Instead of relying on processed foods, focus on whole, nutrient-dense options.

Great choices include:

• Eggs, which provide high-quality protein and choline to support brain development
• Meat such as chicken, turkey, or beef, offering amino acids essential for neurotransmitter production
• Avocados, rich in healthy fats that support brain health
• Nuts and seeds, a great source of protein, fiber, and minerals
• Leafy greens and other vegetables packed with essential vitamins

For those who want a little sweetness, organic dates are a great alternative. Unlike refined sugars, dates contain fiber, vitamins, and minerals that slow down sugar absorption. They provide a natural sweetness without causing extreme spikes in blood sugar.

Fruit can also be part of a healthy breakfast when eaten alongside protein and fat to help balance blood sugar. A few berries with nuts, or apple slices paired with almond butter, can add flavor and nutrients without the negative effects of a sugar-heavy meal.

The Cereal Myth: How We Got It So Wrong

Many parents grew up believing that breakfast should include grains. That belief wasn’t shaped by science but by decades of cereal industry marketing. Companies spent millions convincing families that cereals, granola bars, and other processed grains were the best way to start the day.

The reality is that most of these products are ultra-processed, stripped of nutrients, and packed with sugar. Even those claiming to be “whole grain” often cause the same rapid spikes and crashes as refined sugar.

Making the Switch to a Healthier Breakfast

Changing a child’s breakfast routine doesn’t have to be difficult. Gradual adjustments help make the transition smoother.

• Start small by replacing one processed item at a time. Swap out cereal for eggs or replace toast with avocado and nuts.
• Focus on protein first. Ensuring kids get high-quality protein at breakfast helps stabilize blood sugar and keep them full longer.
• Reduce sugar gradually. If your child is used to sweet flavors, introduce healthier alternatives like organic dates or berries alongside protein and fats.
• Get kids involved. Let them help with planning and preparing breakfast. Giving them choices—within healthy options—makes them more likely to enjoy their meal and feel empowered.

Some simple meal ideas kids can help prepare:

• Scrambled eggs with spinach and chicken sausage
• Turkey and avocado roll-ups
• Roasted vegetables with shredded chicken
• Hard-boiled eggs with cucumber slices and hummus
• Sautéed greens with beef and olive oil

The Bigger Picture: A Healthier Future for Kids

At NACD, we work with families to develop customized programs that optimize brain function, learning, and development. The right nutrition is a key piece of that puzzle. By shifting away from sugar-heavy, processed breakfasts and embracing whole, nutrient-dense foods, parents can help their children improve focus, energy, and emotional stability—especially those with special needs.

A small change at breakfast can have a huge impact on a child’s ability to learn, regulate emotions, and thrive.

 Learn more about NACD’s approach and how we help families build healthier, stronger futures.

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 39 No. 1 , 2025 ©NACD

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Are you a vision board person? A New Year’s Resolution person? A “word” for the year person? I am. There is always something about new beginnings, fresh starts, etc., that gets me excited! My word for the year 2024 was “discipline”. At the time, I felt the need to be more disciplined in my diet, my workouts, my time between work and family, finances, etc. I have a small group of friends who help each other stay accountable to our “word”. We all encourage each other. We forgive when we mess up and we challenge each other to keep going. Guilt is a word we do not use. We give ourselves grace and move on. I think this time of year is like the New Year. For many of us, at least in the Northern Hemispheres, we are sending kids off to school or creating our home education plan, establishing new routines, and getting back into the swing of things after summer fun and indulgences. For me, it is time to reset and re-establish my dedication to my word! 

When it comes to a “reset”, I want you to think of how you reset yourself as a person. We want to think of the fundamental things for our bodies and brains to function well, because let’s face it—getting older stinks. As busy parents, it is easy to not prioritize ourselves, but I have learned in my years as a parent and as someone who talks to parents daily, that your health is priority one. Do you get enough quality sleep? Do you prioritize real food that nourishes your body? Do you exercise? Do you provide your spirit with a connection to people that matter to you? If you aren’t doing things to give yourself the attention you need, then RESET. 

When it comes to your family, what do you need to do to “reset”? Is it scheduling those regular date nights with your spouse? Is it making sure you have dinner as a family again most nights of the week? I just talked with a family who is having weekly meetings/time with each child of their family to praise and reinforce how that kid is doing as well as to discuss what things they (the child) feel could be improved upon or that they need to work on together. Talk about connection! For me, this past month has been a lot about our kids for various reasons, and not much about me and Scott. And, the next two months are not going to be any better with each of our travel schedules. He and I are scheduling time together—each week. It might just be out on our patio after dinner, but we can feel when we are disconnected, so RESET.

When it comes to your kids—not just your kids on program, but all of your children—how do you help them reset? First and foremost, sleep and nutrition are sooo important. Having consistent sleep schedules—I can’t say enough about the importance of it. Nutrition!!! What are we feeding our kids? Are their diets full of real food – lean proteins, fresh fruit and vegetables, and healthy fats, or are they full of processed food, seed oils, and sugar? We work with kids with many behavior issues and can often correlate it to what they eat. I know that we have some picky eaters and some kids on very limited diets. Keep working, ever so slightly, on improving it. For those of you who have kids at a higher level of function, educate them on food and nutrition and the importance of good sleep and general health. RESET.

Now, when it comes to program, I am always amazed by parents who come to evals around this time of year fearful. Fearful that we are going to judge them. Feeling guilty that they haven’t done much. We are parents too, ya know?! We understand summer schedules. We understand burnout. We also understand reality. As you go into this next season, RESET. Think about priorities and things that really matter to you and that you think your child is on the cusp of and/or needs the most. Is it walking? Is it processing and cognition? Is it reading? Talk with your evaluator as we are looking at your child as a whole and can guide you on those priorities. We see, too often, families taking on too much—not just with program but then also wanting to do all the other therapies, and sports, and dance lessons, etc., etc. Let’s reset, prioritize, and simplify. (I am not surprised why so many of us moms and dads end up with autoimmune stuff and thyroid issues and all other kinds of health-related issues. We simply try to do too much.) So, I would encourage you to look at the schedules, can we decrease what we have going on? Can you enlist older children who drive to take a child places? Can you enlist Grandma to help with program? Instead of spending hours each week grocery shopping and Costco shopping, can you switch to delivery? (I switched to this over the summer and it has been a God-sent AND a money saver!) Are you making all your kids lunches when they could do it themselves? When is the best time for you AND your kid to do program? Look at your schedule and modify it so that it happens. If we only have an hour, then let’s make that the best hour and focus on what matters the most in that hour. RESET. Talk to your evaluator and your coach. Let us help you figure it all out so that we are working together. 

How about a RESET challenge? I am going to accept that I may mess up. I do it all the time. But, at the beginning of each day, I try to be a better version of myself than the last. Stop the mom and/or dad guilt. Give yourself grace. Move forward. Let’s RESET together. 

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 38 No. 5, 2024 ©NACD

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