Tomar Family Testimonial
“Your son may not survive the night”, doctors told us soon after our son, Baran, our firstborn, was born in 2009. Baran had suffered moderate hypoxic ischemia at birth. What started as a healthy pregnancy ended with our son being deprived of oxygen for more than three minutes. Needless to say, my husband and I were in shock. Those are words no parent ever wants to hear. Thankfully, Baran made it through the night, but we would learn a few days later that in addition to suffering moderate brain damage, he also suffered a stroke. Doctors told us he had a significant chance of being physically and developmentally delayed. We were devasted.
The months that followed included many PT sessions, then OT, and then speech therapy. At 18 months old, Baran was diagnosed with speech apraxia. This diagnosis began a seven-year commitment to speech therapy sessions three days a week. At this point, my husband and I decided that I should quit my career to stay home with Baran and our newborn daughter, Maya. We moved from Chicago to Columbus, Ohio to be near family. I knew we had a long road ahead of us, and we needed the support of family.
The early elementary years for Baran involved many IEP meetings, more speech therapy and a diagnosis of moderate receptive/expressive delay, which made reading comprehension and writing very difficult for him. Every IEP meeting left me feeling hopeless. I worried about his future daily and began searching for ways to help him. In my research, I discovered a book titled “The Brain That Heals.” There were so many therapies described in this book that helped people with brain injuries and so many stories of hope. I continued to search various therapies and came across The Listening Program. This was my first entrée into NACD. I remember talking to Lori about TLP, and she encouraged me to join NACD’s program. At the time, I didn’t think I could ever home educate my child and actually implement some of the therapies he needed. I didn’t feel qualified to do any of that. I told Lori that we’d start with TLP. In just three short months of using TLP, Baran’s reading score on the standardized reading test increased from below range to average range. I was thrilled. We also incorporated Simply Smarter into our daily routine.
Unfortunately, during Baran’s second grade year, he suffered a seizure for the first time, and a whole new set of challenged confronted us. At that point, I filled out the online forms to fully participate in NACD, but I was still unsure about being qualified to implement their program. Luckily, Pam in the main office nudged me a bit, and before I knew it, we had our first evaluation with Bob at the end of Baran’s second grade year. Bob was so encouraging. My husband and I left that evaluation filled with so much hope. This was in sharp contrast to leaving IEP meetings in tears and with a pit in my stomach. We got started on program right away the summer before Baran entered third grade. By the fall, he no longer qualified for math services because his test scores were too high. At the next IEP meeting, I felt empowered. I knew what my son needed to excel. Unfortunately, my goals for him didn’t align with what the school deemed he needed to be successful. I remember Bob saying to me, “Melissa, I think you would feel a weight lifted off your shoulders if you home-educate Baran.” One month later, Covid hit, and all classes were online. I started to see how ineffective traditional instruction was for Baran. By May, my husband and I decided that I would home-educate Baran and our daughter, Maya, who joined NACD in the summer of 2020.
Being a part of NACD has been wonderful for our family. Their programs are more than just an education plan. This is a lifestyle. Sara and Bob remind my husband and I all the time to challenge our kids, to give them chores, to assign tasks that will lead to more independence. I remember a few years ago I had a friend visit me from San Francisco. She and I were up late talking so I took the liberty to sleep late the next day. The next morning, Baran and Maya were up with their alarms, unloaded the dishwasher, and made breakfast for themselves before I even came downstairs the next morning. My friend, an early riser, was in awe of their self-sufficiency and chores at ages 10 and 12.
Our daughter Maya is a typical kid doing not-so-typical things. Over the past two years, we’ve been entertained by the plays she’s written, directed and acted in with the help of her neighborhood and homeschool friends. At one point, we had 22 adults sitting in lawn chairs in our driveway watching one of her plays being performed in our garage. She also started her own handmade greeting card business, Creative Cards, selling cards at children’s business fairs to raise money for a local dog shelter. NACD has encouraged us to let our kids explore their passions.
Our son, who doctors thought may never walk, found a passion in running cross-country. For three years he’s been participating in a local running company’s programs for kids his age. In 2024, he ran in our city’s annual 5k for a second time, this time coming in 40th place out of 1,000 runners and 10th in the under-19 age group. He also started taking drum lessons two years ago. At first, my husband and I were regretting our encouragement that he take up playing the drums. Our noisy household became even louder! But, two years later, we find ourselves really enjoying Baran’s jam sessions. Recently, he participated in his first concert onstage in front of an audience, and he joined a rock band with other musicians his age. He still struggles with reading comprehension and writing and seizures, but he’s finding his voice in music and keeping himself in great physical condition by running.
I still have days when I get frustrated and wonder if we’ll ever go beyond X numbers on digit spans or master a certain math concept. And then, Sara reminds me to look back at prior evaluations to see how far we’ve come!
Thank you, NACD, for helping us see the potential in our kids, despite their challenges, and for encouraging us, as parents, to encourage their independence and see that they are highly capable.
