cerebral palsy: work on the brain, not just the limbs
Cerebral palsy is caused by something that happened to the brain, not the arms and legs. That understanding is what makes the NACD approach different. Since 1979, we have designed individualized home programs that move a child forward through the steps of typical development, with you.
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The standard advice, and what it misses
If your child or a child you know has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, you have probably already heard some of the standard advice from doctors and therapists. Cerebral palsy, which results from damage to parts of the brain in charge of motor control, has been treated the same way for decades. Therapists tend to work with limbs attempting to get better function. They also work with bracing strategies to help the child become more mobile.
This would all make perfect sense if cerebral palsy were a disease that attacked the limbs. But it is not.
Since 1979, NACD has worked with over 50,000 families, and children with cerebral palsy have been part of that work from the very beginning. This page explains how the assessment works, what a program addresses, and what NACD families have experienced.
The whole child, area by area
NACD evaluates all children using a neurodevelopmental assessment tool that tells us how your child is functioning across every area that matters. Using the results, the NACD staff generates a program of activities, drawn from a toolbox of more than 1,000 techniques, designed to move your child forward in each area.
Tactile processing
How your child’s brain receives and organizes touch, the foundation under body awareness and movement.
Auditory & visual processing
How your child takes in what they hear and see, which shapes language, learning, and interaction.
Language
Receptive and expressive language development, built step by step with daily input.
Manual competency
Hand use and fine motor function, developed through the same progression typical development follows.
Mobility
Movement taught progressively through the steps of typical development, giving the brain specific and relevant input.
Oral motor function
The motor foundation under speech and feeding, addressed with the same development-guided principle.
Typical development is the map
The child is moved progressively through the steps of typical development by giving the brain specific and relevant input. All movement that is taught follows the guidelines of typical development. The same principle is applied to the program pieces that address visual processing and function, oral motor function, auditory processing, language development, and manual function.
Education and cognition are part of the program
NACD also addresses your child’s educational development. By accurately assessing your child’s processing abilities, NACD is able to design a program that targets exactly how to instruct your child academically to produce the best results. The program also addresses strategies to improve your child’s overall cognitive functioning.
A child with cerebral palsy is a whole child. Motor function is one part of the picture, and the program treats it as one part, never the whole.
An eclectic approach, taught to you
The NACD approach is eclectic. Constantly seeking better ways to work with children, to move them toward a successful future, NACD continually adopts new strategies that work. As we learn more, we teach parents what we have learned.
As an organization of parents as well as professionals, NACD trains parents to work with their own children and empowers them with information and a program specifically designed for their unique child. Nobody is with your child more than you are, and nobody has more reason to keep going.
Testimonials From NACD Clients
Sarah – Beating the Odds!
Coco the Wonder Boy – Part 2A
Twenty Years Later
Cerebral Palsy: “Justin”
Cerebral Palsy: “Michael and Mark”
Dad keeps Pledge: Girl Walks
Three steps, starting free
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