genetic disorders: the diagnosis is real. the predictions aren’t.
More genetic disorders are being identified every year, and each one arrives with a list of predicted limitations. NACD was founded on the belief that no child’s future is predictable. Since 1979, our individualized home programs have helped children rise above the predictions made about their diagnosis.
Start Your Free Get Started Program
When the internet hands you a prognosis
With today’s expanding science and technology, many new genetic disorders have been identified. Along with listing a group of characteristics, websites regarding these disorders offer predictions of future limitations and problems, as well as a prognosis for a child with the disorder. Parents now seek services armed with this “wealth of information” and feel that their child’s future is already somewhat predictable.
A genetic disorder does not define the potential of an individual. Placing a child in a box with a label does not take into account the brain’s amazing ability to learn to function in new ways. It does not take into account the brain’s ability to learn to do processes using areas of the brain that were not previously utilized.
Since 1979, NACD has worked with over 50,000 families, including children with common, rare, and newly identified genetic disorders. This page explains how the approach works and what families have experienced.
Predictions have been wrong before
Children with Down syndrome were predicted to be unable to learn past the third grade.
Children with Down syndrome can be on the honor roll at all levels of schooling and can attend college.
This does not happen on its own but through the work of the parents using specific strategies. Just as those predictions were erroneous for children with Down syndrome, the predictions for many genetic disorders that are being made today will prove to be just as mistaken.
NACD offers specific things that you, the parent or professional, can do to help a child rise above the predictions made regarding their genetic disorder. NACD offers a plan and a supportive program that works.
Start from function, not from the label
NACD, through its neurodevelopmental evaluation process, identifies your child’s current level of function across the areas that matter:
- Auditory and visual processing
- Fine and gross motor skills
- Language
- Academics, when appropriate
Starting from that standpoint, as opposed to the standpoint of the genetic label, the NACD staff trains parents to move their child forward in all of those areas, drawing on a toolbox of more than 1,000 techniques. This pathway forward is not moving toward a predetermined dead end.
Your child’s brain can change and grow. Scientists call this “neuroplasticity,” and NACD trains parents to capitalize on it. Through intense input of appropriate, usable information, parents can have a profound and positive impact on their child’s development. The wonderful thing about this strategy is its ability to cause change in neurological function, and neurological change produces global changes in the individual. Unlike skill-based training, the neurodevelopmental approach addresses your child’s ability to think with complexity.
Some genetic conditions have their own page
NACD works with children with any genetic disorder, common, rare, or so new it barely has a name. Two of the most common diagnoses families come to us with have dedicated, in-depth pages of their own.
Down Syndrome
What’s actually possible for your child, the profile as a starting point, and what NACD families with Down syndrome have experienced.
Williams Syndrome
A parent’s guide to what’s actually possible, including Charlotte’s story of rewriting the prognosis entirely.
Bob Doman on Williams Syndrome
Bob Doman on Rett Syndrome
Three steps, starting free
Testimonials From NACD Clients
Abaza Family Testimonial
