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NACD - The National Association for Child Development Newsletter
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Volume 3, Issue 1
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February 2010 |
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ARE YOU UP FOR MY SIMPLY SMARTER CHALLENGE?
by Bob Doman
In preparation for NACD's entirely new Simply Smarter online system--which will develop and network your brain, improve your ability to attend, learn and think, and as a result help you do virtually everything you do better--we are offering a challenge. The Simply Smarter Challenge is open to everyone who has access to the present Simply Smarter Program.
Our new online program is going to be a dynamic program, which means it will grow and change as we analyze the results and user feedback. We will add, drop and modify activities and pieces as we proceed. The new system, which will start with at least 20 targeted activities, will be separated into four levels based on cognitive abilities (i.e. one's ability for complex thought). Each person using our new system will receive a program that is targeted to his or her specific level of cognitive ability.
The new Simply Smarter will address the needs of individuals with basic processing skills all the way up to what may become some of the highest functioning, best thinkers on the planet. Each of the highest-level cognitive activities will require users to process complex auditory and visual information, visualize (think in pictures) and conceptualize (think in words), and in some cases also carry out mental computations.
Click here to read the rest of this article
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Motivation in 2010
By Lyn Waldeck It is that time of the year again. It's the season when your local health clubs are advertising heavily to convince you that you need to recommit to exercise. It is the time of year that the Container Store runs their sales on products to help you organize. It is the time of year when people share their New Year's Resolutions and contemplate what they want to do differently in the upcoming year. There are so many things to think about doing better, and all too often it stops there, at just the thought. As you look forward to the upcoming year with your children, do not let it be just a passing thought. Look carefully as WHAT you are doing, HOW you can do it better, and the reason as to WHY you are doing it in the first place. Click here to read the rest of this article |
KIDS CORNER
Rahil Verma, India
Hi everybody! I am Rahil Verma, and I am 19 years old. I live in New Delhi, India. I have been doing NACD program for three years now. I love my NACD program. I love to play golf, squash and tennis. I am learning jazz dancing and playing violin. During my free time I watch you tube videos and play computer games. I don't like doing chores, but I am learning to do them better. I like all kinds of foods and I enjoy making calls to people. I have learnt that it is not wise to disturb people at any odd hours by calling them.Prachi and Ranu help me to do the program every day at the NACD center. I look forward to meeting my friends at the NACD center every day. I don't feel friendless any more, now that I have Prachi and Ranu. I become repetitive and anxious sometimes. When I get anxious I yell and I scream and I don't think. Meditation helps me at that time. When I have anxiety Prachi helps me to control myself. I think my earplugs are also helping me these days.I work hard on my NACD program. I have to wear my ear plug for the whole day. I do sequencing, mental math, thinking questions, these activities are helping me. I go to R Vision and Cube solution to learn work. I am appearing for my Exam through national open school. NACD Program has helped me develop my skills. Now I am the best at my pallavanjali school. I know NACD will help me to go to the next level and do better.Thank you Bob for giving me the NACD Program.
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"BRAGS" Part IAbby's Road
By Ellen Doman Abby is a bright and chatty young lady. She recently turned seven and attends first grade at her local elementary school. Abby has been with NACD since she was almost three. By age four she was on age level for her auditory processing. She was reading high interest words and speaking in short sentences. She enjoyed talking with adults and other children. Her play was very age-appropriate. By age six she was doing math and reading with confidence. She was conversant. She was also attending public school and, of course, able to get on and off of the bus herself, go to class by herself, and perform other skills that you would expect from a six year old.Abby is in first grade this year. She reads above grade level and is great at math computation. Her reading comprehension is strong. She handles herself in an evaluation the way you would expect an older child to behave. She works independently and diligently. She converses easily on a number of topics, including her Hannah Montana shirt that was a Christmas present, she explains, from her grandparents. Her parents have done such a great job with her on program.The not-so-happy part of this story is the fact that Abby's parents have had to battle to have the school district to allow Abby to ride on a regular school bus. They continue to battle to keep Abby in regular education classes. In fact, Abby's parents continue to need to educate Abby around that long public school day while they fight for a better education during the school day. So, Abby's road is tough. This is not because Abby is not a good student. It is because Abby has Down Syndrome. It is so unfortunate that parents who are tremendously invested in their children and who have taken responsibility for educating their children still have such a battle with school districts. We see it all over the country. Abby's mom is a nurse. She is fighting long and hard to get Abby to be treated fairly in her school. It's obvious that this will be a long road. Some day I truly hope that every child will have the right to be educated.
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"BRAGS" Part IIMy Buddy, Caleb
By Ellen Doman I want everyone to meet Caleb. He's eight years old and has been with NACD for two years. When I first met Caleb in St. Louis, he was spending most of his time engaged in visual sensory play. It made it hard for him to focus on conversations. His processing was very delayed, and he was very fearful of many sounds. I remember this very nervous little boy coming in to the evaluation and having lots of trouble focusing on anything that I was saying to him.This week when I saw him in Wisconsin, he had lots to tell me. Caleb is now quite the talker. He loves a good conversation and talks on a very large variety of topics. About once a month, Caleb writes to me and sends me drawings of things that are of interest to him. Last month, I received a great diagram and paragraph about his designing his own indoor miniature putting course. The advantage of his course is that you could rearrange it to play it in many different ways. Caleb enjoys building things out of wood for projects as well.  Caleb now has a huge vocabulary and finds it amusing to use synonyms for words in his readers as he reads them aloud to his mother. The trick is to catch him doing it! He tests three grades above the average reading level of his peer group. Does he understand what he's reading? He can tell you all about what he's reading and add what he already knew on that topic as well. Caleb and his family are about to move for the second time this year to a new home in Wisconsin. We wish them well. Caleb pointed out that his new house is very nice but does not have the vaulted ceilings of their current house. His mother noted that the lack of vaulted ceilings should make for a quieter home since Caleb is such a talker now.Since he received slot cars for Christmas, Caleb has written a bit about them for the newsletter. Now that his dominance is fixed, his handwriting is much more legible. He's worked hard on it.I'm proud of you, Caleb! Keep up the good work!
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ANNOUNCEMENTS NACD NOW IN CHARLOTTESVILLE!
We are very pleased to announce the opening of a new NACD evaluation site in Charlottesville, Virginia.The Charlottesville site will open February 15, with the first round of evaluations being Feb. 15-19.If you would like to schedule an evaluation here, please contact:
BJ (email): bj@nacd.org OR
(phone) 610-738-8816.
ANNUAL NACD RENDEZVOUS 2010
The dates for the 2010 Rendezvous have been set. Mark your calendars!
June 24-28, 2010
Ogden Valley, UT
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UPCOMING EVALUATION DATES
February 2010St. LouisSacramentoFt. LauderdaleAtlantaOgdenWest ChesterDallasCharlottesvilleMarch 2010Los AngelesChicagoBoiseOrlandoWest ChesterOgdenDallas
UPCOMING EVENTS
Ellen Doman to Speak!
Ellen will present at the Annual Conference for the Down Syndrome Association of Greater St. Louis in March 2010.
When:
March 6, 2010
Where:
Maryville University, University Auditorium
650 Maryville University Drive
St. Louis, MO
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CONTACT USNACD - The National Association for Child Development National Headquarters 549 25th Street Ogden, UT 84401 801.621.8606 info@nacd.orgwww.nacd.org
Copyright 2010 The National Assocation for Child Development™. All rights reserved.
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NACD will be conducting evaluations in the following cities. 