WHY DO PROGRAM WITH YOUR CHILD? 

by Ellen Doman

How many times have family members, neighbors, church members, and friends asked you why you are doing program with your child? It happens a lot, doesn't it? Sometimes you even wonder why you are making such a big effort. You are certainly surrounded by parents that are going along with the status quo. Why don't you?

Many of you know that I have a new grandson. His name is Corbin, and he is, of course, the most beautiful child ever. When I am with Corbin, I wish with all my being that this child has the very best life possible, that he grow up to become everything that he can possibly be. I want no doors closing on this child. He looks up at me full of happiness and interest. He is amazed by moving leaves, ceiling fans, and other stimmy things in his environment. He is amazed by his toes, my voice, his dad's face, and his Aunt Tanyshia's smile.

I know that you can remember these feelings watching your child. Nothing is more precious than your child or your grandchild. That's why you are doing program. You are doing program so that your child can think more complex thought. You are doing program so that your child is more coordinated. You are doing program so that your child can take any coursework that he or she wants to take. You are doing program so that your child can communicate with others, move freely in the world, solve problems, help others, and lead a fulfilling life.

It would, for some people, be easy to just take little Corbin as he is and enjoy him. I do enjoy him tremendously. Of course, I am also doing deep pressure, arm brushing, pursuits, some leg unlocking, some sound CDs, some mouth stimulation, some trigeminal stimulation, some showing and naming, some face-to-face alphabet (which he adores), and a few other things.  He deserves the very best future that I can give him. Your child deserves the very best future that you can give him or her.

If you have a teen or you are an adult on program, you have already seen the impact that neurological issues can have. Whether it is difficulty with coursework, difficulty communicating, or difficulty staying on task, your adult life can rapidly be defined by what you have avoided in order to be able to function well. What professions did you rule out? What projects did you not even try? What impact did poor grades have on your self- esteem?

We do program with our teens or we do it as adults to fix problems that have already arisen. We want to be more organized, feel and act in a more competent way, stay on tasks until they are completed well. We want to pursue our goals in careers that we value and not be stopped by inability to learn and retain information. We want our teens to be and feel competent, to self-manage well and thrive in academic and work environments without needing constant supervision and external motivation.

This is why you are doing program. It's important.

HAVE YOU HUGGED A COACH TODAY?    

by Lori Riggs MA, CCC/SLP Director, Center for Speech and Sound  

If you are an NACD family already, you know that NACD is a very dynamic organization. Nothing is status quo-we're always looking for and thinking of ideas to make what we do better. One of the best "better" things we have done, in my opinion, is to add the coaches to our staff in 2010. While you typically don't see their names front-and-center in our newsletter, they are daily hard at work behind the scenes, offering our families as much program support as they can give.

One thing that makes our coaches uniquely designed to help you is that they have (or have had) children on program themselves. (Or, in the case of Prachi, our wonderful evaluator and coach in India, she daily implements program with children on her caseload.) They know what it means to have to prioritize, to fit program into real life, and to persevere with the daily routine. Because of their own experiences, they truly can and want to help you, support you, and answer your questions.

If you are not currently taking advantage of the support your coach has to offer, I encourage you to do so right away. You already have someone in your court who is willing to provide as much hand-holding or problem-solving as you need. They are there for you-so stay in touch with them! And please keep in mind that our coaches have very busy schedules, with lots and lots of calls and e-mail every day. So please be considerate of their time and let them know if you will not be available for your scheduled call from them.

We are very proud of the work that our coaches are doing and want to give a big THANK YOU to each of them!

• Stacey Whitten
• Glenda Boyajian
• Sara Erling
• BJ Owen-Tubbs
• Cori Longfellow
• Mary Beth Franzen
• Prachi Sinha
• Vidya Guhan 

PREPARING PARENTS FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR    

by Ellen Doman   

Isn't it amazing that the new school year is almost here again? Many parents and children really dread the thought. Although some of you are just now starting to actually enjoy your summer, the school year lurks just weeks away. If you are taking a moment to cover your eyes trying to banish the thought of what lies ahead, may I suggest a better course of action?

Your evaluator and coach will be there to walk you through what is the very best course of action to take with your child. You are not doing this school year without our help! But before we even get started on the details of what needs to be done with your child, before you purchase that book bag or order what you plan to use for your at-home school year, I suggest that we get your thinking on track.

If you are the at-home guide to your child's school year success, we need to be utterly sure that your frame of reference is correct. Every year I have parents coming in making statements such as, "Maybe he has ADD," or, "Maybe he's dyslexic." Those of you who have done this have seen me take a very deep breath before responding.  Part of our mission at NACD is to educate parents. You need to know what we know. When you don't know what we know, you get very confused by what others are saying or by what you are reading on blogs, message boards, or wherever you may get information.

Our goal is to educate you to become an expert on your own child. Our goal is to educate you so well that you could lead others on the message boards. In our continuing effort to educate you, I suggest that you go to our bookstore and order a CD or DVD to refresh your understanding of your child and the issues that are causing trouble for your child.  Whether you listen to "Learning and Attention Issues" or a "Guide to Learning Disabilities" or the "Guide to the Parent Teacher," you will learn or review basic principles relative to your child and issues that you may confront during this school year.

With a firm and refreshed memory of how various neurological functions impact your child's learning and behavior, you will be much better equipped to interact with your child, teachers, and even your own evaluator. An educated parent is a wonderful thing. Both you and your child will benefit from the calm confidence derived from being well-informed. In just a few minutes a day in the car or while you are doing chores, you can learn and review why your child may be having difficulty learning or focusing and why we do what we do on programs.

So take a few minutes and go to the website bookstore. You will find a wealth of informative CDs and DVDs. Help yourself to an education. They make lovely gifts for teachers as well! You may want also to pass them on to grandparents and aunts and uncles. When the extended family is well-informed, they are often also very helpful and supportive. So let's prepare for the school year by first educating ourselves.

Remember that we expect success!

KIDS CORNER  

NACD JIGSAW PUZZLE 

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PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT   

TSI: BOOST - SETS & INDIVIDUAL DISCS  

Surround yourself with the sounds of language!

NACD's TSI: Boost, with music enhanced in the speech range, can:

• enhance your auditory environment
• increase attention to speech
• help filter out background noise
• improve auditory processing