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NACD - The National Association for Child Development Newsletter
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Volume 4, Issue 6
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November 2011
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ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS AN iPAD
(Or, Making the Most of the iPad You Already Have)
by Ellen Doman
With Christmas right around the corner, we are all trying to figure how to get gifts that are really worth getting for our children. When it comes to larger ticket items, it is hard to beat an iPad for usefulness and continued relevance. This is not a gadget that will get put away, but rather a device that can continue to be altered to fit changing needs, changing attention spans, and changing processing levels. This is why we like it so much.
It is hard to beat a device that can review modular math in a way that is actually fun and can also review algebra operations in a way that is pretty fun as well. It can also review telling time or making change, as well as quiz math fact-- all in a way that looks a lot like play. With this device we can do language photos, receptive language cards, math fact review, math process reviews, analogies for SAT review, and Critical Reading for the SAT, as well as animal flashcards that are real photos and make the sound of each animal, bird songs, white noise to help your child sleep, a virtual piano keyboard, number tracing, Science flashcards for middle school and elementary school students, virtual tours of European cities, star charts that show your own bit of the universe, and more, and more, and more. It can coach your child until he or she is ready for a 5K.
I have to admit that I was a skeptic, being more of a Barrel-of-Monkeys person myself. I am not generally a lover of electronic devices for my kids or for yours. The huge benefit here is that the children love the device, and I can keep changing it to fit the child's needs. So if I start out teaching the child to talk and to identify common things, I can use apps for that. Then if I am trying to help the child string more words together, I can use apps for that. Then as I'm teaching the child to read, I can use apps for that. As I add math concepts, I can use apps for that. If I follow this child all the way up to college, there will continue to be apps I can use that will both help and entertain the child, while we reach our goals.
Now the other handy thing is that you, the parent, can have your own folder with apps to make you happy. There are workout apps, recipe apps, flight tracking apps, and a great word dictionary app that I keep on hand. So it isn't all Angry Birds (although there are quite a few parents out there who have that one).
To use it to the best advantage, change the apps frequently. Many of them are free, and others are often a dollar. We recommend adding new apps and hiding some old ones each week. You will see your child pay renewed attention to this new input. Kid Calc and a few others may stay on for a while, but many can be circulated in and out of use. Interact with your child and the iPad. This will help ensure that your child is not stimming on an app and is interacting with it appropriately. It also helps to ensure that you are getting the most out of the app. As technology advances there seem to be many new and high-intensity learning opportunities coming our way. Where was all of this fun stuff when I was trying to get my kids to remember math facts? Be that as it may, I am delighted to see it arrive now. So whether your child needs help to pronounce a long "e" sound or help to get high scores on the SAT, this may really help. There will always be a place for barrels of monkeys and little wind-up horses in the life of children. We still need balls to bounce and slides to climb, books to read, and pencils. As a supplement to learning, however, this iPad is hard to beat.
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BRAG
Working with "T"
by Sara Erling
"T was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder when he was 4. Before we started with NACD 2 years ago, he had a high-pitched tone in his speech and he was afraid of loud noises. He could not take the regular school bus because it was too loud. He was in a mainstream classroom but got pulled out for reading. He got very nervous when he was in a new environment and demonstrated high anxiety levels." - T's mom "I evaluated T in June of 2009. He was 6 ½ years old at the time and was going to repeat Kindergarten due to the need for 1:1 and a significant delay in his reading abilities. T had processing levels of a 3-4 year old. T had tactile and auditory hypersensitivities, was hyperperipheral, had low tone, low strength, articulation issues due to being slightly tongue tied, as well as having auditory tonal processing issues. Academically he was behind grade level in reading, although doing well in math. He also had a lot of avoidance behavior and was a light sleeper. While he did not have many Debilitating Sensory Addictive Behaviors, his sensory channels and low processing made it nearly impossible for him to function in a group setting. "T continued to attend school, and his mom worked with him in the mornings and after school, consistently, on his program. Two years later he no longer qualifies for special education services. His reading has improved 6 years and he is now an accelerated reader and loves math! His processing levels have increased three developmental years. He is no longer hyperperipheral - he looks at you when he talks with you and is quite funny. They addressed his auditory tonal processing and his articulation through TLP and TSI: Focused Attention, along with our SLP's recommendations. He is no longer hyperauditory. T's tactility, strength, and muscle tone continue to improve. While he does still try to pull some avoidance behavior, Mom is on top of it and he knows what he supposed to do! Most importantly, he is tuned in, present, smart, witty, and loves to do what all 8-year-old boys do! Way to go, Mom and Dad, for working so hard with T. He is such a joy and I love to work with him! " - Sara Erling, T's NACD Developmentalist "After working with Sara for two years, T is a total different boy today. He rides on the regular school bus happily, and he loves to go to movies, and is not afraid of the loud noise anymore. He is reading above grade level, and he loves math. His speech improved tremendously, and his high-pitched tone is almost gone. He is a very happy and confident 2nd grader. Thank you for helping him reach his potential!" - T's mom
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KIDS CORNER
Face the Challenge
by Lavanya Guhan
 A challenge, even though very tough Is a kind of opponent That eats you up in an instant very greedily And spits you out as fire bolts And although this omnipotent creature Never has an owner It still can do whatever it wants To strike you right away So do not collapse, do not fall And strive to achieve your best For there are rewards, like golden eggs, Hiding in its nest But there is no after Just focus on defeating the malevolent dragon And rewards will come your way But there is a strategy Just face your challenge. "When things are tough, I must face them. There must not be any past, I know, for the only way to get a tomorrow Is to finish today's challenges." Lavanya Guhan age 13 Note from Lavanya's mom: You have to appreciate the tenacity of our kids -- Lavanya started with NACD when she was 3 years old. She was processing one step directions, had a severe convergent strabismus, daily seizures, and she stimmed - a lot - -okay, pretty much all the time if we let her. We have been on program for 10 years now. We are very thankful to have stuck it out through good times and bad, progress, plateaus and regression (yes, we even had those- several times - every flu season when she would be sick and have fluid in her ears, every change in seizure medication meant new side effects, every allergic reaction meant a week of not sleeping and so on). But through it all, we stuck to our NACD program, and it served us well. Of course it was tough, and yes, we as a family had to give up other things to make it work - - we did not socialize as much, I took to working part time, I cooked on weekends and froze for the week, I prepared materials every Sunday evening (oh, if only they had iPads back then!), my parents moved to this country, my husband passed up on promotions that would involve more travel, we homeschooled part time, we homeschooled full time, we organized our planners like crazy etc. - whatever it took to make it work; and to this day, we have no regrets over any of it. What I would have regretted is not doing our best for her - -and in my mind, that is the program. We have really not looked to anyone else for advice on her development for the past 10 years other than NACD. I remember Bob Doman telling me early on (one of those times when I was feeling particularly discouraged) that as a parent, I have no idea where we would be in 10 years, and he had worked with so many kids over so many years that he could see Lavanya as she would be in 10 years, and not as she was then. He was right. And now here we are 10 years later. Lavanya is academically at grade level and sequencing 8-10, and more importantly, she is able to do laundry, is starting to cook and handle money, and runs on the treadmill, and reads Harry Potter, has a positive self image - - the mantra in our house is everything is possible with motivation and effort. Yes, she has challenges, and as expressed in her own words - the only way to deal with them is to face them head on and overcome them. And the best time to do it is right now. I am sharing this poem with all of you in the hopes that it inspires you, as it inspired me when she first showed it to me. We have come a long way, and we have a long way to go, but "By George, I think she's got it!" Vidya Guhan NACD mom and staff
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PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT
NatGeo: "How to Be" Series
Do you have a child who wants to be a pirate? Or maybe an Egyptian princess? Maybe they are too old for that but are really into learning about the Revolutionary War or ancient Greece?
The National Geographic series "How To Be" contains books with factual information about various time periods and places, and provide vivid pictures on how to be a specific person in that time period.
For only $5.95, your child will enjoy reading these books with you or independently. Besides lots of great information, the books provide you with questions to ask, a glossary of new vocabulary, and further reading recommendations on the topic.
If your child tends to get stuck and obsess on a particular thing or topic, these books just might do the trick at turning him/her onto something new! The holiday season is fast approaching, and these are an inexpensive gift to add to your child's learning library! Visit the link below to order! 
PRODUCT DEAL OF THE WEEK! Buy all 8 National Geographic "How to Be" books for $40 for this week only!
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
Free Videos Available!
 Check out our YouTube channel to see our growing list of videos.
To access the NACD channel, click the link below or go to youtube.com. In the search box, search for NACDDOTORG.
More videos to come soon, so stay tuned!
http://www.youtube.com/user/NACDDOTORG
New Chicago Evaluation Location starting in December 2011
Embassy Suites Chicago/Oak Brook
707 East Butterfield Road
Lombard, IL 60148
Phone: 630-969-7500
Important!
Please note the following change to the fee schedule for NACD families:
Additional charges will be accrued at a rate of $250/hour for telephone or Skype meetings with school personnel, therapists, etc., as well as for letters or reports.
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UPCOMING EVALUATION DATES
November 2011
St. Louis Bay AreaAtlantaPhiladelphiaCharlottesvilleOgdenDallasIndiaDecember 2011 Los Angeles PhiladelphiaBoiseOrlandoChicagoMilwaukeeOgdenDallas IndiaJanuary 2012 Ogden PhoenixPhiladelphiaSeattleCincinnatiDallasIndia
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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 2011 The National Assocation for Child Development™. All rights reserved.
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NACD will be conducting evaluations in the following cities.