APRIL 2022 EDITION:

In this issue: 

• Bob's Message: Raising a Child: The Most Important Job
• Featured Article: The Most Important Meal of the Day is Not Breakfast, It’s the Meal(s) the Family Has Together
• NACD on YouTube: NACD Program for Down Syndrome 
• Upcoming Evaluation Schedule

Raising a Child: The Most Important Job
by Bob Doman

There is no more important job that we ever have than raising a child.

Lest we lose sight of who bears the responsibility for raising our children—it belongs to the parents. One need not look too far to see the difference in outcomes relative to parental involvement or the lack of it.

I have assisted many thousands of involved proactive parents over the past five decades in raising their children, and I have seen firsthand the dramatic influence that parents have. The need covers the full spectrum of children, from those with severe issues, through the entire spectrum, up to the brilliant high achievers. The schools, professionals, and institutions cannot begin to compensate for a lack of parental involvement. Parents who have tended to abdicate their parental responsibilities continue to discover that their visions and expectations for their children are not being realized. 

I’m going to begin a campaign to help parents do a reset—to stand back, evaluate the degree to which they are rowing and steering the ship, help them see a way forward, and make a commitment to do more. To this end, I encourage you all to read the following article. It will help you to gain a bit of perspective as to how significant relatively “little” things can be, to help you begin to assess and develop your parental involvement, and to help you help your children achieve their innate potential

The Most Important Meal of the Day is Not Breakfast, It’s the Meal(s) the Family Has Together
by Bob Doman

If your children are infants, toddlers, of school age, or adults, or somewhere in between, family meals can be incredibly important. Whether our motivation is teaching a skill (such as eating or participating in meal preparation) or fostering family dynamics (such as communicating about the day, participating in discussions, building independent thinking), family meals may not just be the most important meals of the day, but the most important times of the day, or even their lives.

We are all aware that times have changed and that all the changes have not been for the better. Some of the more significant changes involve family, perception of family, and perhaps even the definition of family. There are many family traditions that are being lost in our fast-paced consumption-driven society. One very important piece that has been lost in many families is simply family meals. 

Over the past number of decades, I have observed an increase in several issues negatively affecting virtually all children that can be associated with missing family meals.

What's for Dinner?
 

Let’s look at our children of various ages and families at different stages and explore the significance of the family meal:

NACD Program for Autism Spectrum Disorders

April 2022

To view our list of chapters and complete schedule, click here