The Science Behind Simply Smarter
45 years of working directly with the brain. Not studying it from a distance.
Simply Smarter isn’t built on theory. It’s built on practice — over 1 million hours of direct clinical application with tens of thousands of individuals, by the organization that has been doing this work since 1979.
The Founder
Robert J. Doman Jr.
When Bob Doman went to college in 1965, he carried a gem from his father — a physician who worked with brain-injured children: you can change brains. He discovered no one else seemed to know this. His first experiment: could he significantly change his own “memory”? He worked at his digit spans, changed them significantly, and saw the results in his college work and his ability at 19 to develop a successful math program for special needs children.
This began a sixty-year quest to understand how we learn, think, and function — and how to improve it. In 1979, he founded NACD. Within a year: ten chapters, 500 children, a living laboratory of daily practice. What emerged was an understanding that memory wasn’t really the right word. Short-term memory, working memory, executive function — these were all part of the brain’s ability to process information. Strengthen that processing, and everything else follows.
“Our innate intelligence to the power of our processing ability plus education determines functional intelligence. Smarter is always better.”
— Robert J. Doman Jr., Founder, NACD
How NACD Thinks About the Brain
The foundation of all learning is the ability to process information.
NACD works with whole children — all aspects of development, education, and daily function within the context of their family. Underlying everything is Bob’s understanding that “what develops changes and what changes can be developed.” With the understanding of how to actually apply the key components of neuroplasticity, NACD believes none of us are reaching our true, virtually unlimited potentials.
What NACD learned from special needs children — helping a child with Down syndrome reach the top of their typical classroom, watching a child labeled ADHD and learning disabled excel and go to college at 14 — these became the approaches that help everyone. The processing activities that NACD developed and tested across an international caseload, applied five days a week by real families, became the foundation for Simply Smarter.
Video Library
Simply Smarter 2.0 includes a Video Library — animated videos by Bob Doman covering Frequency, Intensity, Duration, Visualization, Conceptualization, and more. The same philosophy and guidance NACD provides to its clients, built directly into the program.
Research Library
For the full body of research behind Simply Smarter’s methodology — 80+ peer-reviewed studies on working memory, processing speed, neuroplasticity, and cognitive training:
Experience what 45 years of clinical work feels like.
14-day free trial. No credit card. 79 activities built on 45 years of direct clinical practice.