NAET was developed by Dr. Devi S. Nambudripad, a California acupuncturist, chiropractor, kinesiologist and a registered nurse, in an attempt to relieve herself of severe allergic symptoms suffered since her birth in Kerala, South India.

While working on her Ph.D. at Samra University of Oriental Medicine in Los Angeles, she observed that people presenting allergic symptoms often responded favorably to acupuncture or acupressure treatment.  After recognition of the systemic relationship between contact with an allergen and the resulting neuro-physiological effects produced in the body, she began to discover the key to the mystery of how the brain may be reprogrammed in its response to what it once took to be harmful or toxic.

Her own experience and personal interest led her to develop the method later referred to collectively as NAET, and to specialize exclusively in the diagnosis and treatment of allergies.