should I push for correct sounds?

[Guest guest]

Hi, my daughter (almost 2) has just begun trying to

say some words when I ask her to. I don't know if she

has apraxia or even if she has a problem at all, but

it has taken me until now to even get her to ATTEMPT

to mimic words. I'm absolutely thrilled with the

progress!!! But, I'm not sure how hard I should try

to get a close approximation. Like if I ask her to

say doggy she might say " oh " (in a grunt-like fashion)

or if I ask for " drink " I might get " ga " . It's really

hard to describe the attempts I get, but usually they

are VERY far from the word and sound like different

versions of a grunt. So far I've been just going

crazy over any sound at all. She even claps for

herself now after she makes some type of sound. LOL

Anyway, I'm beginning to get concerned that maybe I

should try to get something a little closer. Could

this cause her to get lazy and not even try to make

the correct approximation? I also know that if she

does have apraxia, that pushing could be a bad thing.

This is one of those reasons I really wish she were in

therapy. I feel like I need guidance on this one. If

there's nothing wrong with her, then I should probably

push her, but if it's impossible for her to get any

closer I don't want her to just give up. She actually

seems to be trying so much harder now since she knows

how much attention and praise she will get.

Thanks for any advice!!

Bridget

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