Re: Apraxia?? Also EC-Preschool at 3 yrs??

[Guest guest]

I know what u mean about the preschool. My daughter will be 3 in May

and has been away from me only 2 times. I'm afraid if I leave her

since she has this speaking problem that she won't be able to

communicate with anyone. FORGET IT

----- Original Message -----

From: HoneyBoy's Mommy

Hi!

Our ST hasn't officially " diagnosed " ds with " apraxia "

but wondering if I could give background and see what

you all think.

[Guest guest]

Hi Jody,

Here is something from the archives that I wrote. Hope it helps from

a Mom who was there not to long ago. My son had maybe 20 intelligible

words when he turned 3. Lots of approximations that only myself and

some family members understood. This is a very confusing time as that

3 yr mark approaches.

********

I was a strong believer, that my son just has a speech problem, why

would I want to send him to a " special ed " program. When he received

his first diagnosis of apraxia at 3 in June, I was told act quickly

get him into a language intensive program as these years are critical.

Every district is different but this is how mine is. He received an

evaluation to see which program he would place in. (no charge) This

included, speech, cognitive, social and fine and gross motor skills.

I even had him observed at his private playgroup. That was actually

kind of funny. I wasn't there but when my son saw him come in he

remembered him and said " BYE car " , which 7 months ago was probably

the clearest thing he said!!

Our program (5 days 2hr. 15 min per day) incorporates speech and

language into every activity. It might be during circle time when

every day they say what day it is and dress the weather bear with

appropriate clothing! They sing songs, play on scooters, mini

trampolines, make stick horses and have

horse races. They do stuff with paste on a stick, scissors to also

help with fine motor skills. He also gets 1:1 speech 3X a week which

he is pulled out for. (this 1:1 is critical for apraxic kids, also

shoot for daily, I didn't b/c he gets 2X a week with insurance) I was

just able to get him OT, which is not uncommon for apraxic kids. This

program is the best thing I could have done. He loves his friends and

school. He is so much happier and more focused than before!!

They are or should be special ed teachers. My sons class has 1

teacher and 2 aides for 12 children. The SLP is in and out of the

classroom. My son is not potty trained. They'll change him if he

needs it. They will also help with potty training. Right now they

recommend to wait, they don't think he is ready. They do let him

stand there and flush and wash-up. He's got that part right!!

In terms of forcing him to do things, as special ed teachers they

know how to motivate the children. I NEVER thought my son would sit

for circle time but he does. Sometimes our children surprise us when

we aren't there. I use to take him to a Mommy and Me class. He would

cry and bolt for the door.

Lastly, many parents have a problem leaving their kids for pre-

school. You may be surprised. The first day of school was the worst,

he cried when that little bus came to get him. After he left I cried

my eyes out. But that day when he came home he was smiling from ear-

to ear!! The second day he ran onto the bus!!! Perhaps you want to

ease into this and hold off until September to do this when he is

more comfortable.

Some parents have eased their children in by maybe staying for a

little while and making it shorter and shorter each day.

I encourage you to look at the public school now to get an idea of

what they offer. I don't remember if you have a definite diagnosis

but that will help you get the services you need. I also encourage an

independent evaluation because sometimes the schools think their

evaluations are golden! I recently was able to get PT added after

having a private evaluation done. Probably a short-term thing but

nonetheless I want to deal with it and move on.

Best of luck to you and your son, feel free to write anytime!

> Hi!

>

> Our ST hasn't officially " diagnosed " ds with " apraxia "

> but wondering if I could give background and see what

> you all think.

>

> DS had normal birth, but was diagnosed with

> hydrocephalus and shunted at 7 months. Doctor said it

> shouldn't cause any learning troubles. He also had

> tubes in ears around a year due to fluid in ears

> (which could have caused a bit of hearing difficulty)

>

> Now ds will be 3 in March. He didn't say any words at

> all until about 2 months ago. Now he says probably

> about 40 or so, but many are not complete " words "

> (like " ha " for hot or " pee " for please, etc.)

>

> Right now he's on a vocalization EXPLOSION and he's

> singing a lot (mary had a little lamb and this old

> man, both with like " ma a ma a ma a " that kind of

> thing, but it's the right tune). He is constantly

> wanting me to say words (makes this noise that I know

> means he wants to hear the word, and I say it, and he

> almost always tries to copy me)

>

> Also, right now if I say " mama " he can say it and if I

> then say " please " he'll say it, but if I say, " Mama,

> please " then he'll just kind of do some jibberish

> thing in the same intonation I said the word in and

> get the number of syllables right, but it's not the

> word. Like if I say, " one, two, three " he'll go, " ah,

> Ah, AH "

>

> As a small baby he was slightly " hypotonic " according

> to the therapists, anyway. He's been in EI since he

> was about 6 months, first PT, then OT, then ST, all of

> which have been a waste of time IMO. I mean, they

> come once a week for 1/2 hour or so and play with him

> basically. I do that all day (sorry, little vent

> there which illustrates my lack of faith in our EI

> program).

>

> DS has a quiet personality, is gentle, loving, smiles

> and laughs a lot, doesn't have trouble blowing bubbles

> and all that, is very shy with peers. He seems to

> understand everything I say, can follow multi-step

> instructions.

>

> I'm sure there's more I could say but this is getting

> long. Any thoughts on whether he has " Apraxia " ? Or a

> late talker, if there is a difference (and what is it,

> anyway?)

>

> Okay... second question.... the EI wants to now put

> him in their preschool in the public schools. I'm

> extremely hessitant. He's never been in daycare or

> even been to babysitter except my sister, and that was

> only about 5 times. Is this the way to go? It seems

> to me they want to try to force social interaction on

> him. I don't like that, and I do NOT like the fact

> that they will make him follow their schedule of

> circle time and art time, etc. If he doesn't want to

> color, they're probably going to try to force him, at

> least that's how they do it in the EI playgroup. If

> it's circle time and the child wants to play on the

> slide, they say, " No, it's time to sit in the circle

> now, " and they FORCE them to. I just don't like that.

>

>

> I just don't know what to do. I'm confused. He just

> seems to be making progress lately.

>

> Sorry so long. My main questions are:

>

> Does it sound like my son has apraxia?

>

> If so, would preschool help or is one-on-one ST

> better?

>

> Thanks,

> Jody

[Guest guest]

I have the same concerns with my daughter and have decided to take her to

preschool

only if I may stay in the room as well ( not necessarily by her side, but

there). She

is " talking " so much (but not understandable to others), that I don't want her

to

become frustrated and stop trying. And despite the teachers' training or

experience,

a hard-to-understand, easily upset child takes special care that I don't feel

comfortable trusting to others. You can add in food allergies, too- I can't even

rely

on my husband to be careful enough about that. We also decided when she was born

to

make a financial sacrifice so that she would never be in the care of strangers,

at

least until she could tell us what happened each day. Obviously that will not

happen

soon. So, all in all, there won't be any independent preschool just yet!

Finley wrote:

> I know what u mean about the preschool. My daughter will be 3 in May

> and has been away from me only 2 times. I'm afraid if I leave her

> since she has this speaking problem that she won't be able to

> communicate with anyone. FORGET IT

>

> ----- Original Message -----

> From: HoneyBoy's Mommy

>

> Hi!

>

> Our ST hasn't officially " diagnosed " ds with " apraxia "

> but wondering if I could give background and see what

> you all think.

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I had a horrible experience with our district preschool. I have

twins, and one of my daughters was qualified for special ed and the

other didn't.

Since my daughter was so speech delayed, I thought the special ed

day class would be the best placement for her. Well, she cried

every day for 4 months. It was an afternoon program, and she threw

tantrums almost daily after I picked her up. She needed a nap, and

there was time for one.

The teacher was actually a SLP, but tried to force to talk.

She would withold food from if didn't ask for it.

couldn't kiss, blow bubbles, drink from a straw much less talk.

They never worked on her oral motor skills. She was supposed to be

evaluated by an OT and a PT, and she never was.

She started falling asleep in class because she was so tired.

The last straw was had a tantrum when she was supposed to come

inside from recess. They left her outside with a male janitor (who

or I had never met). I never sent her back after that.

The following year, we put her in a regular private preschool with

her sister. We've suplemented with speech and occupational

therapy. She loves school now! Her teachers love her. I wish she

had more speech therapy, but academically she is doing great. When

she was in the special ed class, her speech regressed. In the

private preschool, she has been making progress.

Just be careful and go into the classroom a lot. If your child

seems happy, then you know you've probably done the correct thing.

I didn't trust my instincts, and should have pulled my daughter

earlier. I think mom's know best (even more so than dads).

Good luck!

--- In @y..., " DMon98 " <dmharrison98@y...>

wrote:

> Hi Jody,

>

> Here is something from the archives that I wrote. Hope it helps

from

> a Mom who was there not to long ago. My son had maybe 20

intelligible

> words when he turned 3. Lots of approximations that only myself

and

> some family members understood. This is a very confusing time as

that

> 3 yr mark approaches.

>

> ********

>

> I was a strong believer, that my son just has a speech problem,

why

> would I want to send him to a " special ed " program. When he

received

> his first diagnosis of apraxia at 3 in June, I was told act

quickly

> get him into a language intensive program as these years are

critical.

>

> Every district is different but this is how mine is. He received

an

> evaluation to see which program he would place in. (no charge)

This

> included, speech, cognitive, social and fine and gross motor

skills.

> I even had him observed at his private playgroup. That was

actually

> kind of funny. I wasn't there but when my son saw him come in he

> remembered him and said " BYE car " , which 7 months ago was probably

> the clearest thing he said!!

>

> Our program (5 days 2hr. 15 min per day) incorporates speech and

> language into every activity. It might be during circle time when

> every day they say what day it is and dress the weather bear with

> appropriate clothing! They sing songs, play on scooters, mini

> trampolines, make stick horses and have

> horse races. They do stuff with paste on a stick, scissors to also

> help with fine motor skills. He also gets 1:1 speech 3X a week

which

> he is pulled out for. (this 1:1 is critical for apraxic kids, also

> shoot for daily, I didn't b/c he gets 2X a week with insurance) I

was

> just able to get him OT, which is not uncommon for apraxic kids.

This

> program is the best thing I could have done. He loves his friends

and

> school. He is so much happier and more focused than before!!

>

> They are or should be special ed teachers. My sons class has 1

> teacher and 2 aides for 12 children. The SLP is in and out of the

> classroom. My son is not potty trained. They'll change him if he

> needs it. They will also help with potty training. Right now they

> recommend to wait, they don't think he is ready. They do let him

> stand there and flush and wash-up. He's got that part right!!

>

> In terms of forcing him to do things, as special ed teachers they

> know how to motivate the children. I NEVER thought my son would

sit

> for circle time but he does. Sometimes our children surprise us

when

> we aren't there. I use to take him to a Mommy and Me class. He

would

> cry and bolt for the door.

>

> Lastly, many parents have a problem leaving their kids for pre-

> school. You may be surprised. The first day of school was the

worst,

> he cried when that little bus came to get him. After he left I

cried

> my eyes out. But that day when he came home he was smiling from

ear-

> to ear!! The second day he ran onto the bus!!! Perhaps you want to

> ease into this and hold off until September to do this when he is

> more comfortable.

>

> Some parents have eased their children in by maybe staying for a

> little while and making it shorter and shorter each day.

>

> I encourage you to look at the public school now to get an idea of

> what they offer. I don't remember if you have a definite diagnosis

> but that will help you get the services you need. I also encourage

an

> independent evaluation because sometimes the schools think their

> evaluations are golden! I recently was able to get PT added after

> having a private evaluation done. Probably a short-term thing but

> nonetheless I want to deal with it and move on.

>

> Best of luck to you and your son, feel free to write anytime!

>

>

[Guest guest]

I think that is a great idea. I posted about my problems with a

special ed preschool, and by being there you would eliminate any

problems. Also, you can really see if the program is beneficial to

your child.

--- In @y..., Barbara Eckert <borjeckert@m...>

wrote:

> I have the same concerns with my daughter and have decided to take

her to preschool

> only if I may stay in the room as well ( not necessarily by her

side, but there). She

> is " talking " so much (but not understandable to others), that I

don't want her to

> become frustrated and stop trying. And despite the teachers'

training or experience,

> a hard-to-understand, easily upset child takes special care that I

don't feel

> comfortable trusting to others. You can add in food allergies, too-

I can't even rely

> on my husband to be careful enough about that. We also decided

when she was born to

> make a financial sacrifice so that she would never be in the care

of strangers, at

> least until she could tell us what happened each day. Obviously

that will not happen

> soon. So, all in all, there won't be any independent preschool

just yet!

>

[Guest guest]

- In @y..., Barbara Eckert <borjeckert@m...>

wrote:

> I have the same concerns with my daughter and have decided to take

her to preschool

> only if I may stay in the room as well ( not necessarily by her

side, but there). She

> is " talking " so much (but not understandable to others), that I

don't want her to

> become frustrated and stop trying. And despite the teachers'

training or experience,

> a hard-to-understand, easily upset child takes special care that I

don't feel

> comfortable trusting to others. You can add in food allergies, too-

I can't even rely

> on my husband to be careful enough about that. We also decided

when she was born to

> make a financial sacrifice so that she would never be in the care

of strangers, at

> least until she could tell us what happened each day. Obviously

that will not happen

> soon. So, all in all, there won't be any independent preschool

just yet!

This is how I feel. He has not been in daycare, and I'm almost

feeling like this will be like daycare in a way. And also wanting

him to be able to tell me what happened in the day, he won't be able

to do that. And third, the therapist/teachers were almost LAUGHING

about stories of some of the kids crying and crying until like on

the 4th day they stopped. That just really scares me - very

insensitive IMO.

Jody

******* still confused.

[Guest guest]

This is a very interesting topic and one I can relate to. I can only hope

that some town child study teams and schools are reading these posts. I

agree that every child is different. It always struck me as unatural one

someone would say that the more delays a child has, the more important for

that child to be yanked away from his/her home and put in a full day program.

I am not doubting that that has worked for many, but knowing my children as I

do, even my 2 typically developing sons would get too upset.

I also mentioned to my case manager from the town, that I should be with my

child at least in the beginning, because I had to explain to the teachers

what she meant, what motivates her, why she is doing what she is doing, and

this is especially more important since she has a severe receptive/expressive

delay. Also, what is their problem with letting parents stay in the therapy

sessions? My child benefits when I am there because I can follow through at

home. Both of my private therapists want me there.

I wish I could find a preschool for kids with special needs that understood

that in NJ. If anybody knows of one, please email. thanks, Carolyn

aigjr@...

[Guest guest]

Hi!!

My son was diagnosed with verbal dyspraxia (apraxia) at the age of 2 1/2.

Like you he was never left with a sitter (still isn't and he is 4 1/2 - yes

I am a little overprotective!) and never went to a day care. When he was 3

I followed the advice of his dr.'s and enrolled him in a private preschool

for 3 days a week in the mornings. I was very hesitant about it and didn't

quite think he was ready, reglardless of his age. I was right. We ended up

having to take him out after 5 LONG weeks. He was still essentially

non-verbal and I think it was all too much for him, too soon.

Now - fast forward one year. He is 4 and now I am thinking he is ready,

although a little hesitant. I try another preschool 5 days a week from 8 -

12. It is very scheduled and very educational (not a day care type

setting). The first week was hard on us both - but hard in a good way. Now

he is 4 1/2, loves school, has great friends, is writing his name and the

alphabet (he never wrote or colored before he started!) and learning

spanish!! I wish I had trusted my instincts the first time when I knew he

wasn't ready. Every child developes at his own pace. is in the 3

year old class - but so are 2 other boys. They will all be going to

Kindgergarten next year and skipping the 4 year old class.

I can tell he has bad memories of last year as he refuses to call his

current preschool - school. He remembers that as the place he went to last

year that he did not like. He says he's going to " work " like daddy does.

He even corrects his teacher when she calls it school!!!

My advice is to follow your instincts and trust your heart. YOU know your

son better than ANYONE...YOU know what is best for him. Make sure you are

making a distinction between being overprotective and knowing he isn't

ready. I wish I had trusted my heart.

You can read 's full story at http://www.verbaldyspraxia.com. if you

would like.

Good luck and keep us all posted!!

Carnell

North carolina

CHERAB Support

http://www.ubah.com/C1857 GREAT educational books kids love - they

stimulate speech! Sign up now to win $50 in free books!

[ ] Apraxia?? Also EC-Preschool at 3 yrs??

> Hi!

>

> Okay... second question.... the EI wants to now put

> him in their preschool in the public schools. I'm

> extremely hessitant. He's never been in daycare or

> even been to babysitter except my sister, and that was

> only about 5 times. Is this the way to go? It seems

> to me they want to try to force social interaction on

> him. I don't like that, and I do NOT like the fact

> that they will make him follow their schedule of

> circle time and art time, etc. If he doesn't want to

> color, they're probably going to try to force him, at

> least that's how they do it in the EI playgroup. If

> it's circle time and the child wants to play on the

> slide, they say, " No, it's time to sit in the circle

> now, " and they FORCE them to. I just don't like that.

>

>

> I just don't know what to do. I'm confused. He just

> seems to be making progress lately.

>

> Sorry so long. My main questions are:

>

> Does it sound like my son has apraxia?

>

> If so, would preschool help or is one-on-one ST

> better?

>

> Thanks,

> Jody

>