Bergen County meeting notes Wed April 10, 2002

[Guest guest]

Bergen County meeting notes of April 10. 2002

The meeting opened with President Jeanne Buesser reminding the 18 persons in

attendance of the picnic to be run by the network on Saturday, May 4th, from

11am to 3pm. There will be games, entertainment, crayons and coloring table

for the children. Parents and kids find this a valuable time to meet and

mingle, relax, have fun and make new friends. This 3rd annual picnic will be

in Van Saun Park, 216 Forest Ave, Paramus, NJ in Area D (Park in Lot 4). All

persons are urged to mail a contribution of $10 per family to cover the cost

of pizza, dessert and soda. Send it before April 25th to the Apraxia Network,

P.O. Box 1142, Paramus, NJ 07653-1142. The next meeting after the picnic will

be May 8th, 2002, Mr. Greenberg will speak about Applied Behavior Analysis

(ABA) for your child.

President Buesser noted that tonight's meeting was the second anniversary of

the start of the Apraxia Network of Bergen County. In that short period the

Network has become a federal 501© (3) nonprofit organization accepting

tax-deductable contributions, and has a website for continuing education of

parents with affected children. The Network is now a Provider of Information

for child development professionals and is registered with the Department of

Education, State of New Jersey.

Tonight's speaker, Robyn Merkel-Piccini, was introduced as a Licensed Speech

Pathologist working full time through the Ridgefield Board of Education and

also engaged in private oral-motor and myofunctional disorders in children.

Ms. Merkel-Piccini spoke tonight as a member of the speakers bureau of

Innovative Therapists International (ITI), a group established by Sara

Rosenfeld-, a speech and language pathologist. Ms. Rosenfeld-

has perfected her unique method of oral-motor speech therapy that has

succeeded with some children where more traditional methods have failed.

The ITI markets products like educational programs, books, videos and therapy

materials for oral-motor therapy, available for parents as well as

professional therapists. A catalog can be had by phoning ITI at

1-888-529-2879, or at www.talktoolstm.com.

Ms. Piccini's talk was divided into Part I, given this evening, and Part II,

a further discussion of oral-motor therapy, to be given next November. She

discussed the meaning of speech apraxia (a neurological disorder causing the

inability to make intelligible words) and dysarthria (a neurological disorder

affecting mouth-muscle function, causing inability to articulate words,

stammering, etc. She also touched on a combination of these conditions, and

myofunctional disorders.

For parents whose child has been diagnosed as above, it is essential to know

the State codes governing correction of these conditions. Independent

evaluations, including a hearing test, must be performed. A speech-language

pathologist must make a correct diagnosis and determine the medical and

educational impact of the condition on the child.

An " advocate " may be needed for inexperienced parents to learn their rights

for early intervention to get the special state-paid school services needed

to treat the condition. The evaluation is done under Chapter 14 of the

Administration Special Education Code, 6 (a) 14-34. Ms. Piccini recommended

that parents videotape their children to help in an analysis of the child's

condition, and to measure progress. Parents should not hesitate to ask

questions and state their personal goals for the child so that practical

results can be paced and understood. Ms. Piccini said she works on a

muscle-first examination ( poor posture, slack standing, etc.) and then

attends to the motor-planning skills.

The speaker was against the use of " sippy " cups because the mouthpiece was

not therapeutic and did not help the child. She divided oral-motor treatment

into three tiers: feeding ( sensory, chewing, using straws, expanding the

diet, developing muscle tone and sequencing-- moving food in the mouth for

proper swallowing.) The second tier of oral-motor exercises included using

horns, bubble, airflow, phonation, muscle memory and a transition to speech

production. The third tier was manual facial cueing ( PROMPT method) and Lip

Reading (aural rehab). After adjournment of the meeting Ms. Piccini answered

individual questions, and planned to return in November.

Take Care,

Jeanne Buesser

President, Apraxia Network of Bergen County

Outreach Coordinator to Cherab

www.apraxia.cc