Apraxia

[Guest guest]

>

> We were told my nephew may have apraxia. He is a little over 2 and

> does not speak. He makes a moaning sound when he is trying to get

your

> attention. He is very smart. Points to shapes and letters when

> asked. He smiles and laughs. We know he understands what we are

> saying. Only problem, he doesn't talk. He said Dada when he was

> around a year, but since then no other words.

> I'm trying to find out information on this and get a feel to how

this

> can be helped. This was just her second time having him

evaluated.

> They haven't said this is what it is for certain, but the evaluator

> seems to feel that this is what it is.

> Is this something that can be helped with speach therapy. Is this

> something that he is going to struggle with for the rest of his

life.

> The therapist mentioned to start teaching him sign language. That

> almost made me feel as if he would never talk. Can someone please

> share their experiences with this?

> Thank you!

>

Hi,

Jeanne here. I wanted to let you know that some children feel

comfortable learning to sign because that is a easier way for them to

start to communicate, It doesn't mean that it is a substitute for

speech. Once the sounds or words approximations come it they may not

want to sign anymore but try and communicate like my son would.My

older son who didn't talk at all at birth had learned a few signs but

wanted to talk anyway, I would ask him yes or no questions, even

though he couldn't answer but he would nod or shake his head. It

really helped because he was so frustrated and had tamtrums.Some

children don't want to learn to sign and use Picture Exchange

Communication System (PECS)also. There is no right or wrong answer

each child is different and has tolerances to therapies,and

exercises,and some cases are more severe than others.There is no

shortcut, but you have to go thru it. Hope this helps.

[Guest guest]

Hi, I do not think the therapist's signing suggestion was at all an

indication that she doesn't expect your nephew to talk. It's a good

back-up communication system, though, until he hopefully gains speech.

My son has fairly severe apraxia, is 3 1/2, and signs. Most of the

signs to date that he, his older siblings and we have learned have

been through an extensive dvd series, Signing Time (available at

www.signingtime.com, or Amazon). We either have bought them, or used

the library system. In July my husband and I will begin taking signing

classes, teach the kids, and begin using sign far more at home. We are

investigating putting him into an immersive signing environment for

preschool.

We believe and hope our son will eventually be a talker. But while his

expressive abilities are so limited, and his receptive are on par with

his age, we find it's a great way for him to communicate to us. I am

concerned that because he can't engage in the world as a talker, that

he will become frustrated, and am eager to give him the tools to ask

questions, explain events, his feelings and his fears.

Our therapist, and many other " experts " we have spoken to assure us

that there is no data to support that signing impedes the ability to

acquire speech. If anything, they say, it helps the process. If he has

a word down pat, he doesn't use sign, it's only when the word is more

difficult than the sign, that he uses it. So " more please " used to be

signed, but is now, " mo pease " verbally. " Help " used to be signed, and

it's now, " hep me pease. "

Clearly, every situation is unique, but I hope that helps!

Nadine

..the

>

> We were told my nephew may have apraxia. He is a little over 2 and

> does not speak. He makes a moaning sound when he is trying to get your

> attention. He is very smart. Points to shapes and letters when

> asked. He smiles and laughs. We know he understands what we are

> saying. Only problem, he doesn't talk. He said Dada when he was

> around a year, but since then no other words.

> I'm trying to find out information on this and get a feel to how this

> can be helped. This was just her second time having him evaluated.

> They haven't said this is what it is for certain, but the evaluator

> seems to feel that this is what it is.

> Is this something that can be helped with speach therapy. Is this

> something that he is going to struggle with for the rest of his life.

> The therapist mentioned to start teaching him sign language. That

> almost made me feel as if he would never talk. Can someone please

> share their experiences with this?

> Thank you!

>

[Guest guest]

I have a question about this too. My question is does anyone have first hand

experience with either PECS or signing increasing language more than the

other. One speech therapist wanted to do sign and insisted that this was the

best way to go. The school uses PECS for picture schedules, etc and it is easier

for them to implement. My son can make a sentence strip with I want and

then the picture, so we do know what he wants. He also does seem interested in

some signing. My son has started saying a few more words spontaneously, I am

thrilled. He will be five in Sept. One person that worked with our son told

us that he is smart enough to be able to use two systems. Thanks Jen

**************Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for

fuel-efficient used cars.

(http://autos.aol.com/used?ncid=aolaut00050000000007)

[Guest guest]

My son is exactly like your nephew! same age and same problem! but my SP asked

us to do a lot of tongue and lip practice at home. like ask him to lick the food

instead of using his hand to help, use the straw to drink yogurt instead of

using spoons and ect. you can check with your nephew's SP to seek more detailed

help. but to be honest, my SP also suspect my son to have apraxia, but I do not

think so! we have the SP for 4 months, and he is getting improved. I feel my son

is just a late talker. Anyway, I hope so!

Good luck!

>

> >

> > We were told my nephew may have apraxia. He is a

> little over 2 and

> > does not speak. He makes a moaning sound when he is

> trying to get

> your

> > attention. He is very smart. Points to shapes and

> letters when

> > asked. He smiles and laughs. We know he understands

> what we are

> > saying. Only problem, he doesn't talk. He said

> Dada when he was

> > around a year, but since then no other words.

> > I'm trying to find out information on this and get

> a feel to how

> this

> > can be helped. This was just her second time having

> him

> evaluated.

> > They haven't said this is what it is for certain,

> but the evaluator

> > seems to feel that this is what it is.

> > Is this something that can be helped with speach

> therapy. Is this

> > something that he is going to struggle with for the

> rest of his

> life.

> > The therapist mentioned to start teaching him sign

> language. That

> > almost made me feel as if he would never talk. Can

> someone please

> > share their experiences with this?

> > Thank you!

> >

> Hi,

> Jeanne here. I wanted to let you know that some children

> feel

> comfortable learning to sign because that is a easier way

> for them to

> start to communicate, It doesn't mean that it is a

> substitute for

> speech. Once the sounds or words approximations come it

> they may not

> want to sign anymore but try and communicate like my son

> would.My

> older son who didn't talk at all at birth had learned a

> few signs but

> wanted to talk anyway, I would ask him yes or no questions,

> even

> though he couldn't answer but he would nod or shake his

> head. It

> really helped because he was so frustrated and had

> tamtrums.Some

> children don't want to learn to sign and use Picture

> Exchange

> Communication System (PECS)also. There is no right or wrong

> answer

> each child is different and has tolerances to therapies,and

>

> exercises,and some cases are more severe than others.There

> is no

> shortcut, but you have to go thru it. Hope this helps.

[Guest guest]

I cannot answer your question fully because my son does not sign

beyond " thank you " and " please " but with the PECS he definately

speaks more! He'll bring me a sentence strip and say it out loud to

me. The last time he did this he wanted a Frosty from 's. He

said " I want a fff ah tee pease! " I didn't have to prompt him to say

anything! (The strip had the following PECS on it: " I want " " 's

Logo " " Frosty " " Sign for 'Please' " )

My son turned 5 this month (June 2).

>

> I have a question about this too. My question is does anyone have

first hand

> experience with either PECS or signing increasing language more

than the

> other. One speech therapist wanted to do sign and insisted that

this was the

> best way to go. The school uses PECS for picture schedules, etc and

it is easier

> for them to implement. My son can make a sentence strip with I

want and

> then the picture, so we do know what he wants. He also does seem

interested in

> some signing. My son has started saying a few more words

spontaneously, I am

> thrilled. He will be five in Sept. One person that worked with

our son told

> us that he is smart enough to be able to use two systems. Thanks

Jen

[Guest guest]

I believe there is research on how sign language stimulates the

same area of the brain used for speech. The link in the archive no

longer works -but you can find the same article here

http://perfectnation.com/pnxoops/oldsite/health/Diseases_and_Conditions/Sensory/\

Hearing_Loss/106129.html

Below is an archive on the sign language research -as well as

archives. I say it's all good and use a bit of both (PECS for

example is awesome for making menus -providing your child with the

ability to let you know what he wants to eat or drink) -but if you

want to focus on just one for some reason -go for sign. For many

many reasons. We never had to teach our son Tanner advanced PECS or

sign -once he was verbal that's the way he wanted to communicate

most. It's a myth that augmentative communication inhibits verbal

communication!

From http://www.healthscout.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Af?id=106129 & ap=43

There

are many medical and speech professionals, as well as parents who

believe

sign language, even " baby sign " is beneficial for any infant learning

to

talk, as well as any late talker, or apraxic child. Speaking of sign

language, here is an article that you may find of interest.

Speech, Sign Language All the Same to Brain

Communication modes light up same centers

By Adam Marcus

HealthScout Reporter

MONDAY, Dec. 4 (HealthScout) -- It might seem that, when it comes to

the way

the brain handles information, a conversation in sign language is a

world

apart from a telephone call. After all, the first is video and the

second

audio.

But Canadian scientists say they've found that deaf people activate

the same

brain regions when signing as speakers with undamaged hearing. " We've

shown

that this area, which typically is part of the auditory language

system,

does respond to these visual stimuli, " says Zatorre, a

neuroscientist

at McGill University in Montreal and co-author of the paper. " What we

have

to find out now is why it responds to these stimuli. " It could be,

Zatorre

says, that damage to the auditory language centers alters the nerves

that

handle visual language. Or, he says, it may be that the human brain

evolved

with a single, basic translator that processes communication. A

report on

the findings appears in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the

National

Academy of Sciences.

Some research has suggested that sign language triggers electrical

activity

in the brain's language centers. But it has been assumed that audio

cues

were processed in discrete areas and visual signals another.

Zatorre and his colleagues, led by Ann Petitto, used positron

emission

tomography -- a scanning technique that measures the blood flow to

tissue --

to examine neurons in areas of the brain thought to be specific to the

production and processing of speech.

The researchers studied 11 people with profound deafness from birth,

who

knew either American Sign Language or Langue des Signes Quebecoise, a

French

Canadian version of the language. For comparison, they also included

10

people without hearing trouble.

Same part of brain set off

The subjects were asked to perform five visual language tasks, such

as a

twist on word repetition and a verb generation exercise, while

undergoing

the brain scans.

In each of these tests, the two groups of subjects had similar brain

activity in the planum temporale, a brain area associated with oral

language. And in a drill to trigger a mental search for verbs, the

deaf

subjects also showed neuron activity in the left inferior frontal

cortex,

another area that helps process spoken words.

" Both the input and output are quite different, and yet the brain is

really

responding in the same way, " Zatorre says. " This area of the brain is

doing

something more abstract and more general than just processing sound. "

Dr. Caplan, a Harvard University neuroscientist and author of an

editorial accompanying the journal article, says the findings support

the

theory that humans have a hard-wired ability to understand language,

be it

spoken or visual. " At a higher level of abstraction it's all the

same. It

doesn't matter whether the input is visual, verbal, clicks, " or some

other

form, Caplan says.

" The brain doesn't seem to care about the modality that's being used

for

communication, " agrees Dr. Gannon, director of the

Neurobiology of

Language Laboratory at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York

City. " It's

communication and language whether it's auditory or visual. "

Gannon, who has studied the planum temporale in chimps, says a

combined

auditory and visual language center for humans jibes with the way the

primates communicate. " Chimps use vocalization but mostly gestures, "

says

Gannon.

What's not clear from the work, however, is whether other rapidly

changing

stimuli -- traffic patterns, for instance -- trigger the same sort of

brain

activity in deaf people, Caplan says. " We don't know what happens in

deaf

people in this area when stimuli like that are presented, " he says.

What To Do

To learn more about sign languages, try HandSpeak,

http://dww.deafworldweb.org/asl/, or you can check out this article

in the

American Scientist.

http://www.sigmaxi.org/amsci/articles/99articles/corballisbrain.html

SOURCES: Interviews with Zatorre, Ph.D., associate professor of

cognitive neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal; Caplan,

M.D.,

Ph.D., Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; and

J. Gannon, director, Neurobiology of Language Laboratory,

assistant

professor of otolaryngology, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York;

Dec. 5,

2000 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Re: Why sign language and Montessori are awesome!

=====

[Guest guest]

Hi Marla,

I love reading your story! It gives me so much hope.

Thuy

>

> I am so very glad to see a website like this one. I am much

luckier

> than others I saw on the Inside Edition show. My oldest son had no

> problems; and therefore, when my second child was born I was very

> worried about late talking. Even luckier, Zach our youngest son

had

> oral apraxia as well as verbal. It didn't seem lucky at the time,

> but it helped him be diagnosed much earlier. He couldn't breast

feed

> or bottlefeed at birth. He had swallowing problems which sent up

big

> flags. Even at that, the doctor still didn't send us anywhere

except

> to a radiologist for a swallowing test. This showed disphagia.

Upon

> further observation he was found to have low muscle tone all over.

> The pediatrician felt he wouldn't be able to walk or do any

> other " normal " things. They wanted to stop there and just say he

was

> untreatable. When he began to bang his head at an early age, they

> immediately said he must have pervasive developmental disorder.

> Another name for we don't know what's wrong. Another lucky thing

on

> our side which didn't seem lucky at that time, was that he had

> serious ear problems - infections and hearing loss. This caused a

> pull back from the original diagnosis and a feeling that the ear

> problems caused behavior and sucking problems. We were sent to a

> speech therapist at age 1 1/2 for hearing problems caused from

> repeated ear infections. At that time, we ran across a wonderful

> speech and language pathologist, Lang in Madisonville,

> Kentucky. She immediately recognized the no speech (as compared to

> my first child who spoke complete sentences at age 1), trouble

> sucking and swallowing, low muscle tone in face, arms and legs, and

> head banging as good indications of something more than hearing

> problems. Testing revealed his receptive abilities were extremely

> high, way above his age level; however, expressive abilities were

way

> below his age level. Red flags went up and she immediately started

> working with him for oral apraxia. She also told us to enroll him

in

> gymnastics or swimming for muscle tone in the rest of his body. I

am

> proud to say that Zach is in first grade at 6 years old. He makes

> straight A's at a private highly academic school. He speaks and

> reads perfectly. He not only walks, but learned to ride a bike at

> age 4 and is a star soccer player. He's a much faster runner than

> his older brother. The same doctors who told me he probably

wouldn't

> write due to problems with muscles in his hands, now marvel at his

> beautiful cursive, a great feat for any first grader. Despite

> hearing loss in left ear, he sings solos in church. Without early

> intervention from Mrs. Lang, I feel this never would have

happened.

> She was a miracle in our lives. Zach's only muscle deficits now

> involve chewing and swallowing. If he is sick or tired, he gets

> choked very easily. He has to think very hard just to chew and

> swallow as well as to make words. He has worked so hard at it

> though, that others don't even notice the difficulties he may be

> having in his head getting it out.

>

> I feel very fortunate to have had such early intervention. I hope

> others will now have the same benefit. Zach will always have to

work

> hard at chewing, swallowing, make words, and keeping his all around

> muscle tone up. But as long as he is willing to try so hard, no

one

> will ever notice.

>

> Thanks again, for this wonderful site.

> Marla

> Thankful Mother

>

[Guest guest]

I started giving my daugther who is 2 1/2 years old last Thursday.

She loves them (go figure). Since the bottle states to give 2 a day,

that is what I have been giving her. Is this too much??? Like you,

I also use Nordic Naturals Juniors 3-6-9.

Thanks,

Thuy

> >

> > My advice is YES, have him checked out by a reputable pediatric

> nuerologist.

> >

> > Also, I would give him fish oil. I started my son on Nordic

> Naturals Juniors -- 1 cap/day. This is a natural thing which will

> not hurt and can only help.

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Jen,

uses both sign language and pecs.  He drops a sign once he learns

a new word.  Trouble there is that his pronounciation of most words is way off

so the word is still a mystery to us for at least a few days before we figure it

out!

is incredibly visual, so pecs is used alot at school and at home.

When I say visual, I mean he's off the chart visual.  We even bought a timer

that shows how much time he has left in red.  This helped reduce tantrums when

we gave a 2 minute warning before cleaning up or getting ready.  It's really

helped

at school with letting him know how much time he has left for a particular task.

So, If you think he can do both I'd try if I were you.  I know my guy really

needs

the visual of pecs both to communicate and to know what his schedule is going

to be either at home or school.  He still signs some things, but as I said, he

tends

to drop the sign once a word is learned.

hth

Sandy

Re: [ ] Re: Apraxia

I have a question about this too. My question is does anyone have first hand

experience with either PECS or signing increasing language more than the

other. One speech therapist wanted to do sign and insisted that this was the

best way to go. The school uses PECS for picture schedules, etc and it is easier

for them to implement. My son can make a sentence strip with I want and

then the picture, so we do know what he wants. He also does seem interested in

some signing. My son has started saying a few more words spontaneously, I am

thrilled. He will be five in Sept. One person that worked with our son told

us that he is smart enough to be able to use two systems. Thanks Jen

************ **Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for

fuel-efficient used cars. (http://autos. aol.com/used? ncid=aolaut00050

000000007)

[Guest guest]

Is the not signing a motor planning thing or a physical issue? I

thought my son was not " getting " the signing thing as he signed very

few things and the ones he signed were easy...not too much ginger

manipulation. Now that his gut has healed quite a bit it seems he

was " getting it " all along but I think in his case, the finger

manipulation issue was an acidosis thing. We have not watched the

signing stuff in ages and he is pointing to the letters, telling me

what they are, and showing me how to sign them and correcting me when

I am wrong. He still has some habd issues but obviously they are much

improved. The speech is really more improved than the physical stuff.

As I understand it it is like he healed backwards as compared to

other stories.

> >

> > I have a question about this too. My question is does anyone have

> first hand

> > experience with either PECS or signing increasing language more

> than the

> > other. One speech therapist wanted to do sign and insisted that

> this was the

> > best way to go. The school uses PECS for picture schedules, etc

and

> it is easier

> > for them to implement. My son can make a sentence strip with I

> want and

> > then the picture, so we do know what he wants. He also does

seem

> interested in

> > some signing. My son has started saying a few more words

> spontaneously, I am

> > thrilled. He will be five in Sept. One person that worked with

> our son told

> > us that he is smart enough to be able to use two systems. Thanks

> Jen

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Kimmy,

My son has been on Carnitor for almost a year (his carnitine blood levels were

low), but I didn't see any difference in his low tone or speech. They tested him

because he has hypotonia (oral and in his core/hips). The metabolic geneticist

thinks his carnitine was low because of diet (we are vegetarians). All other

metabolic tests came back normal. When we rechecked his levels 6 months later

they were normal.

-Jenna

>

> Hi I am new to the group and was reading some things on the cherub foundation.

I have been doing biomed on my son for 5-6 years he will be 10 and has apraxia

and is nonverbal. He gets fish oils and vit e and other things. I was wondering

if anyone has had any luck with the carnitine for this?

>

> Thank you,

>

> Kimmy

>

[Guest guest]

Here is an article on Carnitine and vegetarians. We saw a huge improvement in

my son after we started carnitor. He muscle tone and speech got better! He was

low, but has not gotten that low again even we take a break off the carnitine.

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/reprint/50/2/301

> >

> > Hi I am new to the group and was reading some things on the cherub

foundation. I have been doing biomed on my son for 5-6 years he will be 10 and

has apraxia and is nonverbal. He gets fish oils and vit e and other things. I

was wondering if anyone has had any luck with the carnitine for this?

> >

> > Thank you,

> >

> > Kimmy

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you so much for the medical journal article. My other, 6 yo typical son

and I started taking OTC carnitine just in case ours were low too (since we are

both vegetarians -him since birth and I for 26 years). We also take 100mg/day

CoQ10. The metabolic geneticist recommended it. I might switch Larsyn from

Carnitor to the OTC stuff (the Dr said it would be okay). It is much cheaper for

us!

-Jenna

> > >

> > > Hi I am new to the group and was reading some things on the cherub

foundation. I have been doing biomed on my son for 5-6 years he will be 10 and

has apraxia and is nonverbal. He gets fish oils and vit e and other things. I

was wondering if anyone has had any luck with the carnitine for this?

> > >

> > > Thank you,

> > >

> > > Kimmy

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

> > >

> > > Hi I am new to the group and was reading some things on the cherub

foundation. I have been doing biomed on my son for 5-6 years he will be 10 and

has apraxia and is nonverbal. He gets fish oils and vit e and other things. I

was wondering if anyone has had any luck with the carnitine for this?

> > >

> > > Thank you,

> > >

> > > Kimmy

> > >

> > Does anyone know what oral exercises might help a child to

be able to put their lips on the spoon again he use to do this before he fell

into autism now he takes food off with his teeth instead of his lips?

thanks,

Kimmy

>

[Guest guest]

Does anyone have advice on speech therapy for apraxia?  Our 6-year old son has

been in speech therapy for almost four years since he lost his words at about 2

years old, but has not really progressed much and can still only imitate a

very limited amount of sounds right now. Dr. G mentioned asking the therapist to

focus on oral apraxia and approach it on that basis, which I believe should help

once we get our new speech therapy clinic on board. Any one have luck with this

approach or have other other advice?

Thanks,

[Guest guest]

I always forget about DHA. My son (and daughter) have been taking DHA-EPA from

Metagenics. It’s super high quality, about $42/month. He gets two caps/day and

she gets 1. We ran out last fall and we were in a cash flow crunch (thank you,

IRS) and I didn’t buy it for a few weeks. My son stopped talking! He started

again within a few days after re-starting the DHA.

Last summer he did 60 hours of LiFT, listening fitness training through the

place where I take him for ST and OT. http://www.listeningfitness.com/ AMAZING

difference. When he got back to school in the fall, everyone commented that he

was (is) like a different kid. It helped so much with auditory processing,

processing time, fine motor, gross motor, regulation, which in turn has really

improved his ability to relate and it has helped so much socially. AMAZING

(worth repeating). He did a 10 hour “boost†in January, but I think he’s

done with it. If they suggest he needs more, I will find the money and do it

again. It was pricey, ~$5000 total. He goes to www.it4k.com and they got the

exclusive rights to LiFT for North America and they say they are going to really

try to bring down the cost and make it more accessible. I sure hope so.

Kristy Nardini

TazziniTM Stainless Steel Bottles

www.tazzini.com

kristy@...

Phone: 858.243.1929

Fax: 858.724.1418

P Please consider the environment before printing this email.

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Briffa

SeventySeven

Sent: Saturday, March 27, 2010 6:59 PM

Subject: Re: Re: Apraxia

Hello pslofton and Kristy,

I'm going to look into that Speak by Nourish Life, too. My son and daughter take

strawberry flavored Nordic Naturals cod liver oil and I believe this helps as

well (however, it has soy in it so if your children are allergic it's not an

option.)

With my son's fine motor difficulties, I've learned that a slant board and the

proper grips put on the pen/pencils have helped him tremendously when it comes

to writing. (He'll be six in June.)

Kristy - what methods are your speech therapist using to address the auditory

processing issues? I've heard of something called earobics - is that a method

he/she uses?

I got trained in Therapeutic Listening, which has helped my son with spatial and

depth perception issues. He also stopped constantly putting his shoes on the

wrong feet and can speak somewhat about past events now.

However, he can only answer a question about one small sentence spoken to him at

a time. If you try to ask him a qu. about a two part sentence - he can not

answer. We have a long way to go with auditory processing.

Bridget

From: It's just me... <pslofton@... <mailto:pslofton%40gmail.com> >

Subject: Re: Apraxia

<mailto:%40>

Date: Saturday, March 27, 2010, 6:07 PM

My daughter has apraxia (global apraxia - head to toe unfortunately) . She has

been making lots of sounds and is trying to imitate them. She is now 3 1/2 and

is still non-verbal but is on her way. She continues to make progress each week.

The speech therapies we have found to be effective have been PROMPT and oral

motor therapy with a Beckman certified therapist. We also just started the

interactive metronome too. We aren't anymore but felt that protocol helped.

The other thing that helped with her apraxia is the use of fish oils and vitamin

E. We currently use a product called Speak by NourishLife. Ever since we started

using that her motor planning and attempts at speech have been much better. She

still has a long way to go, but that was the thing that made the biggest

difference. When we started her gains were noticeable across the board.

>

> Yes, my son has made a lot of progress in the last year in speech. Due to

> protocol, but also private-pay speech that is focusing on apraxia and

> also, for him, auditory processing. His eating is improving, too, as he is

> eating some new foods he could not eat previously.

>

> Kristy Nardini

> TazziniTM Stainless Steel Bottles

> www.tazzini. com

> kristy@...

> Phone: 858.243.1929

> Fax: 858.724.1418

>

>

> P Please consider the environment before printing this email.

>

> From: groups (DOT) com [mailto:groups (DOT) com] On Behalf Of Mr

> A

> Sent: Friday, March 26, 2010 1:36 PM

> groups (DOT) com

> Subject: Apraxia

>

>

>

>

> Does anyone have advice on speech therapy for apraxia? Our 6-year old son

> has been in speech therapy for almost four years since he lost his words at

> about 2 years old, but has not really progressed much and can still only

> imitate a very limited amount of sounds right now. Dr. G mentioned asking

> the therapist to focus on oral apraxia and approach it on that basis, which

> I believe should help once we get our new speech therapy clinic on board.

> Any one have luck with this approach or have other other advice?

>

> Thanks,

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Kristy,

Does Dr. G approve of this supplement? I have never heard of it and would

be surprised to his agreeing to it???

Just curious.

Lori

_____

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Kristy

Nardini

Sent: March-28-10 11:34 AM

Subject: RE: Re: Apraxia

I always forget about DHA. My son (and daughter) have been taking DHA-EPA

from Metagenics. It's super high quality, about $42/month. He gets two

caps/day and she gets 1. We ran out last fall and we were in a cash flow

crunch (thank you, IRS) and I didn't buy it for a few weeks. My son stopped

talking! He started again within a few days after re-starting the DHA.

Last summer he did 60 hours of LiFT, listening fitness training through the

place where I take him for ST and OT. http://www.listenin

<http://www.listeningfitness.com/> gfitness.com/ AMAZING difference. When he

got back to school in the fall, everyone commented that he was (is) like a

different kid. It helped so much with auditory processing, processing time,

fine motor, gross motor, regulation, which in turn has really improved his

ability to relate and it has helped so much socially. AMAZING (worth

repeating). He did a 10 hour " boost " in January, but I think he's done with

it. If they suggest he needs more, I will find the money and do it again. It

was pricey, ~$5000 total. He goes to www.it4k.com and they got the exclusive

rights to LiFT for North America and they say they are going to really try

to bring down the cost and make it more accessible. I sure hope so.

Kristy Nardini

TazziniTM Stainless Steel Bottles

www.tazzini.com

kristytazzini (DOT) <mailto:kristy%40tazzini.com> com

Phone: 858.243.1929

Fax: 858.724.1418

P Please consider the environment before printing this email.

From: groups (DOT) <mailto:%40> com

[mailto:groups (DOT) <mailto:%40> com] On Behalf Of

Briffa SeventySeven

Sent: Saturday, March 27, 2010 6:59 PM

groups (DOT) <mailto:%40> com

Subject: Re: Re: Apraxia

Hello pslofton and Kristy,

I'm going to look into that Speak by Nourish Life, too. My son and daughter

take strawberry flavored Nordic Naturals cod liver oil and I believe this

helps as well (however, it has soy in it so if your children are allergic

it's not an option.)

With my son's fine motor difficulties, I've learned that a slant board and

the proper grips put on the pen/pencils have helped him tremendously when it

comes to writing. (He'll be six in June.)

Kristy - what methods are your speech therapist using to address the

auditory processing issues? I've heard of something called earobics - is

that a method he/she uses?

I got trained in Therapeutic Listening, which has helped my son with spatial

and depth perception issues. He also stopped constantly putting his shoes on

the wrong feet and can speak somewhat about past events now.

However, he can only answer a question about one small sentence spoken to

him at a time. If you try to ask him a qu. about a two part sentence - he

can not answer. We have a long way to go with auditory processing.

Bridget

From: It's just me... <psloftongmail (DOT) <mailto:pslofton%40gmail.com> com

<mailto:pslofton%40gmail.com> >

Subject: Re: Apraxia

groups (DOT) <mailto:%40> com

<mailto:%40>

Date: Saturday, March 27, 2010, 6:07 PM

My daughter has apraxia (global apraxia - head to toe unfortunately) . She

has been making lots of sounds and is trying to imitate them. She is now 3

1/2 and is still non-verbal but is on her way. She continues to make

progress each week.

The speech therapies we have found to be effective have been PROMPT and oral

motor therapy with a Beckman certified therapist. We also just started the

interactive metronome too. We aren't anymore but felt that protocol

helped.

The other thing that helped with her apraxia is the use of fish oils and

vitamin E. We currently use a product called Speak by NourishLife. Ever

since we started using that her motor planning and attempts at speech have

been much better. She still has a long way to go, but that was the thing

that made the biggest difference. When we started her gains were noticeable

across the board.

>

> Yes, my son has made a lot of progress in the last year in speech. Due to

> protocol, but also private-pay speech that is focusing on apraxia and

> also, for him, auditory processing. His eating is improving, too, as he is

> eating some new foods he could not eat previously.

>

> Kristy Nardini

> TazziniTM Stainless Steel Bottles

> www.tazzini. com

> kristy@...

> Phone: 858.243.1929

> Fax: 858.724.1418

>

>

> P Please consider the environment before printing this email.

>

> From: groups (DOT) com [mailto:groups (DOT) com] On Behalf Of Mr

> A

> Sent: Friday, March 26, 2010 1:36 PM

> groups (DOT) com

> Subject: Apraxia

>

>

>

>

> Does anyone have advice on speech therapy for apraxia? Our 6-year old son

> has been in speech therapy for almost four years since he lost his words

at

> about 2 years old, but has not really progressed much and can still only

> imitate a very limited amount of sounds right now. Dr. G mentioned asking

> the therapist to focus on oral apraxia and approach it on that basis,

which

> I believe should help once we get our new speech therapy clinic on board.

> Any one have luck with this approach or have other other advice?

>

> Thanks,

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi,

It is hit and miss on the imitating at speech therapy, however they are getting

more hits than misses recently. They said to practice at home with a mirror

making faces while making sounds and showing him how to do this.

Thanks,

________________________________

From: <thehacks@...>

" " < >

Sent: Sat, March 27, 2010 11:24:36 AM

Subject: Re: Apraxia

 

How did you get your child to imitate sounds? Sounds like us, except he doesn't

immitate. :-(. Getting ready to go to a therapist/clinic with experience working

with children with autism. Even though I hate the term, we need consistent

communication so were open at this point. My son is almost 7 and still

nonverbal. On protocal for 3 years

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 26, 2010, at 3:36 PM, Mr A <eric_2525 (DOT) com> wrote:

Does anyone have advice on speech therapy for apraxia? Our 6-year old son has

been in speech therapy for almost four years since he lost his words at about 2

years old, but has not really progressed much and can still only imitate a very

limited amount of sounds right now. Dr. G mentioned asking the therapist to

focus on oral apraxia and approach it on that basis, which I believe should help

once we get our new speech therapy clinic on board. Any one have luck with this

approach or have other other advice?

Thanks,

[Guest guest]

Hi Kristi,

This really makes sense, we will try this right away. I noticed that doing a

celebration as encouragement reinforcement during potty time training also

helps, we are still working on this as well but have made great progress so I

bet he will identify with this as well.

Right now he pulls us to what he wants or if it is a TV program he will give us

the remote control, so adding the step of requiring a sound will be our next

adventure to tackle on the road to getting his speech back.

Thanks much,

________________________________

From: Kristy Nardini <knardini@...>

Sent: Sat, March 27, 2010 12:21:47 PM

Subject: RE: Apraxia

 

When my son wanted something highly preferred, we would hold it out and if he

made any sound at all, we went wild and gave it to him. We worked at this until

the sounds became more like the sound of the object, then the word itself. We

used Pivotal Response Training from UCSD as our guide.

Kristy Nardini

TazziniTM Stainless Steel Bottles

www.tazzini. com

kristytazzini (DOT) com

Phone: 858.243.1929

Fax: 858.724.1418

P Please consider the environment before printing this email.

From: groups (DOT) com [mailto:groups (DOT) com] On Behalf Of

Sent: Saturday, March 27, 2010 10:25 AM

groups (DOT) com

Subject: Re: Apraxia

How did you get your child to imitate sounds? Sounds like us, except he doesn't

immitate. :-(. Getting ready to go to a therapist/clinic with experience working

with children with autism. Even though I hate the term, we need consistent

communication so were open at this point. My son is almost 7 and still

nonverbal. On protocal for 3 years

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 26, 2010, at 3:36 PM, Mr A <eric_2525 (DOT) com <mailto:eric_

2525%40. com> > wrote:

Does anyone have advice on speech therapy for apraxia? Our 6-year old son has

been in speech therapy for almost four years since he lost his words at about 2

years old, but has not really progressed much and can still only imitate a very

limited amount of sounds right now. Dr. G mentioned asking the therapist to

focus on oral apraxia and approach it on that basis, which I believe should help

once we get our new speech therapy clinic on board. Any one have luck with this

approach or have other other advice?

Thanks,

[Guest guest]

well Chrissy,  yes, we've all been going through this and the one important

thing i can say is. We were told my son would never talk.  He only said his

first word " momma " at 4.5 years old. He is now 10 years old and while he doesn't

talk age appropriate yet, he can get along with his peers in school.

Did you read the book " the late talker " yet?  if not, it's worth getting.

sandy

________________________________

From: chrisym05 <chrisym05@...>

Sent: Fri, April 23, 2010 8:52:50 AM

Subject: [ ] APRAXIA

 

Hi I am new to the group, My 2 1/2 year old was just diagnosed with apraxia, and

I have a lot of questions and would like to speak to someone who has been

through this with there child. Some of the things I would like to know are will

she overcome this she only says about 30 words and just started putting 2 words

together well the only ones are up there and right there. I just want to be able

to say that my child will be able to hold a conversation, have freinds, and lead

a normal life. Any information would be helpful.

Thank you

Chrissy

[Guest guest]

SAndy,

may I ask what you think helped your child the most to get the words out. My son

is 10 and he can only say mom by seperateing the mom out. and for  my olderson

he calls him Ba I just dont know how to get his words out.

ty

From: sandy lehmann <mommie2chris@...>

Subject: Re: [ ] APRAXIA

Date: Friday, April 23, 2010, 11:40 AM

 

well Chrissy,  yes, we've all been going through this and the one important

thing i can say is. We were told my son would never talk.  He only said his

first word " momma " at 4.5 years old. He is now 10 years old and while he doesn't

talk age appropriate yet, he can get along with his peers in school.

Did you read the book " the late talker " yet?  if not, it's worth getting.

sandy

____________ _________ _________ __

From: chrisym05 <chrisym05gmail (DOT) com>

@groups. com

Sent: Fri, April 23, 2010 8:52:50 AM

Subject: [childrensapraxiane t] APRAXIA

 

Hi I am new to the group, My 2 1/2 year old was just diagnosed with apraxia, and

I have a lot of questions and would like to speak to someone who has been

through this with there child. Some of the things I would like to know are will

she overcome this she only says about 30 words and just started putting 2 words

together well the only ones are up there and right there. I just want to be able

to say that my child will be able to hold a conversation, have freinds, and lead

a normal life. Any information would be helpful.

Thank you

Chrissy

[Guest guest]

Chrissy OMG did you right the correct age? two and a half? And she's says 30

words and starting to put 2 words together? That's awesome!! If I were you I'd

continue on the path of appropriate therapies and placements for apraxia JIC

-but also still hold on to hope that your child was just misdiagnosed because

goodness knows in this group that happens more often than we'd like -but in this

case that would be a good thing (well not the misdiagnosis but that maybe she

really is " just " a late talker)

Can you share a bit more about your daughter and why she is suspected of

apraxia? Prior to the age of 3 it's hard to really secure a definitive

diagnosis of verbal apraxia however far younger one can diagnosis oral apraxia.

Has your child been for a neuromedical exam yet and if not who diagnosed your

child and did you secure a second opinion?

Here is some info on apraxia that is parent friendly:

Verbal apraxia

http://www.cherabfoundation.org/2006/parent-friendly-signs-of-verbal-apraxia/

Oral apraxia

http://www.cherabfoundation.org/2006/possible-oral-apraxia-or-oral-motor-warning\

-signs/

Soft signs of apraxia

http://www.cherabfoundation.org/2003/soft-signs-of-apraxia/

And here is a letter I wrote to parents years ago

http://www.cherabfoundation.org/2006/a-letter-to-parents-who-have-a-child-that-i\

s-a-late-talker-first-written-7400-and-update-from-1003/

Does anything in what you just read fit your little one? Outside of speech I

mean.

Also to answer your questions -my son Tanner was FARRRRRR more severe than your

child. His diagnosis which we got second and third and many more evaluations

over the year ranged from severe/profound oral and verbal apraxia, motor

planning deficits in his body, hypotonia, dysarthria, sensory integration

dysfunction -those were the main diagnosis. At 2 years 10 months his only words

were " mmmm " and " ma " that's it, he couldn't even say " da " Tanner was tested

for every syndrome under the sun at the time -all came back negative.

Many professionals did not believe his prognosis was that bright -I was actually

told when I asked " well he'll still talk right " " wel......it depends " and as he

continued to do better and better -over the years wish I had a nickel for each

time a professional said to me " to be honest when I first met Tanner I never

thought he would have come this far " or " I can't believe how he just goes up and

talks to people and is not self conscious about his speech at all " Self esteem

is in my opinion far too underestimated. Make sure whether your child is

delayed in speech due to diagnosis of apraxia or developmental that others do

not judge her receptive ability on her expressive. As I say all the times

speaking, early or at all has nothing to do with intelligence and all one has to

do is watch daytime court TV.

Tanner went to a special needs out of district placement preschool for the oral

based hearing impaired (he's hearing) called Summit Speech School in New

Providence NJ. Since 6 years old which is the age I highly recommend starting

kindergarten if there is a delay in any area- he has been mainstreamed -has

tons of friends, is an excellent student over the years mainly As and Bs even

though we did have to fight prejudice against his speech over the years too

" well he's doing well now but we aren't sure he's going to be able to maintain

this level " and me saying " Can we wait till his grades drop to a ....I don't

know....B!!! before we worry about him or do you do this with all your straight

A students?!!! " So yes hopefully those of you today don't have to deal with as

much ignorance (and can I say stupidity because some of it is)

Tanner now in 7th grade just advanced to a 9th grade reading class, he wants to

be an attorney when he grows up because he feels he is good at debating He's

recently had tremendous surges where his goals of being an attorney look way

more probable than before. So yes no matter how severe as a child- the future

is bright for mainstream in all areas of life. No matter what do what you can

to provide your child with the best possible prognosis -enough that you don't

have to look back and say " if only "

Speaking of which -in my opinion don't wait to check out fish oils and

nutriiveda till there is research. It's going on 11 years and still no research

on the fish oils but we have thousands and thousands of testimonies. And

nutriiveda dare I say is even more profound -here are some of the areas of

surges we are seeing http://pursuitofresearch.org/pursuit.html Best possible

prognosis means providing the best therapies, traditional and alternative and

find " heroes " to work with your child to oversee that appropriate goals are set

and made.

But apraxia- I don't know but today I'm looking at it like ADHD...a good thing

really. No matter what the special need there are gifts given when things are

taken away. The gift given for speech impairments and delays typically is

phenomenal memory. Keep in mind that is one of the signs of a gifted student.

Many actors are speech impaired to some extent- perhaps why they can memorize

those scripts better than most.

So no matter what it is -simple delay or apraxia -there is so much hope.

=====

[Guest guest]

Can't believe all the typos I wrote in this -trying to catch up on all the

questions so quickly. But forgot to add that Tanner not only has tons of

friends but has been active in sports since he was little. Mainly now

basketball and football but when he was younger soccer, karate and swimming.

Also...he's had " girlfriends " since he was in preschool. At 13 he's 5 foot 10

and around 147 and adorable -so I know that going into 8th grade...or soon -I'll

have to start keeping better track of his girlfriends

But just wanted to stress in all areas that a child that is delayed even in all

areas -can grow up and be not only normal -but above average in some areas.

Have you read The Late Talker book?

=====

[Guest guest]

was diagnosed this because she does have very poor motor

development. yes she does say about 30 words but it seems that I am the only

one who knows what she is saying and it was a lot of trial and error for me

to figure it out,because nothing sounds the way it should, and a lot of

frustration on her part. Now that we have started working with her she does

not get as frustrated and it seems that she wants to learn how to get her

words out, she tries very hard. I have not read the book " Late Talker " yet I

am going to get it today! 's speech patterns do sound a lot like they

way you were explaining Tanner's. Thank you all for the hope that you have

given me that we can overcome this and it could be a misdiagnosis

>

> Can't believe all the typos I wrote in this -trying to catch up on all the

questions so quickly. But forgot to add that Tanner not only has tons of

friends but has been active in sports since he was little. Mainly now

basketball and football but when he was younger soccer, karate and swimming.

Also...he's had " girlfriends " since he was in preschool. At 13 he's 5 foot 10

and around 147 and adorable -so I know that going into 8th grade...or soon -I'll

have to start keeping better track of his girlfriends

>

> But just wanted to stress in all areas that a child that is delayed even in

all areas -can grow up and be not only normal -but above average in some areas.

Have you read The Late Talker book?

>

> =====

>

[Guest guest]

well, lots and lots of hard work with tapping out words and other speech

therapy.  tapping helped alot and we taught him to tap out on his leg instead

of the tapping boards because he always has his leg!  by grade 2 he had 2 word

sentences which we thought was amazing. Tapping the words out for him helped but

we had to be careful because we didn't want him in the habit of breaking up

words so that once he tapped out a word, we'd then try and smooth it out if that

makes any sense.  it was one strategy that helped him not get stuck getting a

word out.

What do i think helped most?  Hard to say. we've been in speech therapy for so

many years. The thing i think that started his process was the fish oils. we

then did bio screening, cranial sacral therapy.  I think they've all worked

well together.  Also i've found a difference using probiotics and digestive

enzymes.  We started using nutriveda in february, and are at full dose (4

scoops) but we are not seeing the big wows that everyone else is yet.  So hard

to say what started it all, but i do know that fish oils made the biggest

difference so far.

i hope this has been of some help

sandy

________________________________

From: Kimmy Heil <kimberly19ray@...>

Sent: Fri, April 23, 2010 1:09:53 PM

Subject: Re: [ ] APRAXIA

 

SAndy,

may I ask what you think helped your child the most to get the words out. My son

is 10 and he can only say mom by seperateing the mom out. and for  my olderson

he calls him Ba I just dont know how to get his words out.

ty

From: sandy lehmann <mommie2chris@ .ca>

Subject: Re: [childrensapraxiane t] APRAXIA

@groups. com

Date: Friday, April 23, 2010, 11:40 AM

 

well Chrissy,  yes, we've all been going through this and the one important

thing i can say is. We were told my son would never talk.  He only said his

first word " momma " at 4.5 years old. He is now 10 years old and while he doesn't

talk age appropriate yet, he can get along with his peers in school.

Did you read the book " the late talker " yet?  if not, it's worth getting.

sandy

____________ _________ _________ __

From: chrisym05 <chrisym05gmail (DOT) com>

@groups. com

Sent: Fri, April 23, 2010 8:52:50 AM

Subject: [childrensapraxiane t] APRAXIA

 

Hi I am new to the group, My 2 1/2 year old was just diagnosed with apraxia, and

I have a lot of questions and would like to speak to someone who has been

through this with there child. Some of the things I would like to know are will

she overcome this she only says about 30 words and just started putting 2 words

together well the only ones are up there and right there. I just want to be able

to say that my child will be able to hold a conversation, have freinds, and lead

a normal life. Any information would be helpful.

Thank you

Chrissy