Re: More Therapies and ASL

[Guest guest]

I've been considering piano lessons for my children. From what I've

read, playing the piano uses lots of motor planning. Well, motor

planning problems are a part of apraxia. I think I need to look

into this again.

> Hi everyone, thanks to postings on this board, I have started to

gather the

> necessary materials to provide our son Will (3 years 2 mos, non-

verbal, with

> a diagnosis of hypotonia, severe apraxia/dyspraxia, and some

sensory --

> auditory/tactile/vestibular -- integration issues) with a number

of different

> therapies.

>

> 1) The school SLP and his private SLP are *starting* to use PROMPT.

>

> 2) The school's OT and special ed teacher are talking to his

private OT to

> coordinate a brushing program at school and at home (the first two

weeks as

> you probably know will be very intensive, as he will need to be

brushed every

> two hours).

>

> 3) Thanks to I am getting the Kaufman Apraxia Kits to work

on at home

> with Will.

>

> 4) Last week, we saw a pediatric audiologist who recommended AIT

(auditory

> integration training). I spoke with Will's private OT and she

said, she

> thought of it as soon as she met Will (in August) and wanted to

wait a few

> months, until he was comfortable with her, to bring it up with

me. And

> anyway she said it's for children 3 and up, so Will was a little

young at the

> time. *Then* you all started posting messages about AIT. Talk

about timing!

> For us, the cost of AIT would be $375 for the 8-week program (one

CD per

> week), 5 days a week at 15 minutes 2xday, plus the cost of the

headphones and

> Sony Discman which we don't currently own (yes, here's a family

without a

> Discman). I'm not sure why some people on this board are getting

quoted much

> higher fees. Are they clinic-based, maybe?

>

> On a side note, I recently found my best friend from high school

on

> classmates.com (yeay). We were chatting online, and I finally

wrote, " did I

> mention our sons have some issues, " then we chatted about them,

then she

> wrote back, her oldest son, who is now 16, did not walk until he

was 3 and

> did not speak well until he was 10, when they started him on

*PIANO LESSONS*

> and somehow learning to play helped him unlock what he needed.

Now he's not

> only going to college but hoping to get an athletic scholarship as

well!

>

> 5) Has anyone on this list considered/started American Sign

Language? Will

> is so non-verbal, my husband and I are thinking that this is

another way to

> help him communicate. He is now using simple signs to tell us

what he wants,

> open, more, eat, sleep.

>

> -Theresa, mom to Will (3) and (16 mos) who was also recently

found

> eligible for services and is seeing an OT and an SLP

[Guest guest]

My apraxic daughter, age 5, is taking Suzuki piano lessons, with great success.

You can definitely see how the motor planning comes into learning how to play,

and what I notice is that piano is like speech therapy; she has to practice,

practice, practice -- once she gets it, it's " in the vault " .

Our teacher uses tactile-kinesthetic methods to teach music, which is extremely

helpful -- we touch the notes that are made of wood, we play a board game to

learn to read music, we play music bingo -- all senses are involved.

Also, my daughter is a very visual learner, so the teacher works with her to

show her how to play -- what the keys look like, where her fingers have to move

to make the sounds of the song, etc.

For what it's worth - this is my opinion about piano lessons and apraxic kids.

Rhonda son Cherry

President ECHO - Expressive Communication Help Organization

Canada's Apraxia Support Group

http://apraxiaontario.homestead.com/

apraxiaontario

[ ] Re: More Therapies and ASL

I've been considering piano lessons for my children. From what I've

read, playing the piano uses lots of motor planning. Well, motor

planning problems are a part of apraxia. I think I need to look

into this again.

[Guest guest]

Hi,

My son too has been going for private piano lessons every week for

the past several months. This week for the first time he was able

to look at the book while playing the keys with different fingers

(very basic piece but I was very impressed). His piano class is

part hands on and part activities ie. activity sheets. I have found

it to be very beneficial for him. We initially started the lessons

for a few reasons, 1. really wanted to play and enjoys all

music, 2. We thought it could really help with the motor planning

and 3. we thought we are in therapies all week, let's do something

fun just for him. Well we are really happy we decided to do it.

is enjoying it and is making progress although you can see how

the motor planning is playing a part in the learning process.

too is a visual learner.

(4.6 yrs, dyspraxia, hypotonia, SID)

Noah (2.5 yrs, profound dyspraxia, hypotonia, SID, hypermobile

joints, stopped eating almost all foods Sept, 2001)

> My apraxic daughter, age 5, is taking Suzuki piano lessons, with

great success. You can definitely see how the motor planning comes

into learning how to play, and what I notice is that piano is like

speech therapy; she has to practice, practice, practice -- once she

gets it, it's " in the vault " .

>

> Our teacher uses tactile-kinesthetic methods to teach music, which

is extremely helpful -- we touch the notes that are made of wood, we

play a board game to learn to read music, we play music bingo -- all

senses are involved.

>

> Also, my daughter is a very visual learner, so the teacher works

with her to show her how to play -- what the keys look like, where

her fingers have to move to make the sounds of the song, etc.

>

> For what it's worth - this is my opinion about piano lessons and

apraxic kids.

>

> Rhonda son Cherry

> President ECHO - Expressive Communication Help Organization

> Canada's Apraxia Support Group

> http://apraxiaontario.homestead.com/

> apraxiaontario

[Guest guest]

Theresa,

<<5) Has anyone on this list considered/started American Sign Language?

>>

I am also a newbie to this group and I don't know what anyone else's

experience has been with this, but I HIGHLY recommend using American sign

language with your sons. I was a teacher of the hearing impaired for

several years before my sons were born and when my middle son (3 years

old) showed signs of a speech delay I started using basic signs with him

around the house. He picked up the signs immediately and just amazed me

by how quickly and how many signs he learned in the first week! In fact,

my 2 year old was just diagnosed with apraxia and his speech therapist is

using PROMPT with him and also encourages signs. The first week I used

signs with him, he learned 50 signs and used them spontaneously when he

wanted something - his first request was asking me to put his Blue's

Clues video in the VCR. It was so exciting to actually be able to

understand him when he wanted something and I can tell he's so hungry to

communicate! After 2 months, his sign vocab is up to almost 200 signs -

it has also cut down on his temper tantrums. I just can't say enough good

things about using signs and can recommend some good websites, books and

videos if anyone is interested.

Amy

Asthomason@...

www.StorSmartInc.com

[Guest guest]

Amy, thanks for your comments. I have the " Signing with your baby " kit,

which has the basic signs, but I would very much like additional information

on the websites, books, and videos that you mentioned. Thanks, -Theresa

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the input. I think I am definitely going to look into

how much all of this will cost. I already know of several piano

teachers. Now, I need to get a piano in our home to practice.

-

-- In @y..., " cbwd " <cbwd@c...> wrote:

> My apraxic daughter, age 5, is taking Suzuki piano lessons, with

great success. You can definitely see how the motor planning comes

into learning how to play, and what I notice is that piano is like

speech therapy; she has to practice, practice, practice -- once she

gets it, it's " in the vault " .

>

> Our teacher uses tactile-kinesthetic methods to teach music, which

is extremely helpful -- we touch the notes that are made of wood, we

play a board game to learn to read music, we play music bingo -- all

senses are involved.

>

> Also, my daughter is a very visual learner, so the teacher works

with her to show her how to play -- what the keys look like, where

her fingers have to move to make the sounds of the song, etc.

>

> For what it's worth - this is my opinion about piano lessons and

apraxic kids.

>

> Rhonda son Cherry

> President ECHO - Expressive Communication Help Organization

> Canada's Apraxia Support Group

> http://apraxiaontario.homestead.com/

> apraxiaontario

> [ ] Re: More Therapies and ASL

>

>

> I've been considering piano lessons for my children. From what

I've

> read, playing the piano uses lots of motor planning. Well,

motor

> planning problems are a part of apraxia. I think I need to look

> into this again.

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

> <<5) Has anyone on this list considered/started American Sign

Language?

I've been signing with Connor (age 3.0) as much as I can for about 1-

2 months. I'm taking an Signing Exact English class and using as

many words as I can. It is very difficult for me to remember to do,

to remember the signs, to sign fast enough, to have my hands free to

sign and to sign in Connor's field of view. My husband is also

trying to learn and sign with Connor. Our ST signs with him. So far

he only signs socks and shoes. I am going to keep on learning and

give it a full 6 months or so to see if he ever picks it up.

I've heard only good things about signing for apraxic kids so we are

willing to give this our all.

[Guest guest]

is your son resistant to sign language? my son will get mad if i sign. he

will cry and also if i talk slowly to him, he will get annoyed. as if to

say, " don't talk slow to me " and push my mouth away. he is 3 and has become

much more verbal with sounds, although no real words. very good in

non-verbal communicating by pushing, pulling and leading to what he wants.

the only sign i do that makes him laugh is the one for chicken. he loves

chicken nuggets. although when singing the barney song the other day. i

said, " i love you " and he said, " i oh ou " i'll take that. but it was only

once. and then last night i was talking to him and said, " i know you

understand what i say but just can't tell mommy " and he ran over and gave me

a semi-puckered kiss. i don't know if he understood what i said. but it was

so strange. i'm not a big fan for kissing kids on the lips (although some

parents are fine with it) but i find my son puckers when he sees me pucker

but when i was kissing him on the forehead or cheek he would never pucker.

lori

[Guest guest]

Lori -

You could be describing my son when you say he gets annoyed with you

for talking slowly or signing. Neither worked very well in my house,

either. I could sign a few things - more, want, ball - but he'd get

ticked if I did much more. As for talking slowly? He'd just walk

away like " why are you being an idiot? I understand you FINE, I just

don't reply. "

I also talked to my son in a non-threatening way about his lack of

speech. I told him that I knew how very smart he was. I used to say

that now Zach could do big-boy puzzles, work the computer, eat with a

fork, catch a ball, and that someday he'd be able to drive a car, go

to the park by himself and ask for rootbeer in restaurants all by

himself. It worked. He started TRYING which was all I was really

looking for.

Finally, I wanted to say that in kids who " don't talk normally "

sometimes within that babble are the words we're looking for. My

younger son chats to himself all day and often we can hear things

within it. If we repeat them, he looks at us, grins and then

confirms in his own way. Just now at lunch he was chatting and I

heard " Buzz " (which is for Buzz Lightyear). I said, " Yes Riley?

Buzz? " Well, he promptly got down and got him and then made me kiss

him - Buzz, that is.

One thing that's worked for us to prompt talking is to take THE

favorite book of the moment, one with short words (like hay, sky,

bye, bear, etc.) and read in a quiet place and leave off the last

word of each line. If you've read it a ton, they'll know the word

and it is often " unconscious " of the child to finish the sentence.

Both my kids would whisper the answer, but with praise got louder.

It's now a favorite game. It's also a great teaching tool because

you can do it with numbers or letters - 1,2,3,4_______ and by ,

you get 5!!

Good luck - just wanted to throw in my 2 cents, as always!

Marina

> is your son resistant to sign language? my son will get mad if i

sign. he

> will cry and also if i talk slowly to him, he will get annoyed. as

if to

> say, " don't talk slow to me " and push my mouth away. he is 3 and

has become

> much more verbal with sounds, although no real words. very good in

> non-verbal communicating by pushing, pulling and leading to what he

wants.

> the only sign i do that makes him laugh is the one for chicken. he

loves

> chicken nuggets. although when singing the barney song the other

day. i

> said, " i love you " and he said, " i oh ou " i'll take that. but

it was only

> once. and then last night i was talking to him and said, " i know

you

> understand what i say but just can't tell mommy " and he ran over

and gave me

> a semi-puckered kiss. i don't know if he understood what i said.

but it was

> so strange. i'm not a big fan for kissing kids on the lips

(although some

> parents are fine with it) but i find my son puckers when he sees

me pucker

> but when i was kissing him on the forehead or cheek he would never

pucker.

> lori