Re: AAC

April 21, 2008

My son is 5 and does use and AAC device as a compliment to his speech. We have

a Dynavox DV4. I would suggest the V now that it is out. You can check our

website out at: www.ethanslifewithapraxia.com

I will be posting a video of us using his device in the next week. If you are

interested in this feel free to send me an e-mail.

[ ] AAC

Hi I am new here. I tried to post a few days ago but I don't

think it

worked, so I thought I would try again.

Does anyone on here use an aac device? my son has severe apraxia of

speech and severe language delay along with word retrival issues. We

are thinking about adding aac to help him...any advice?

Thanks,

Jessie

April 21, 2008

Hello Jessie and welcome!! Apraxia in itself (at least in the

early stages) is a severe expressive delay in speech -but it's not a

cognitive or receptive disorder in itself. In most cases those

children diagnosed as such (at 3!!) are found to be misdiagnosed.

Not saying apraxia doesn't typically go hand in hand with other

issues -sensory, tonal, motor deficits in the body as well -but this

is why a neurodevelopmental medical exam is highly recommended once

apraxia is suspected (or diagnosed) to protect that child for one.

(frustrating enough not to be able to talk -and then for others to assume you

can't remember the word when in fact you can't say it!)

You'll find your two questions kind of do go hand in hand. Some

professionals misdiagnosis verbal disabled children as having " word

retrieval problems " when in fact they can't communicate due to their

motor planning or other verbal disability. Below I have a few

archives which contain studies that proved that assumption false.

Most don't historically use any high tech AAC for 3 year olds because

in this group most use a variety of multisensory therapies and

methods to stimulate and accelerate progress beyond what is well

known by all yet. Specifically the introduction of fish oils and

vitamin E to enhance the speech and occupational therapies.

Below are some archives to help both on word retrieval and then on

AAC -please let us know if you have any questions after reviewing

them!

Re: Word retrieval or speech impairment?

Word retrieval may be easy to diagnose in a patient with

Alzheimer's or Parkinson's Disease who doesn't have a speech

impairment. But there is not enough research in preschool or early

elementary school aged verbal disabled children to definitely state

that the child that does not say a word or the right word on command

has word retrieval issues and that the problem instead is not a

speech/motor planning problem. They are different diagnosis and

treatments...and one I believe comes with a greater stigma -word

retrieval. To me saying a preschool child with a speech impairment

has word-retrieval issues is like saying a child with a hearing

impairment has CAPD because he has trouble understanding verbal

commands. I don't care if Dr. Hall did a study with 5

children,,,,to decide that apraxia and word retrieval issues may go

together and this was confirmed by follow up of 2 of those 5

children http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?

_nfpb=true & _pageLabel=RecordDetails & ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED288

283 & ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno & objectId=0900000b80041e57

Below I have a study with about the same amount of children that

disputes this with nonverbal autistic children.

As almost always the ones that stand up for the children are the

parents of those children. Not that long ago all " believed " the

hearing impaired were " dummies " or retarded.

http://deafness.about.com/cs/featurearticles/a/retarded_2.htm

I bet this group could prove what I am saying on anecdotal stories

of following verbal disabled children that are misdiagnosed but

where the parents didn't allow the diagnosis they knew was false and

fought it. Test those children at 9 or 10 -test my son Tanner today

for example. Those who didn't believe in him didn't have a chance

to destroy his confidence or chance to succeed because we didn't let

them. I'm happy to know he proved them wrong but not happy to know

some of you may believe he is somehow different. Tanner is very

typical of most apraxic children in our group.

Not all children with apraxia have phenomenal memories...and not all

have average or above average IQs...it does appear most like Tanner

do however. I too am sorry for those that don't fall into that

group but no matter what there is always hope. I can tell you that

perhaps I am such a strong advocate for not allowing this label to

be placed on a child unless all are 100% sure...and that would be

down the road not preschool age..because some unknowledgeable SLPs

tried to diagnose Tanner with word-retrieval problems and receptive

issues back when he was transitioning to kindergarten and they

were " positive " he " wouldn't make it in mainstream kindergarten "

They were wrong and as many of you know Tanner was a top student and

in the 3rd grade had some bumps due to ignorance but still

maintained a low B average and tested private to have 5th grade

abilities in a number of academic areas including math.

I believe in my heart and have said before and stand by that if I

let " them " who didn't believe in Tanner, lead Tanner's direction,

that 'they' would be right. Where would Tina's son be who all

believed MR if her and her husband didn't stand by him while all

disagreed. Again her example came at a perfect time. Don't feel

guilty if you are one of the parents that has that diagnoses and you

up till this moment believe or believed it...it's never too late to

question it. At preschool age and at the early elementary school

years we help create who they become later in life. Who knows if

it's ever too late -look at who was misdiagnosed all her

life and started to get appropriate therapy and help and started to

talk for the first time at 17 and one of the first things she typed

on the computer was " I am not retarded " .

http://www.cherab.org/news/.html (Hi Robin and !!)

When will reading what I am trying to say really be more harsh when

you have time to still fix it or ten years or more from now? I

appear to have trouble getting my point through, so I just hope some

of you do hear me -because it will at least help save your children

from falling into possible false diagnosis. Here's one study that

may be of interest:

Failure to confirm the word-retrieval problem hypothesis in

facilitated communication

Journal Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

Publisher Springer Netherlands

ISSN 0162-3257 (Print) 1573-3432 (Online)

Subject Behavioral Science

Issue Volume 25, Number 6 / December, 1995

DOI 10.1007/BF02178190

Pages 597-610

Online Date Friday, September 30, 2005

Carol A. Vázquez1

(1) Psychology Department, State University of New York, 314

Faculty Tower, 12561-2499 New Paltz, New York

Résumé / Abstract

Two hypotheses were raised and empirically tested to account for the

failure of previous controlled validation studies to find evidence

of literacy in nonspeaking persons with autism using facilitated

communication : (a) The naming tasks used in other studies have

triggered specific word retrieval problems, or anomia, and ( a

perceptual problem, visual agnosia, prevents subjects from

recognizing objects without touching them. Three nonspeaking

autistic children who had used facilitation for at least 2 years

were evaluated with four experimentally controlled tasks, over a

period of 5 months. In descriptive and object handling tasks, and in

a traditional picture identification task subjects failed to type

correct answers when facilitators were blind ; one subject, however,

occasionally engaged in signing and vocalizations that were context-

appropriate. Results reflected a generalized language deficit,

rather than isolated word-finding or perceptual difficulties, and

were consistent with many previous studies revealing facilitator

cuing. Questions are raised about inconsistencies in pseudo-correct

scores, a measure of facilitator influence, reported here and in

previous research.

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN & cpsidt=2935229

Three nonspeaking children with autism who had used facilitated

communication were evaluated with four experimentally controlled

tasks. Findings suggested a generalized language deficit, rather

than isolated word-finding or perceptual difficulties, and were

consistent with previous studies revealing facilitator cuing.

Questions are raised about inconsistencies in pseudocorrect scores,

a measure of facilitator influence. (Author/DB)

http://www.eric.ed.gov/sitemap/html_0900000b80021b70.html

=====

April 22, 2008

My 6dd got the Dynavox V just as it came out. The Dynavox Salesman was

there when we went for the Eval and when we went back to the hospital

to learn how to use it. The Eval was at a local Rehab hospital. Its an

amazing little machine that comes with Windows XP and can do

everything. The SLP said its got much more than the IV. She'll be able

to upload family pictures and movies if she can't explain what she did

over the summer. They keep it at school mostly now. She started out

with the TechSpeak. That has pages that have to be laminated so its a

lot more work doing that and than recording for each picture.

-

-- In , " " <glerby@...> wrote:

>

> Hi I am new here. I tried to post a few days ago but I don't think it

> worked, so I thought I would try again.

>

> Does anyone on here use an aac device? my son has severe apraxia of

> speech and severe language delay along with word retrival issues. We

> are thinking about adding aac to help him...any advice?

>

> Thanks,

> Jessie

>

April 22, 2008

My son (4y10m) is using a Vantage which we borrowed from an

organization in our area that lends out all types of equipment at no

charge. We are working on the process to purchase his own (we have

been trying for almost a year now!). Our insurance denied our claim

a year ago so we are going to try again after having a formal AAC

evaluation by an independent party.

>

> ,

> Thank you for giving me the information on the word retrieval

dx. I used to argue with gabe's one ST if he can't say the word then

how can you know that it is a word retrieval issue....that makes so

much sense...and I won't let anyone else say that about him...

>

> I have been doing a lot of research on AAC and they are making a

lot of devices for younger children. Gabe is using a demo program on

our laptop right now called the vantage plus by PRC...and is doing

great. I wanted to see what other apraxic parents were using. But

thank you for all that info as well.

>

> Gabe is going to a neuro tomorrow to r/o ASD/pdd-nos....so we have

a lot on our plate right now...

>

> This seems like a really great message board....thank you for your

time...

>

> Jessie

>

______________________________________________________________________

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> Be a better friend, newshound, and

> know-it-all with Mobile. Try it now.

http://mobile./;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ

>

April 27, 2008

Sorry I didn't reply sooner. I got behind on the messages. Yes, I

do like the Vantage. At my son's eval we compared the Vantage and

the Dynavox. He had been using a borrowed Dynavox for 2 months. The

Vantage has a LOT more pre-programmed so it is easier to just get

started. There is a lot of basic (frequently used) vocabulary that

remains on each page such as I, want, to, he, she, is. This helps

teach the child to form sentences. For example, when my son first

started with a Tech Speak 32, we would program one button to speak an

entire sentence (i.e. I want milk). Now on the Vantage we have 3

buttons for that sentence - one button for I, one for want and one

for milk. I know you can set up any device this way, but with the

Vantage, the basic words are already programmed. Another key point

is these basic words are always in the same place on every page.

This makes it easier for the child to remember where they are and to

use them.

I hope this helps. I don't have a lot of experience with the

Vantage, but after using a Dynavox for over two months, I can

definitely see the advantages the Vantage has over the Dynavox.

>

> Do you like the vantage? That is the one device that we have

really looked at. I have also read tons of info on the cyrano....but

I don't know if that is the right fit for gabe. we are suppose to be

having an official eval next monday...hopefully the SLP that I found

can help me...

> let me know what you think of the vantage....I really think PRC has

some great devices...

>

> [ ] Re: AAC

>

> My son (4y10m) is using a Vantage which we borrowed from an

> organization in our area that lends out all types of equipment at

no

> charge. We are working on the process to purchase his own (we have

> been trying for almost a year now!). Our insurance denied our claim

> a year ago so we are going to try again after having a formal AAC

> evaluation by an independent party.

>

March 30, 2009

Hi ,

Thanks for the link.

Maddy's aac specialist told me a quote today tht she heard at a dynovox

session. I thought it was just great. " Just because I can't speak, doesn't

mean I don't have anything to say " .

I thought i would share it becasue I think sometimes kids with apraxia get treat

as if they are invisible. aac sure makes a huge difference when speech is not

coming along, or even in he interim. I was totally against this a first, but

now she talks to me , and to others. I don't have to interpret for her.

The dynovox v is great. It is a full computer.. internet and all.

www.intellitools.com

for anyone interested.

sl

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Sharon Lang

From: <agirlnamedsuess@...>

Subject: [ ] AAC on NBC's Today Show This Morning

Date: Monday, March 30, 2009, 3:16 PM

Here is the link:(a video will post later in the week)

http://www.dynavoxt ech.com/email/ 090223-nbc/ ?emc=el & m= 347282 & l=

1 & v=4d26dfa110

March 30, 2009

We have a DynaVox VMax, but we do not use it for it's intended use due to lack

of hands-on training.

Might I suggest this: look for a device that is Internet accessible and has an

INTERNAL CD DRIVE because the two USB ports fill up fast with use. An Internal

Webcam also helps. Also look for a device that has good follow up support. In

adtion, you want to get all posible needed accessories up front first go around.

(Funding takes forever.)

>

> Hi I am new here. I tried to post a few days ago but I don't think it

> worked, so I thought I would try again.

>

> Does anyone on here use an aac device? my son has severe apraxia of

> speech and severe language delay along with word retrival issues. We

> are thinking about adding aac to help him...any advice?

>

> Thanks,

> Jessie

>

March 30, 2009

Hi everyone!

Somehow this thread from Jessie came up again -but the original message is from

April of 2008 -almost one year ago!

Since it was an archive message -thought I'd post the original archive answer

for anyone looking into AAC

To read the original thread just go to the website and click on the message and

you'll see the entire thread from 2008.