Re: new and just wondering...

[Guest guest]

Well you still want to get your son in school and get an eval with special

services and put together an IEP, if you haven't done so already, so he can get

ST at school, our daughter who is 3.7 was diagnosed with CAS about three weeks

ago and she has been taking fish oil suppliments for two weeks consistantly and

within a week she started what we call " chattering " and she was only had two, two

phase words and this last weekend it has started to pick.

[ ] new and just wondering...

what is the deal with the fish oil ? My son has recently been Dx with probable

Apraxia ( he has vertually no speech at all and communicates by sign) and we

have been in Speech therapy once a week since july. He is about to age out of

the Early Intervention and go through the school system . I want to do anything

and everything to help him and think that if him taking fish oil will help then

he should take them . what is the standard protocall do I have to go through Dr

to do it ? Any Advice for a newbie to all this?

Thanks to all of you !

[Guest guest]

My son is currently in Early intervention and we are meeting with the school

district next month to set up his IEP, I have no idea what they will be doing

at this point.

I want to start him taking the fish oils and hopefully that will have a impact,

I'm not sure really how much to give him though. His weight is 23 lbs as of a

week ago at the Drs office and he is 33 inches tall. Is there a certain doseage

by weight or just 1 capsule a day? ( or whatever it may be )

Anyone have any recomendations on things I could be doing to help encourage him

to speak? (he is at a 1 yr old level right now and has only 1 sentance he can

say he has a handful of 1 word things that he can say but not at all consistant

or on command and he signs and drags us to what or where he wants us if he

doesn't know how to tell us something. He tested at a 4-5 yr olds verbal

understanding so as you can imagine he gets quite frustrated with us.)

We would also like to have him put into a preschool and take some classes at

the park district but really don't know how to approach that since he can't

speak. anyone that can give me any insight with what your doing or did with your

own child would be great!

Thanks

[Guest guest]

Here's some new member info from our Facebook page:

The overwhelming majority (if you check the archives) have success

with the basic approach to apraxia.

On the other hand- most of us are dealing with more than verbal

apraxia. We just don't know that when our child is 2 -and we learn

through professionals and observations as they continue to grow and

more and more is expected of them. This is also why it's important

to take your child for a neurodevelopmental medical exam when your

child is suspected of apraxia to confirm or rule out other diagnosis

such as sensory integration dysfunction etc. The earlier you know -

the sooner to start appropriate therapies to get them up to speed by

kindergarten.

Don't let it overwhelm you -perhaps we aren't meant to know more

than what we have to know at each stage. We'll be here to help along

the way. It's OK to have any type of emotion when we find out our

child has more than a simple delay -or " more " than " just " verbal

apraxia. And it's OK to be completely overwhelmed and saddened to

find out your child has apraxia. And as I was one of those parents

it's never " just " apraxia when you find out!!!

It's OK to be upset " just " because your child is a " late talker " too!

Please know that I too believed my son Tanner to just have apraxia,.but down the

road found out he had a few other things we needed to help him

address. The incredible news is that the majority of our children if

you check history are up to speed to be mainstreamed by kindergarten-

and of course many have learned with communication impaired children

that it's best to start kindergarten at 6 vs. 5 to give them that one

extra year of therapy and developmental time.

If you have questions after reading the following please share them.

This group has always been a wealth of information for all of us, no

matter how long we've been here.

Below is a new member archived message to hopefully answer more of

your questions for now (did you read The Late Talker yet?) For updated

information on fish oils and vitamin E and more - please visit the

links section here

/links

What type of apraxic like speech behaviors are you seeing that makes

you and the SLP suspect your child has apraxia vs. a simple delay in

speech? Is your child talking at all yet? At your child's age -

without speech, it's difficult to diagnose verbal apraxia -they

could " suspect " verbal apraxia and begin treatment just in case,

which wouldn't hurt your child if he ended up just having a simple

delay. Just a few questions before we could provide more accurate

answers:

Does your child have signs of oral apraxia? (for example, can he on

command smile, imitate funny faces, blow bubbles...if you put peanut

butter anywhere around his mouth can he lick it off no matter where

it is?)

http://www.cherab.org/information/speechlanguage/oralapraxia.html

Does your child have any neurological " soft signs " such as hypotonia

or sensory integration dysfunction?

http://www.cherab.org/information/speechlanguage/parentfriendlysoftsigns.html

Who else evaluated your child? Was it only the SLP through your

town school or was he also in Early Intervention through the state?

(birth to three) Was he evaluated by both a speech pathologist as

well as an occupational therapist? Was/were they knowledgeable

about apraxia? (If your child wasn't diagnosed by an occupational

therapist as well and professionals suspect apraxia -I highly

recommend you request that too either through both the school as

well as private through insurance for many reasons)

To answer any questions you may have about taking your child to see a

neurodevelopmental MD if he has not yet been to one and apraxia is

suspected... in one word - " Yes!!! " I would have your child diagnosed

(private) by a neurodevelopmental medical doctor (developmental

pediatrician or pediatric neurologist) who is knowledgeable about

apraxia and other neurologically based multi-faceted communication

impairments for numerous reasons. Reasons include (but not limited

to)

*having a " hero " on the outside of the school who can assist in a

therapeutic plan and oversee your child's development over the years

*advocacy support with the insurance company

* ruling out or confirming any neurological soft signs or any other

reasons for the delay in speech

*help those that ask " why isn't he talking yet " understand this is a

medical condition -and has nothing to do with your child's cognitive

ability. (if in your child's case it doesn't. Apraxia in itself

does not affect a child's cognitive ability -and speaking early or

late is no indication of a child's intelligence. Also contrary to

popular belief -most who have speech impairments have average to

above average intelligence)

Here's an article written by Neurodevelopmental Pediatrician Dr.

Marilyn Agin that was featured as a cover article in Contemporary

Pediatrics -a trade magazine for hundreds of thousands of pediatric

medical professionals across the US. (I wrote the parent guide)

" The " late talker " -when silence isn't golden

Not all children with delayed speech are " little Einsteins " or garden

variety " late bloomers. " Some have a speech-language disorder that

will persist unless warning signs are recognized and intervention

comes early. Includes a Guide for Parents. "

Podcast interview with Dr. Marilyn Agin from Contemporary Pediatrics

http://contemporarypediatrics.modernmedicine.com/radio_peds4

Actual article (where you can read it for free)

http://opsc.mediwire.com/main/Default.aspx?P=Content & ArticleID=132720

There are also many activities parents can do at home with their

child to

promote the development of speech. These are detailed in the Guide

for Parents

http://contemporarypediatrics.modernmedicine.com/contpeds/data/articlestandard//\

contpeds/492004/136315/article.pdf

This guide was written by