ANY RESEARCH/LITERATURE LINKING APRAXIA TO EXECUTIVE FUNCTION DEFICITS?

May 13, 2009

Hi all! My son, Benji, is 12 years old in 7th grade with a demanding

middle school curriculum. Last year (end of 6th) they took away his IEP

abruptly (and only gave me a 504 after I insisted) because his apraxia is

resolved (which is true), and they saw no link between that disability and

Benji's

terrible organizational skills (problems with organization, planning, time

management, task initiation, etc.) - i.e., executive function (EF)

deficits.

They seem to feel there is no connection between apraxia in a child (his

was severe) and EF deficits later on. My gut tells me that's wrong - that a

child with trouble sequencing sounds and motor planning (he had motor

apraxia as well) IS likely to have EF deficits in the future, due to

neurological glitches or whatever. They're not " buying " it and Benji's grades

have

plummeted and he's under-achieving because of this. (His grades are being

dragged down mostly by missing assignments which he " loses, " " forgets " , etc.

(often he's done them but they still don't make it to the teacher on time

even though I've tried everything to organize him).

Anyway, anyone know of any solid research or literature (vs. common sense

or anecdotal stories) that would support a connection between apraxia and EF

deficits in general? Or are these simply separate conditions that are

often comorbid (co-existing) and therefore I'd have to have him tested for

these separate conditions vs. arguing that they stem from his apraxia.

We have hired a private neuropsychologist to work with Benji this summer in

preparation for 8th grade. Our high school (9th grade) is VERY

competitive, and we're concerned Benji won't survive without us figuring out how

to

help him succeed. He's very bright - that's not at issue (as far as ability

to learn the work), but his EF deficits (or whatever one chooses to call

them) are holding him back.

Thanks in advance!

Sandy

Sandy, Illinois (alpy2@...)

Volunteer Co-Webmaster, Our Children Left Behind

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