Re: Are Apraxia treatments helpful for Dysarthria?

January 9, 2010

My son had severe dysarthia and a constant drool. He was unable to hold his

mouth closed or chew a lot of food. For my son it has also been unclear as

to whether it is apraxia or as his muscle strength gets to 100% if he will

actually talk more. Oral motor therapy has been life changing for him.

We used Debra Beckmans methods and he sees Debra directly. There are other

typs of oral motor therapy, but for us it made all the difference. Debra

works in his mouth doing muscle stretched about 30 minutes per week and my

husband and I repeat those methods at home 2 times per day on the other days.

My son last June 2009 could only say 8 basic sounds (ma, ba, da, etc) and since

receiving oral motor therapy combined with 2 hours of speech therapy per week he

can now talk in 2 word combinations and make all of the sounds of the alphabet.

He still lags behind in the number of words but has progressed greatly. If

you'd like to email me directly I'd be happy to answer more questions or give

you my phone number if you'd like to call me. My son has a diagnosis right

now of apraxia and dysarthia. He will be 3 in January.

[ ] Are Apraxia treatments helpful for Dysarthria?

I joined this wonderful group because our SLP suspected Apraxia in our 28 month

old son. You have been a wonderful source of information and support for me and

I am so grateful for that. I need to ask your advice again. I'm very confused.

After getting a 2nd and 3rd opinion, all of the SLP's agree now that it is

probably Dysarthria. Prior to this I had never heard of Dysarthria, this is all

new to me. They explained that although Dysarthria and apraxia are often

comorbid, that in this case they felt strongly that my son only had Dysarthria

and is not apraxic.

We are currently doing the sensory brushing, the fish Oils and I am searching

for a PROMPT therapist. Am I barking up the wrong tree with these treatments for

Dysarthria? Are they only effective for Apraxia? Where do I found out more

information? What is the prognosis for Dysarthria? Please help lead me in the

right direction. I am a young Mom just beginning this journey and he is my only

child. I don't know where to start. Thank you!

P.S. He is currently in the Early Intervetion Program and receives PT, OT and

SLT, and Music Therapy.

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