Re: Very few consonant sounds points to speech disorder rather than delay?

[Guest guest]

With apraxia the question isn't can he or can't he do or say it -it's can he do

it or say it 'on command'

It doesn't sound like your child has oral apraxia -but just wanted to point that

out. It is possible your son is just a late talker. If the only sign is lack

of consonant sounds that doesn't mean apraxia -could be any number of reasons.

A sign of apraxia is that he said a sound and never said it again. He gropes to

talk but nothing comes out. He can excel at something advanced for his age in

one area...but is behind in something he should have mastered. (for example he

can climb monkey bars up and down like a pro -but goes up the stairs to the

slide one foot one foot (my son) Apraxia is when you find yourself saying " now

that doesn't make sense! How come he can ____ but he can't always ____ "

Apraxia doesn't always make sense -and it's frustrating for all. Good news is

the prognosis is bright with early intervention and appropriate therapy which

you have time for both. Not that those with older children don't have great

hope for positive prognosis -but it is proven that earlier is better in regards

to therapy. Unfortunately it appears that still too many children with

impairments are getting a wait and see approach to therapy which is sad. It is

almost like " well based on our evaluations he's not deaf or autistic...just give

him time " as if those are the only reasons for not talking yet!

There are so many signs to look for in regards to delay vs disorder

Here is a " late talker vs apraxia " page from Cherab

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

-let me know if you missed the message I just sent out which had a bunch of new

member archives in it.

Below is a short archive which may have more info -but when you have a chance

let us know if any of the above fit your son

(newbie - Hi!) Diagnosis before 2? New Mexico

And I meant to answer your message yesterday and sorry about that.

First of all....WELCOME NEWBIE!!!!!

No error on sending the message. Sometimes in this group we go off

on tangents -but we are here for you too. There are not that many

members that I know of in New Mexico other than and

Mustafa. Not sure if either of them will know to check this email so

wrote " New Mexico " in the subject. 's been diagnosed with

cancer and I have not heard from her in a while (worried about that

as I've left messages and even tried to contact her son Khalid on

Facebook -or who I thought was Khalid. I just hope she's OK)

was one of the original moderators to start this group and she's a

wealth of information and sweetness.

Isn't PROMPT in New Mexico too?

Anyway about the age of your child for diagnosis. 18 months is

probably too young to know for 100% sure it's verbal apraxia but if

diagnosed appropriate therapies should be started as a just in case.

Can't hurt if not apraxic and will be greatly beneficial if she is.

It's best to first get a speech and hearing evaluation (have you done

that yet) Below I have a bit more about what to look for in regards

to apraxia. While 18 months is probably too young for a definitive

diagnosis of verbal apraxia it's not too young for a diagnosis of

oral apraxia. If apraxia is suspected it's best to take your child

to a neurodevelopmental medical doctor -more on that below as to why.

This is a new member 101 archive -please email back with questions

after reading this as this should cover some of the basics:

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 Tanner to just have apraxia and have

my first message posted to a grouplist about that below.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?)

Below is a new member archive that keeps it simple on what to know to

start.

Re: Hi! New and wondering about apraxia.

Hi Mrs Laurie and welcome!

Your son sounds like he has some oral apraxia which would of course

need to be confirmed by professionals. If oral apraxia is present

together with your child's delay he should at least be diagnosed

as " suspected apraxia " and appropriate therapy should be provided.

He is entitled by federal law to a free and appropriate public

education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE) which

means that if 5 days of one on one speech therapy is appropriate for

him then that's what he should receive. What type of speech therapy

is he receiving from the school right now when you say " some " ?

Below is a very long archive to help -please know that you don't have

to understand it all at once -we're here as a group to help!

Thanks for sharing. This group has from the start been a group

that's made up of parents and professionals who care for children

with many types of speech and/or language delays and/or disorders.

There are parents here for example with undiagnosed " late talkers "

and we just have not heard from them in awhile. It's actually a

really good thing when there is a mix of us to share because we all

learn from each other as many diagnoses can overlap -or down the road

we learn that our child does have co diagnosis.

While this group is open to parents of all children with

communication impairments -including hearing impaired, autistic etc.

it wasn't that all that posted recently had a child with autism, or

autism and apraxia -but because of society focus on autism -many here

started following an autism approach -including ABA in some cases!

That's understandable if the much more basic approach to apraxia -ST

and OT and EFAs were tried first and didn't work -but some were

trying that to start.

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 Tanner to just have apraxia and have

my first message posted to a grouplist about that below.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://www.contemporarypediatrics.com/contpeds/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=1363\

\

15

This guide was written by

[Guest guest]

I really don't know the answer for your question as your son is so young, but I

did want to ask if you had his hearing checked and if he has any history or

allergies/runny noses. As his mouth muscles appear to be fine, I'm wondering

if he's hearing you correctly? My son had no history of any ear infections

and had passed 3 hearing tests. I took him in to the school district for his

transition at age 2 year 9 mos (this november) and he failed the hearing test

due to wax in his ears. He had allergies/runny nose at the time. I took him

in again to the ENT and again he wasn't hearing properly and still wax. He

was getting surgery a few weeks later for adenoids so the dr said he would check

then and put in tubes if there was still a problem. There was. He put in

the tubes and I have noticed a big difference in the last 5 weeks in terms of

him pairing more and more words together.

[ ] Very few consonant sounds points to speech

disorder rather than delay?

Hi, I have posted a few different questions about my little boy here. He is

24mths, completely non verbal, and has only a few sounds.

The few speech therapists that he has seen, have commented that he does indeed

have a speech disorder rather than a delay, due to his lack of consonant sounds

- does this sound correct to you (I guess deep in the back of my mind I'm still

hoping he is just delayed).

Apraxia is at the top of the list of suspected 'problems'. I do feel that he

doesn't have oral apraxia (or dyspraxia as we refer to it here in Australia), as

he is able to smile, make different facial expressions, blow bubbles and

whistles etc. Would this indicate that he won't be so much in need of therapy

such as beckman stretches?

What are your opinions on him having a 'speech disorder' rather than 'delayed

speech'?

He is due for his first appointment with a therapist trained in PROMPT tomorrow

(yay - I finally found someone with advanced training).