RE: Oh, Fireflies! and dyspraxia

[Guest guest]

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I can't start a new post from work, but have a very important question: do you

know much about DYSPRAXIA? I see a lot on it from sites oversees, but not here.

I have been researching like a mad person because my daughter who is undiagnosed

up until now is a perfect fit for this. Her teachers and therapists referred us

to her pediatrician, who immediately sent us on to a neurologist without a

consult. They do feel like something more than just delays are happening with

her. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely-

Meyer

PS- THANK YOU, Thank you so much for the book. The Late Talker was one of the

biggest things to come into my life since my daughter was born. What a blessing

to have someone out there advocating for these kids!

[ ] Oh, Fireflies!

Oh, Fireflies!

by Ellen C. Braun

I was sitting on the patio with my children surrounding me. They were spotting

fireflies in the early summer evening. The feeling was content, and he light

breeze in the air was like a sigh at the end of an energy-filled day.

The children’s excitement was palpable, for every time a firefly lit up,

they were squealed with delight.

I marveled at how such a little incident could trigger such joy.

It was only much later in the evening, after the exhausting, yet satisfying,

routine of dinner, bath time, and bedtime that I thought about the events of the

day.

My thoughts kept returning to the pure joy of the children’s fascination

with fireflies. They ran around the yard trying to catch one in order to inspect

it up close. They reassured me that they weren’t going to hurt it, they

just wanted to see its details.

Their curiosity enveloped them and me as they asked a myriad of questions.

Before I could answer, the next question was already being articulated. Where do

they live? What do they eat? Where does that light come from? Do they change

colors? Can we keep one? Why? What do you mean they only live a short while?

At this I almost felt sorry for answering- their disappointment was sincere and

heartwarming.

As I thought about these occurrences, it dawned on me how these seemingly small

events have a deeper message to share. Just as these moments with the fireflies

flutter by, so too my children’s lives are mine to shape for a short

while. I must remember to do so delicately, to pay attention to detail, so that

its importance is truly felt. Every time they shine and light up, just like the

fireflies, it is a cause for a small celebration. My children want, no, they

NEED, me to celebrate their glowing moments. “Look, Mommy! See what I

made?†“Very niceâ€Â†" that is NOT enough. I am retraining

myself to look at the details, to embrace them, and celebrate them.

These are my little fireflies, and I will only be privileged to watch them

shine if I take the time to look.

http://www.raisingsmallsouls.com/oh-fireflies

<http://www.raisingsmallsouls.com/oh-fireflies>

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[Guest guest]

I think some already pointed out the confusion -but here are some archives on

this too:

Dyspraxia -global apraxia -apraxia in the limbs or body

Outside the US the two, apraxia and dyspraxia, have different meanings Since you

are in the US as I said before " there really is no difference today in the

diagnosis of dyspraxia or apraxia in the US " In other words - you can use the

word dyspraxia or apraxia here and it means the exact same thing in regards to a

diagnosis. So as long as you don't plan to move outside the US -if you use

dyspraxia as a diagnosis people here will know you mean apraxia. (and not the

" clumsy child syndrome " ) " dyspraxia is coined from two greek words -dys -

meaning poor and praxis - meaning movement. Children with this condition tend to

be 'clumsy' lacking in co-ordination and have poor attention spans other

symptoms could be problems in speech (verbal or apraxia). "

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/madeleine.portwood/ For those that call it dyspraxia

here in the US -since apraxia and dyspraxia can be used interchangeably here and

mean the same thing - why choose to call it the one that is defined as something

else elsewhere in the world? Well, some call it dyspraxia on principle. They

analyzed the meaning of the name and said " well if it's anything, it's dyspraxia

not apraxia " But really nobody knows - could be apraxia -or whatever you call

it. And again...call it dyspraxia and it has a different meaning 'outside' the

US. As far as the adult population -the diagnosis was historically used in the

adult population. Apraxia (or dyspraxia) in the pediatric population was rare.

Of course that is not the case today for whatever reason -there's been a

dramatic rise, and in families like mine and most (all?) of yours with no

history of speech problems. Yet back even just a few years ago some

professionals didn't acknowledge apraxia in the pediatric population. Best line

from my last post about this: " Apraxia by any other name would still be just as

confusing " Hope it's clearer this time. But if not...

http://www.cherab.org/information/speechlanguage/verbalapraxia.html (Have you

read The Late Talker book to help you with the IEP process?)

and

Hi da! It is confusing, this is why it's so important to make sure your

child is properly diagnosed. Dysarthria and apraxia can stand alone, they can

also co exist together! -it's not unusual. " Some speech disorders can overlap,

or be misdiagnosed. For example, " Verbal apraxia, a disorder of central nervous

system (CNS) processing, and dysarthria, a disorder of output, are commonly

confused " , says Dr. , chief of child development at the Chicago

College of Medicine. " Experts are able to differentiate between these two

disorders by listening carefully to a child's speech and by identifying certain

physical clues " , says Dr. , but adds, " These disorders are poorly

understood by physicians and by a lot of speech therapists as well. " It is

possible for phonological disorders, apraxia and dysarthria to all occur

together in the same child. Speech Language Impairments, which is connected to

language based learning difficulties may also be present. And the severity of

each may vary. " http://www.cherab.org/information/latetalkerhandout.html My son

Tanner had to work on these two conditions (and more) and he is talking and a

straight A student in first grade now. He plays ball, rides a bike, roller

blades -maybe not all as graceful as other boys -but he pushes himself to keep

up with all his friends. The Late Talker book has many exercises that you can do

at home (many pulled from what worked for Tanner who was diagnosed with oral and

verbal apraxia, dysarthria, and sensory integration dysfunction - and mild

hypotonia too) http://www.cherab.org/information/familiesrelate/letter.html How

did I tell the difference between what was due to apraxia and what was due to

dysarthria or hypotonia? Here's my parent friendly explanation. Apraxia is

trying to pick up a fork to pick up a cooked noodle... while looking in a

mirror. Weakness is like trying to pick up the fork 'with' a cooked noodle.

Having both -well it's, both. If Tanner never did it, and made consistent errors

when he tried to do it -that was from weakness. Dysarthria and hypotonia made

sense. " He needs to work on this " If he could do it once in a while, mainly not

on command, and was inconsistent in how he did it -that was the motor planning.

Apraxia doesn't make sense " I don't get it why can't he do this when he can do

that? " or " He just did it why can't he do it again? " Actually if you start your

sentence off when describing your child with " it doesn't make sense " ...big

warning sign of apraxia! Again you'll know what I mean if you know what I mean!

If even the experts are not 100% sure, it doesn't hurt to incorporate both motor

planning and strengthening therapies to see which helps the most, or if both are

needed. (again not unusual)

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