Re: Stuttering, Apraxia and Tongue

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Thanks so much for your response.

About the tongue - it's not that she does it all through the month or even every

month. Suddenly it will start happening and suddenly it will stop. When we met

Sowmya in Bangalore, the tongue thing was not happening. The reason I had not

brought this up so far was that on the 2-3 other occasions it happened we

associated it with the cold medication she was taking at the time (again just an

assumption). Since then we have stopped giving any such medication but this time

I was totally taken by surprise as she is on no medication right now other than

Kirkman's souped up multivitamin which also we had stopped and just restarted 1

month ago (now again stopped).

The vit e and fish oils were all stopped quite a long time back and the vit e

was never given in a high dose anyway. The articulation therapy was discontinued

3-4 months ago to see if her stuttering goes away but it hasn't made any

difference so we are thinking of restarting - though hopefully the focus will be

now more on phonological awareness rather than articulation per se. On the

stuttering - yes, we are doing exactly that - dropping everything, making eye

contact and showing her as if we have all the time in the world. On your

question whether she struggles when the tongue thing happens yes she does. Yes,

she does get frustrated about it and says " I'm not able to say it " . I thought

this might be Oral Motor related?

About the sensory issues, not really a meltdown per se but many small things

which I have noticed before also but did not co-relate with sensory integration

since I didn't know much about it. Issues such as awkwardness, tripping over for

no reason sometimes, not jumping high on trampoline like other kids, not being

able to judge or apply appropriate pressure, not wanting to do even the kiddy

rides at amusement parks, not being able to judge a ball coming towards her,

etc. etc. And then the auditory stuff where for no reason she just does not like

certain sounds, might close her ears, etc.

Thanks,

Nikunj

>

> Hi Nikunj!

>

> About the tongue- that doesn't sound like a stage at all, and I'm looking

forward to seeing if any of the professionals will comment -but of course will

throw in my two cents

>

> I went through your history and this is the first you are bringing up anything

about her tongue -and according to your messages you just traveled about a month

ago to Bangalore to see an expert, was she doing this last month and if so what

did Sowmya say?

>

> Outside of this everything else sounds pretty typical of all here. It is

possible this is a late oral exploration stage but based on all you wrote

doesn't sound like that, or could be she's developed an unusual habit of using

her tongue as a pause for when she's thinking of what she wants to say next

(kind of like when someone says " ummmmm " ) I mean we all have seen people who

after being asked a question... stick their tongue slightly out or to the side

of their mouth at the same moment their eyes shoot up toward the sky, sometimes

as they breath in- classic universal nonverbal visual of " let me think about

that...hmmm "

>

> Tell me again what exactly you are giving your child in the way of

supplements- is it still just the ProEFA...anything else? You aren't using

vitamin e separate are you? Based on some of the messages here if you are I

would stop that -but let me know.

>

> Your child is learning 2 languages, is that correct? Because that would be

known to cause some delays. And as I probably said before in my mega long

message- stuttering can be from stress as well- too much articulation therapy

etc. It also seems as if all are very worried about her, which of course we all

worry about our kids -but it seems at times there may be worry for things that

are not that far outside the norm. It's important that even if we worry we

don't share our concerns in front of our child, or share it in our body language

either. So remember since you are now dealing with some occasional stuttering,

when she is talking -relax your body as if not a care in the world and you have

all day to listen to her.

>

> Also, there really is no way to give a child a definite diagnosis of sensory

integration dysfunction...and the fact your child is a bit over 4 and this is

the first you mention this. Give an example of one of her sensory meltdowns and

when did you first notice this? Who diagnosed it? Sensory meltdowns are not

exactly like normal tantrums -it's like a tantrum times a thousand.

>

>

> Also, the only way to get a definite diagnosis of anything is with reliable

diagnostic testing. There is no diagnostic testing that I am aware of for

sensory integration dysfunction -and it's something that typically again would

be spotted and diagnosed much earlier- something you would have noticed prior as

well.

>

> You wrote below about the results of the hair testing you did which would have

put your child through some potentially dangerous treatments that some told you

she " definably " had to be chelated. Instead you wisely took a hair sample from

another one of your children to the same people and they came up with the same

results for this other child you say is a genius. The Uncertainty of Hair

Analysis for Trace Metals http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/285/1/83.extract

>

> But back to the tongue- when did this start and has anything changed previous

to when this started as far as therapy or supplements or school placement etc.

You say she's struggling -but does she appear to be frustrated while doing this?

Have you asked her about why she does this (in a laid back way) since she's

talking in full sentences and if so what does she say?

>

> I find going through archives a great way to view the journey thus far

-sometimes the answers to the present issues lie in the road that brought you

here.

>

>

> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Start of archives

> SLPs in Bangalore??

> Wed Dec 29, 2010 2:45 am

>

> Hi,

>

> I live in Kolkata and I'm travelling to Bangalore on 9th Jan, 2011 with my 4

> year old daughter for an assessment at the Five center by Sowmya Surendranath

> who I believe is an accomplished SLP and his team of Occupational Therapist

and

> Special Educator.

>

> I was wondering if there is some other really accomplished SLP in Bangalore

that

> anyone on this group would like to recomment I consult while I'm in Bangalore?

>

> Please let me know.

>

> Thanks,

>

> Nikunj

>

> Has any1 seen tantrums bcoz of STOPPING fish oil?

> Tue Apr 27, 2010 2:21 am

>

> Hi,

>

> We experienced something recently which we are just not able to figure out and

> really could do with some help from anyone out there. My 3 yr 4 month old

> daughter was on ProEFA (we had tried the 2:1 ratio of ProEFA:ProEPA but only

> ProEFA worked better for her) since she turned 2 yrs old. At the time she

hardly

> had any speech. Now she has full speech but with what her speech therapist has

> described as a phonological disorder.

>

> As we were not seeing the fish oil making anymore impact on her atleast in so

> far as we could make out, we decided to stop the EFAs (she was taking just 1

> capsule a day) some 2 weeks ago. Our logic behind doing this was also to see

> whether she could become a more sober and reserved child, maybe soft spoken

even

> as she has mostly been an excited and slightly impatient child with a short

> attention span. We were under the impression that the oils increase

> hyperactivity while helping in all other areas so we thought it might help her

> behaviour.

>

> Instead, what we thought shocked us as she started getting VERY VERY cranky

from

> the very next day that we stopped the oils.. the likes of which we have not

seen

> or perhaps seen only once or twice. This crankiness became a daily affair and

> continued for 10 days at which point we decided to start her up on the EFAs

> again and lo and behold, she was back to her normal self the very same day!

>

> Does someone have any explanation for this drastic impact of the oils on her?

> Does it indicate anything which we are not realizing? Would really appreciate

> some help/advice from the more experienced and knowledgable parents out there.

> Thanks so much in advance.

>

> Nikunj

>

> Sharing my story - the good and the bad

> Thu Nov 12, 2009 2:37 pm

>

> Hi,

>

> It's been a while since I posted to this group. Writing now to share my story

> about what has happened during the 8-9 months that I have been on this group.

>

> I joined this group when my daughter was approx. 2 yrs of age and had almost

no

> speech. I had read " The Late Talker " book and came to know of this group.

> Subsequently started my daughter on the Nordic Naturals fish oils. Started

with

> 1 ProEFA, then bumped it up to 2 ProEFAs and finally added 1 ProEPA (The

ProEPA

> was only for a short time - whatever reason, she did not respond very well to

it

> and we went back to doing 2 ProEFAs only).

>

> Her speech development has been tremendous! I attribute a lot of it to the

fish

> oils. She will turn 3 yrs old in a month's time and is now speaking in

> full-blown sentences! I am really happy with her progress and have been

> astounded by it. However, she still has the articulation disorder and I'm

> wondering about where I go from here. What do I do? Do I only just continue

with

> the fish oils? Is there anything specific I can do for the articulation

> disorder? Is there any sense in trying Vit E or Cartinine?

>

> I had also joined a BioMed group and after a hair test, those folks are

> insisting that she has lead poisoning and I should chelate her for lead. I am

> not too convinced because I got the same hair test done for another kid in the

> family who is considered to be a genius and his lead levels were 4 times

higher

> than my daughter's.

>

> Basically, to put it in short, I'm now at a crossroads where I'm TOTALLY and

> THOROUGHLY confused about where I go from here. Any advice would be most

> welcome.

>

> Thanks,

>

> Nikunj

>

> Hi,

>

> I just got my daughter's Hair Elements Test results from Doctors Data. As you

> maybe aware, this is a test done to check for heavy metal toxicity which if

> present, can cause speech and language problems, learning disabilities, etc.

> Now, as per the counting rules, my daughter is not mercury toxic. However,

some

> other heavy metals have moderately elevated levels such as Lead (2.3),

Antimony

> (0.12), Tin (0.33), Silver (0.46), Cadmium (0.14) and Uranium (0.069). A

couple

> of essential elements are low - Molybdenum (0.049) and Chromium (0.34).

However,

> the total toxic representation is in the 96th percentile. I am also a member

of

> a couple of BioMed support groups and according to them, the test

> conclusively dictates that I should opt for chelation therapy to remove the

> heavy metals from my daughter's brain and body. In fact, they have even

> suggested that though she is not showing mercury toxic as per the counting

> rules, there are other indications in the test result which indicate mercury

> toxicity.

>

> Now, I am completely stumped about whether or not I should opt for chelation.

My

> daughter, 2.8 yrs old, is speech delayed but is now catching up quite fast.

She

> has started speaking in sentences though she still has a phonological or

> articulation disorder and stammering. Her concentration could be far better

and

> she is what you would call a fidgety child. However, she has come from hardly

> any words to her present state in approx. just about 8 months which I think

all

> will agree is quite a rapid improvement. Of course, the fish oils have helped

> tremendously and so to have the playtime/floortime and speech therapy. Looking

> at how she has improved, I'm tempted to not pursue any other road and just let

> her be and grow on a normal course. However, the BioMed people tell me that in

> doing so, I would be making a big mistake because these heavy metals may not

be

> making such a huge impact right now but most definitely will in the future.

The

> impact is said to be to the extent where a briliiant child would become an

> average child, an average child would become learning disabled, etc. It can

also

> cause development delays (my daughter also started walking very late - at 20

> months), memory and cognitive issues, etc. Supposedly, the negative impact of

> these heavy metals increases as the child grows.

>

> I have been told that I definitely need to chelate my child following the Andy

> Cutler DAN protocol which is essential very low and frequent doses of the

> chelating agents like DMSA and ALA. I trust this particular group explicitly

and

> just wanted to get your views on all this and whether or not I should opt for

> chelation therapy.

>

> Thanks,

>

> Nikunj

>

> Chelation therapy (Biomed) for my late talker

> Mon Aug 31, 2009 11:52 am

>

> Hi,

>

> I just got my daughter's Hair Elements Test results from Doctors Data. As you

> maybe aware, this is a test done to check for heavy metal toxicity which if

> present, can cause speech and language problems, learning disabilities, etc.

> Now, as per the counting rules, my daughter is not mercury toxic. However,

some

> other heavy metals have moderately elevated levels such as Lead (2.3),

Antimony

> (0.12), Tin (0.33), Silver (0.46), Cadmium (0.14) and Uranium (0.069). A

couple

> of essential elements are low - Molybdenum (0.049) and Chromium (0.34).

However,

> the total toxic representation is in the 96th percentile. I am also a member

of

> a couple of BioMed support groups and according to them, the test

> conclusively dictates that I should opt for chelation therapy to remove the

> heavy metals from my daughter's brain and body. In fact, they have even

> suggested that though she is not showing mercury toxic as per the counting

> rules, there are other indications in the test result which indicate mercury

> toxicity.

>

> Now, I am completely stumped about whether or not I should opt for chelation.

My

> daughter, 2.8 yrs old, is speech delayed but is now catching up quite fast.

She

> has started speaking in sentences though she still has a phonological or

> articulation disorder and stammering. Her concentration could be far better

and

> she is what you would call a fidgety child. However, she has come from hardly

> any words to her present state in approx. just about 8 months which I think

all

> will agree is quite a rapid improvement. Of course, the fish oils have helped

> tremendously and so to have the playtime/floortime and speech therapy. Looking

> at how she has improved, I'm tempted to not pursue any other road and just let

> her be and grow on a normal course. However, the BioMed people tell me that in

> doing so, I would be making a big mistake because these heavy metals may not

be

> making such a huge impact right now but most definitely will in the future.

The

> impact is said to be to the extent where a briliiant child would become an

> average child, an average child would become learning disabled, etc. It can

also

> cause development delays (my daughter also started walking very late - at 20

> months), memory and cognitive issues, etc. Supposedly, the negative impact of

> these heavy metals increases as the child grows.

>

> I have been told that I definitely need to chelate my child following the Andy

> Cutler DAN protocol which is essential very low and frequent doses of the

> chelating agents like DMSA and ALA. I trust this particular group explicitly

and

> just wanted to get your views on all this and whether or not I should opt for

> chelation therapy.

>

> Thanks,

>

> Nikunj

>

> Question about hearing for LT / Apraxia

> Fri May 8, 2009 2:16 am

>

> Hi,

>

> We tried doing a hearing test with my daughter (brief synopsis of profile in

my

> signature below) but the sedation was mild and she kept waking up. The test

had

> to be stopped mid-way. The doctor was only able to tell us that her hearing is

> absolutely fine (it took them hardly 5 mins to confirm that) but they could

not

> say anything about whether or not the input received by the ear is properly

> being processed and received by the brain. Apparently, the test for this takes

> closer to 45 mins and since she kept waking up, they could not complete this

> test.

>

> Now, my question is given the fact that her hearing is fine and her present

> status of verbalization (mentioned below), do we need to really go through the

> tortue of putting her through all that again? I mean the sedation and

> everything. What are the chances of her brain not receiving / processing the

> signals from the ears correctly?

>

> I guess the only reason I am even considering a hearing test again is that she

> misarticulates.

>

> Thanks,

>

> Nikunj

>

> Daughter 2.4 yrs LT

> No formal diagnosis, I suspect Apraxia.

> 150 words or word approximations, misarticulation

> Montessori school, child led therapy at home and speech therapy

>

> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

>

>

> =====

>

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Would love to have some experts weigh in here with their thoughts and

opinions.

Oh and ya, .. I'm also making sure you don't miss this post. Look

forward to your response whenever you can make the time.

Thanks,

Nikunj