Speech

Oh my word!  Ms. Vanessa....is a godsend.  Most of you probably know that Sophie has dyslexia.  You may also know she has apraxia of speech.  Below is a short article explaining what Childhood Apraxia of Speech is.  This is taken from the Apraxia kids website....

What is Childhood Apraxia of Speech?

Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a motor speech disorder. For reasons not yet fully understood, children with apraxia of speech have great difficulty planning and producing the precise, highly refined and specific series of movements of the tongue, lips, jaw and palate that are necessary for intelligible speech. Apraxia of speech is sometimes called verbal apraxia, developmental apraxia of speech, or verbal dyspraxia. No matter what name is used, the most important concept is the root word "praxis." Praxis means planned movement. To some degree or another, a child with the diagnosis of apraxia of speech has difficulty programming and planning speech movements. Apraxia of speech is a specific speech disorder.
The act of speech begins with an intention to communicate. Next, an idea forms, outlining what the speaker wants to say. The words for the desired message are put in the correct order, using the correct grammar. Each of the words are comprised of a specific sequence of sounds (also called phonemes)and syllables that must be ordered together. All of this information is translated from an idea and information about order of sounds into a series of highly coordinated motor movements of the lips, tongue, jaw, and soft palate.
The brain must tell the muscles of these “articulators” the exact order and timing of movements so that the words in the message are properly articulated. Finally, the muscles must work properly with enough strength and muscle tone to perform the movements needed for speech.
In typically developing speech, children make word attempts and get feedback from others and from their own internal systems regarding how “well” the words they produced matched the ones that they wanted to produce. Children use this information the next time they attempt the words and essentially are able to “learn from experience.” Usually once syllables and words are spoken repeatedly, the speech motor act becomes automatic. Speech motor plans and programs are stored in the brain and can be accessed effortlessly when they are needed. Children with apraxia of speech have difficulty in this aspect of speech. It is believed that children with CAS may not be able to form or access speech motor plans and programs or that these plans and programs are faulty for some reason.

Sophie went to a WONDERFUL.....but expensive (we used to have money) private tutor.  She was soooooo good and in two years Sophie whose speech was VERY hard to understand graduated from therapy!  She now only has trouble with 3 letter s blends if she is talking fast!

Well....Jackson has also been diagnosed with Childhood apraxia of speech (yes it runs in families and yes it is related to dyslexia it is the same language pathways...75% of kids with apraxia also have dyslexia).  He has been in therapy for over 2 years through the public school system.  Last May when we thought we were going to move, due to a job opportunity for Randy, we stopped that therapy.  We had seen very little progress in his speech over the 2 years he was in therapy and it was frustrating!   His therapist was older and had a lot of health issues going on and I think was overwhelmed with that and therapy was not a priority to her.  I've since heard that it is really hit or miss.  Some of the schools have GREAT speech therapist and some do not.  So I am not saying our experience is typical....it is just what our experience was.  Well....we ended up not moving....and Randy ended up losing his job.  Money was tight.  The school we were at was closing it's services due to remodeling and we were going to have to go through the process of registering/testing again....and being displeased....we decided to take a break.  Our break ended up being from May-January.  I was sick of loading everyone up twice a week to drive across town for therapy that wasn't working!  However...he needed therapy....I couldn't afford private therapy.....I was at a loss.  FINALLY....I called the pediatrician!  I wish I had done this sooner!  They found a private therapist that took our insurance AND she comes to our house twice a week!  I seriously almost cried with joy.  I don't have to go anywhere!  We can keep right on with school.  It is so nice! 

AND GUESS WHAT.....

Vanessa is WONDERFUL!  She is ENGAGING, PREPARED, HAS A PLAN, not to mention she is BEAUTIFUL, YOUNG, SMART.....I am in love!!!!! and so is Jackson!

She also assessed Audrey because I was concerned about some of the articulation errors I was hearing in her speech.  It was determined after testing that she does not have childhood apraxia of speech (PRAISE THE LORD!) and that she makes age appropriate errors and that she does not need speech therapy!  Some of her errors are from copying Jackson but they are easily correctable and it is not an actual speech disorder!  YEAH!

Jackson has been re-tested and was determined to have great auditory comprehension, great expressive communication, and terrible articulation.  Which means he understands language spoken to him, he knows what he wants to say and has a great vocabulary....he just isn't easy to understand!  He has a severe delay in his articulation skills and it is due to his Apraxia.  UGH!  He also has some disturbances with his prosody (which means the rhythm of his speech) it sounds choppy and he is monotone and LOUD!  These are all typical of kids with Apraxia.  His hearing is fine!  And guess what.....my girl, Vanessa, has a plan...and she is taking my insurance-not my money....and she is driving to my house.....and she is going to help him!  I AM SO HAPPY!

She says his articulation is bad!  It is at the 3rd percentile for his age.  Yes that is a 3 on a scale of 100....BUT she said he has so many positive indicators: an older sister who has overcome almost all signs of apraxia, a supportive family environment, a willing attitude (I know....don't laugh....but she says he is very cooperative.....I guess he just likes to give me a hard time!) AND with proper therapy she is convinced that he will be able to communicate effectively one day.  And guess what? She doesn't even know about our secret weapon: PRAYER!  Some children with this disorder NEVER speak....so that he has the ability to speak so much already is GREAT and Ms. Vanessa infused me with hope today! 

AHHH-THANK YOU!

Happy Weekend!
Kim