Speech Apraxia or not?
Published by Jammy Sinclair on September 29, 2009When my son was 22 months old I told my sons pediatrician I was concerned with his speech or lack there of. She told me to contact "children first" for a developmental assessment. I did, he did very well in all aspects other than speech. She recommended that he be evaluated by a speech pathologist. The speech pathologist suggested he may have speech apraxia. I brought him back to his pediatrician and she says that she would not diagnose him with apraxia, that he just is a late talker and we have nothing to worry about at all.
He will be two in 5 days and says about 15-17 words. Mama, dada, dog, nahla (cats name), dora, diego, juice, yes, no, please etc. He imitates animal noises such as meow, moo, neigh, baaa. bzzz, and when asked to name an animal he will say the sound instead. He has many times spontaneously said words like light bulb, nice shoes, cat, car, bubbles but we are unable to ever get him to repeat those words. Often his words end in "ese" or "eses" He will be seeing a speech therapist regularly starting this week. I would like to get feedback from people familiar with apraxia, has anyones children overcome it completley? been misdiagnosed? how much improvement should I expect from speech therapy? is there anything I can do at home? does this even sound like apraxia? should I trust my sons pediatrician who has known him since birth, or a speech pathologoist who saw him for 30 minutes?
Just wanted to make sure you got my answer. Please visit the websites.
My son has Childhood Apraxia of Speech. I knew there was a problem before he was 2. At the age of 2 he could say maybe 20 words. His pediatrician said he was "just a late talker". Your son sounds similar to mine.I knew otherwise. Dr. would not even consider a speech eval until he was 3, and after hearing test. At 3yrs he could say 30 words. Even so my insurance refused an eval. (it is very hard to get insurances to cover anything for speech). I was rejected for evals until he was 5yrs old.
Apraxia is a neurological disorder you need to have it "approved for eval" as a symbolic dysfunction , not speech delay. I actually brought in about 20 pages of highlighted information off the web to help his pediatrician get it approved.
He is 7 now and has "rapid, intense, speech therapy" He now has an extensive vocabulary but still struggles very hard with speech. I have fought doctors, schools and insurances to get my child’s needs met.
For improvement you need "rapid intense therapy" 4-5 xs a week. At 3yrs you can get your child an IEP from the school and have free therapy from them. Work hard at getting your insurance to pay for addition therapy. It is hard but can be done.
Speech paths do speech for a living. If you have a good one I would definitely trust their evals. They know more about speech.
Be patient with your son. It is very frustrating for him. My son would throw tantrums all the time. Your speech path can give you stuff to work with at home.
Also 75% of children who are Apraxic are Dyslexic. My son is now struggling with learning disabilities as well.
For a child who is Apraxic they know what they want to say, but have a very hard time getting it out.
Please visit these websites for lots of info.
http://www.apraxia-kids.org
http://www.apraxiaspeaks.com
http://www.asha.org/default.htm
Also this book is helpful.
The Parents Guide to Speech and Language Problems by Debbie Feit
Good luck and be strong.
Your son needs you.
And find a good support team for you
Just wanted to make sure you got my answer. Please visit the websites.
My son has Childhood Apraxia of Speech. I knew there was a problem before he was 2. At the age of 2 he could say maybe 20 words. His pediatrician said he was "just a late talker". Your son sounds similar to mine.I knew otherwise. Dr. would not even consider a speech eval until he was 3, and after hearing test. At 3yrs he could say 30 words. Even so my insurance refused an eval. (it is very hard to get insurances to cover anything for speech). I was rejected for evals until he was 5yrs old.
Apraxia is a neurological disorder you need to have it "approved for eval" as a symbolic dysfunction , not speech delay. I actually brought in about 20 pages of highlighted information off the web to help his pediatrician get it approved.
He is 7 now and has "rapid, intense, speech therapy" He now has an extensive vocabulary but still struggles very hard with speech. I have fought doctors, schools and insurances to get my child’s needs met.
For improvement you need "rapid intense therapy" 4-5 xs a week. At 3yrs you can get your child an IEP from the school and have free therapy from them. Work hard at getting your insurance to pay for addition therapy. It is hard but can be done.
Speech paths do speech for a living. If you have a good one I would definitely trust their evals. They know more about speech.
Be patient with your son. It is very frustrating for him. My son would throw tantrums all the time. Your speech path can give you stuff to work with at home.
Also 75% of children who are Apraxic are Dyslexic. My son is now struggling with learning disabilities as well.
For a child who is Apraxic they know what they want to say, but have a very hard time getting it out.
Please visit these websites for lots of info.
http://www.apraxia-kids.org
http://www.apraxiaspeaks.com
http://www.asha.org/default.htm
Also this book is helpful.
The Parents Guide to Speech and Language Problems by Debbie Feit
Good luck and be strong.
Your son needs you.
And find a good support team for you
References :
Its been my experience that a qualified speech pathologist is more accurate than a pediatrician in diagnosing speech apraxia. This is their area of specialty and in all likelihood have seen tons more cases than a pediatrician.
As an early childhood special educator for over 30 years, I cannot begin to tell you how frustrated I am with pediatricians who constantly tell parents that "every child develops at his own pace" or "give him time," and so on. So many children are left to chance instead of being referred to specialists who can provide help immediately.
Speech apraxia is often a tricky condition to diagnose; your doctor might be thinking more of the global definition of apraxia, which has traditionally been associated as a type of cerebral palsy. Trust the speech pathologist on this one.
Speech therapy for apraxia is very effective; there are many exercises which the pathologist will demonstrate so you can follow up at home.
Some of your examples sound a lot like students I have had in the past who were apraxic in the preschool years - little verbal language, lots of gestures to communicate, yet times when they produced perfect sounding words and short phrases spontaneously.
It is wonderful that you are so "on top" of this; your son will greatly benefit from the early intervention you have sought. Best of luck to you!
References :
30+ yearsa as a Preschool Special Education Teacher & Supervisor
Great site: http://www.apraxia-kids.org/
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