My son has verbal Apraxia - would love your advice on homeschooling him

[Lots of boys]

Hi, I am currently homeschoolling all of my boys. My youngest Ds is 4 and should be starting K in the summer. He has verbal Apraxia, global hypotonia and some word retrieval issues. He is in Speech therapy and some OT weekly.

 

My quesion is - I have just been working through AAR Pre-1 with him this year very slowly. He is enjoying it but many of his letter sounds sound the same and so he struggles to really identify the differences.

 

I would like to start a more structured Kindergarten program at home with him in a fw months but am wondering what programs others have used and found to work well for LA and Math (all we will really focus on).

 

I should add that he has very little fine motor control and so holding a pencil or writing is very difficult. Most things we do would need to be verbal.

 

Thanks for your suggestions.

[PeterPan]

My ds just turned 4, so I should update my sig! Anyways, we've been using AAR pre and the MFW K5. I used SWR with my dd, so I've been teaching him *all* the sounds on the letters we cover. My ds was fine, for instance, with the 3 sounds for A (/a/, /A/, /ah/), but he totally stopped with the sounds of O. It wasn't the number. It was just hard for him because it requires so much rounding. We're working on W this week, and even though he *can* say it and uses it in words, there doesn't seem to be any click from him for hearing it in initial position.

 

Our SLP puts all the kids through Earobics before she graduates them. I got the software, had to reload an older operating system on my mac (using a separate drive) to get it to work, and then STILL couldn't get it to work. That's one of those things on my list to figure out, sigh.

 

Anyways, given that school is largely language and that his birthday is on the line (early October), I'm considering him K3 this year, calling him K4 next year, and K5 the year after that. So he'll turn 6 the year I officially call him K5. I'm *hoping* that takes care of it. For math, we're doing the Saxon K5. It's not like I have to hold him back. That may or may not fit your situation, just saying how I decided ours.

 

My boy can't hear the rhyming. I *thought* for a bit he was starting to, but whatever it was is gone, sigh. With AAR pre, we're using the worksheets and Ziggy, but we're totally stuck on the Ziggy activities. She put all the rhyming ones upfront and put the simpler ones (that really logically should preceed rhyming) in the back. We've pulled some of those later activities and enjoyed them. Just in general he enjoys playing "tricking games" with me where we just throughout the day say words and have him guess the first letter. Or he'll make up words and have someone guess the initial sound.

 

If you haven't done Earobics, I would pursue that. My plan with ds is to use letter tiles and spell him into reading, much as I did dd (using SWR). I have NO clue how that will go. I have so few lightbulbs going off in that department, it's not even an issue. My main guilt-trip to myself is that I don't have him listening to audiobooks enough like I did dd. She listened to them a ton, and it totally showed up when she started reading. Ds is so active, he just doesn't. I'm still working on that, gotta figure out something.

 

Anyways, with SWR you spell them into reading and can use tiles. If I need the skills broken down more than that, then I guess we're looking at Wilson, Barton, something in that vein. I really don't know. I'm just going to try what I have, see if it clicks, and go to a more powerful tool (something that breaks each step down even more), if I need it.

 

As far as the math, Saxon K5 is utterly, utterly adorable for him right now. We've been doing it a couple months on and on (nothing terribly diligent), and we have SO much fun. I think we're around lesson 40 in the tm. We do pattern blocks and all sorts of fun stuff. RS is what I used with my dd, and it's so much more advanced. I'll probably do it with him too. I think the author on the Saxon K5 is Nancy Larson. It's such a good fit for him, I've been thinking about finding other things by her. I know she has an elementary science curriculum. I don't know beyond that. If you can find somebody who thinks like your kid thinks and connects, that's golden.

 

Did that even get you started? We tried Awana last year and just totally hit a wall. He was shutting down because the verbal expectations were so hard for him. We thought about sending him this year (because his speech is a LOT better), but we really didn't know how he'd do. So for me (and this is going somewhere, lol), the decision on the grade name was partly a social one. Initially it was just arbitrary (birthday on the line, gender = boy, use the lower grade). But when I realized it might give him that extra time to feel comfortable with the expectations in these situations, I realized it was *extra* important for him.

 

You might read posts by Yllek. Her boy has done interesting therapy for word retrieval. A lot of it involved working on working memory. I got the MFW preschool activity cards, and they have some particularly good ones you can use to work on working memory with littles. So there are some things like that in the therapy/play realm you can do now that will carry over into his school work. One of the times we (dd and I) were doing the metronome recently, ds tried to jump in. So there might be a sense in which some things like that would be good. Audiobooks were SO important for my dd. They made up for the challenges at the beginning by filling her head with language and info. As you know, their *receptive* is fine, even though their *expressive* is struggling. I think, and this is just me, I see him as younger and don't do as much with him because he doesn't come across as dd did at the same age.

 

Are you doing OT for the low tone? I have my ds on coconut milk, and it seems to help his sensory-seeking quite a bit. He's low tone, but *at this point* he's not as low tone as dd, if that makes sense. She refuses to drink the stuff. I forget what's in the coconut milk, but there are some dietary things like that that can help a bit. Not perfect, but a bit.

[bluedarling]

I used a program called Jolly Phonics with my daughter (NT) that would probably work well. It had hand motions to go with each sound and songs, along with some activities. There was one line of handwriting you could skip, or just let him watch you write. (I had the teacher manual and song cd.)

 

Also, I tried to get my dd to use the Color Phonics software we have (but she wasn't interested). Its made by AOP, and shows the lip movements for the different sounds, as well as some sound discrimination activities. (Its in my 'sell' bin if you're interested...my kids are all beyond it.) One of my 4 kids enjoyed it. It is gamelike, but its not as gamelike as other games they had...like Jumpstart and such.

 

And for the large motor writing...there was a poster we had that went with Spell to Write and Read, I think? (I wouldn't get the whole program....but that poster was awesome....it got the kids to make the letters using large motor rather than fine motor.) I just went to their website....guessing it was teaching cursive (they believe in cursive first to prevent reversals.) I can't find reference to the poster, though. Its a big clock...so you move clockwise and counterclockwise around the clock as you learn to form the letters, and go above the clock or below, etc.

[Lots of boys]

My ds just turned 4, so I should update my sig! Anyways, we've been using AAR pre and the MFW K5. I used SWR with my dd, so I've been teaching him *all* the sounds on the letters we cover. My ds was fine, for instance, with the 3 sounds for A (/a/, /A/, /ah/), but he totally stopped with the sounds of O. It wasn't the number. It was just hard for him because it requires so much rounding. We're working on W this week, and even though he *can* say it and uses it in words, there doesn't seem to be any click from him for hearing it in initial position.

 

Our SLP puts all the kids through Earobics before she graduates them. I got the software, had to reload an older operating system on my mac (using a separate drive) to get it to work, and then STILL couldn't get it to work. That's one of those things on my list to figure out, sigh.

 

Anyways, given that school is largely language and that his birthday is on the line (early October), I'm considering him K3 this year, calling him K4 next year, and K5 the year after that. So he'll turn 6 the year I officially call him K5. I'm *hoping* that takes care of it. For math, we're doing the Saxon K5. It's not like I have to hold him back. That may or may not fit your situation, just saying how I decided ours.

 

My boy can't hear the rhyming. I *thought* for a bit he was starting to, but whatever it was is gone, sigh. With AAR pre, we're using the worksheets and Ziggy, but we're totally stuck on the Ziggy activities. She put all the rhyming ones upfront and put the simpler ones (that really logically should preceed rhyming) in the back. We've pulled some of those later activities and enjoyed them. Just in general he enjoys playing "tricking games" with me where we just throughout the day say words and have him guess the first letter. Or he'll make up words and have someone guess the initial sound.

 

If you haven't done Earobics, I would pursue that. My plan with ds is to use letter tiles and spell him into reading, much as I did dd (using SWR). I have NO clue how that will go. I have so few lightbulbs going off in that department, it's not even an issue. My main guilt-trip to myself is that I don't have him listening to audiobooks enough like I did dd. She listened to them a ton, and it totally showed up when she started reading. Ds is so active, he just doesn't. I'm still working on that, gotta figure out something.

 

Anyways, with SWR you spell them into reading and can use tiles. If I need the skills broken down more than that, then I guess we're looking at Wilson, Barton, something in that vein. I really don't know. I'm just going to try what I have, see if it clicks, and go to a more powerful tool (something that breaks each step down even more), if I need it.

 

As far as the math, Saxon K5 is utterly, utterly adorable for him right now. We've been doing it a couple months on and on (nothing terribly diligent), and we have SO much fun. I think we're around lesson 40 in the tm. We do pattern blocks and all sorts of fun stuff. RS is what I used with my dd, and it's so much more advanced. I'll probably do it with him too. I think the author on the Saxon K5 is Nancy Larson. It's such a good fit for him, I've been thinking about finding other things by her. I know she has an elementary science curriculum. I don't know beyond that. If you can find somebody who thinks like your kid thinks and connects, that's golden.

 

Did that even get you started? We tried Awana last year and just totally hit a wall. He was shutting down because the verbal expectations were so hard for him. We thought about sending him this year (because his speech is a LOT better), but we really didn't know how he'd do. So for me (and this is going somewhere, lol), the decision on the grade name was partly a social one. Initially it was just arbitrary (birthday on the line, gender = boy, use the lower grade). But when I realized it might give him that extra time to feel comfortable with the expectations in these situations, I realized it was *extra* important for him.

 

You might read posts by Yllek. Her boy has done interesting therapy for word retrieval. A lot of it involved working on working memory. I got the MFW preschool activity cards, and they have some particularly good ones you can use to work on working memory with littles. So there are some things like that in the therapy/play realm you can do now that will carry over into his school work. One of the times we (dd and I) were doing the metronome recently, ds tried to jump in. So there might be a sense in which some things like that would be good. Audiobooks were SO important for my dd. They made up for the challenges at the beginning by filling her head with language and info. As you know, their *receptive* is fine, even though their *expressive* is struggling. I think, and this is just me, I see him as younger and don't do as much with him because he doesn't come across as dd did at the same age.

 

Are you doing OT for the low tone? I have my ds on coconut milk, and it seems to help his sensory-seeking quite a bit. He's low tone, but *at this point* he's not as low tone as dd, if that makes sense. She refuses to drink the stuff. I forget what's in the coconut milk, but there are some dietary things like that that can help a bit. Not perfect, but a bit.

 

Thank-you so much for yuour post. It is so nice to hear from other that have kids struggling with Apraxia. I don't know anyone here where we live so it is a lonely journey for our family.

 

I completely agree with you. I often have to remind myself not to treat my ds younger than he is. His speech makes it hard sometimes to remember that he is 4 and I also find he seems a little less mature in other ways too - but it is hard to say...

 

We are just using AAR Pre-1 with him now (no formal math) and I am finding the same thing you are finding with the rhyming. He can usually identify things like "what is the first sound in the word pig?" - he will say "p" but rhyming and figuring out syllables is way too difficult. He also can't differentiate between letter sounds that HE says incorrectly. Like his G and D - when he says these two letters - they sound the same. So when I ask him about these he will usually mix them up.

 

I will check out Saxon math too - sounds like it might be a goos fit. I did look at Nancy Larson Science last year as a possibility for my other kids but hte price scared me away. Maybe I will give it another look.

 

Thanks again.

[PeterPan]

I'm sorry you're feeling lonely! It was such a shock of a diagnosis two years ago, that's for sure. When did your boy get diagnosed? Have you seen my posts about PROMPT? It's utterly amazing. You might check into it.

 

Well all this talk about audiobooks spurred me a bit, and I got on an audiobook for him this morning, happy dance! Dd is in her room doing the "wake up slowly" thing, and ds is contentedly playing with his play house and figures while listening to Charlotte's Web. That's just perfect. It's age-appropriate, and if that language goes in, he'll start to crave it and ask for it more. That way I won't have to remember, whew!

 

BTW, this is totally an aside, but them VMPAC (a test of motor control) that our SLP did was able to show his dominant learning modalities too. Here's where my ds panned out:

 

 

Auditory was 48%

Visual was 64%

Tactile was 98%

 

 

That was really interesting. I watched her give the test. She did it a year ago to see if he was age-appropriate so that we could take the winter off from therapy. Anyways, they try to get the dc to say the target sound, but they give the cue in a tiered sort of way, first auditory, then visually showing them how, then kinesthetically. So it gave this added bit of information. I find that if, for instance, *he* is using the Ziggy puppet and kicking pictures off the wagon, he retains more. If he jumps on the mini-trampoline while I work with him, he retains more. I have a book of kinesthetic activities for the alphabet that have instructions for how they can act like a dolphin, etc. etc. for each letter. We do that and say the sounds, and that seems to get a connect. Just coloring the worksheet gets no connect. He enjoys it because it's fine motor (which he craves), but it's the kinesthetic where the learning really connects. That's why I'm thinking the letter tiles later on will be essential. He needs to move with it.

 

Shiller has a moving/SN-oriented math. There's another SN-oriented math that uses mats and movement as well. I've never even actually seen it. It's aimed at the autism community I think, and I just saw it mentioned somewhere once. I don't know if Shiller is still made. It had some virtues. A lot of K5 math is language. I *think* what I'm seeing at this point is that stuff that is spatial or conceptual is fine. Stuff that is all about language (ordinals like 1st, 2nd, 3rd, comparatives like bigger/taller, etc.) is crunchy. So I'm not sure using a traditional, traditional curriculum that focuses too much on language (for instance the BJU 5) would really make sense. Better to let them go ahead with the stuff they're good at (conceptual and spatial), knowing the language will come later.

 

Have you seen the Family Math books? I have the elementary and upper level. Something like that would be a good candidate for him...

[Lecka]

My son had pretty severe articulation problems and a long list of sounds he was not clear on -- mostly all the short consonants (the ones that can't be held) plus some blends and stuff like ch/sh/s.

 

I have some comments.

 

First -- I think looking to dyslexia resources for reading and phonemic awareness might be worthwhile at some point. The multisensory stuff is great. Letter tiles are great. SWR sounds like it could be good that way.

 

Second -- rhyming really is listed as a higher-level skill sometimes. The most needed skills for reading are blending and segmenting. The other skills are important too, but I think that there is a point when they can be worked on with letter tiles, if they have not been gotten previously. But there is a thing where a lot of kids start to really pick up on rhyming in the first year after reading instruction has started, so that it is tied to exposure to reading. I would not get hung up on rhyming if it was not going well. If it was going well -- awesome, I would continue on. Rhyming though can be a big red flag for dyslexia at a certain point (older than these kids I think) and then you go to reading materials designed for children with dyslexia ----- it is very far from the end of the world.

 

Third -- I did know most of my sons's speech sounds, and I only worked with him on sounds I thought he knew. This is when he was 5 and 6. Once he got through learning to blend and segment, and then learning to blend consonant clusters, the biggest heartache we had turned out to involve some sounds I thought he could distinguish but that he could not, and he ended up working on them in speech therapy a little later in the teacher's natural progression. So my opinion is -- try to do the pre-reading activities with sounds the kids are solid, and just give an example or skip other words. Or at least focus on their good sounds, and maybe do more exposure to their difficult sounds, or ask them easier questions for their difficult sounds.

 

Fourth -- on the listening to stories. My son used to be very picky. He did not like a lot of the traditional pre-school favorites. This was very, very frustrating to me. He did like certain styles of picture books and he did like some of the non-fiction books with big photographs, and he did like comic books (I read him comic books when he was 4, and cartoon books, anything). Later I read that when kids are not hearing sounds and are not hearing rhymes, first it can be hard for them to keep track in story when they may be having to guess what word they are hearing. Second I read it is common in dyslexia (for similar reasons) for kids not to like a lot of pre-school books that have rhymes or silly word things, b/c they are just not picking up on those things. I think those kinds of books are good and I have bumped them later and still read ones like that (he is 7 now but with a little brother and sister) b/c I think he benefits now even if he didn't benefit when he was the "right" age. Despite that -- he did test high in vocabulary when he had language testing (two times). So that is not bad for vocabulary, I think. Also, once he got better at sounds (he had private speech therapy and also he seemed to make some developmental leaps) his listening and his interest went way up. This summer (just turned 7) we listened to the first two Harry Potter books and the first Series of Unfortunate Events books on audiobook, and he had no problem at all following them and was very interested. This from the pickiest reader in pre-school who did not like the books all the other kids loved (my perspective).

 

Fifth -- for sound discrimination related to dyslexia, a program called Lips is often a top choice. It focuses on teaching the sounds in a multisensory way, linking them to mouth position and how the sound is produced physically. My son did not have this program, but when I looked into it to see if he should do it, I found that some parts of it were being done in his speech therapy already and that he was making progress. So I think it might be worth looking at if it might be helpful. If a speech therapist thinks Earobics is a better choice for a particular child then I think that counts for the most. Some speech therapists might have ideas for reading and some might not, for pre-school. If you asked, they might have recommendations that they usually just start mentioning when kids get to be 5. A lot of speech teachers do also work on letters in some way and beginning sounds and so on in their therapy, or that is what I saw with my son as he got older. I think if I had asked them they would have given me ideas when he was younger, specific to him.

Edited October 10, 2012 by Lecka

[PeterPan]

I don't think Earobics precludes Lips. Earobics is on the computer, so it's solely focused on auditory discrimination. It is pretty thorough, with lots of levels and the patience of a computer. Seems to me, from what you're saying, Lips is a pretty powerful tool for what it covers. I'm not sure I've seen the scope & sequence for Lips. Does it cover just sounds or sounds and rhyming and segmenting and gluing and... kwim?

[Lecka]

This is my impression on Lips..... it was designed to go from sounds all the way through phonemic awareness and make the progression into reading, but back in the 1960s. Now, the parts focusing on sounds and to some extent, maybe, phonemic awareness, are still considered to be very good. But, as it gets higher, there are a lot more options for reading instruction, and Lips is not the best.

 

But for the multisensory approach to sounds -- it is what is always mentioned, and besides being the program that Barton refers to for students not able to start with Barton Level 1, it is mentioned in a similar way in other resources.

 

So it is like -- it does go that far, but most people seem not to use it that way, they use it for sound discrimination and then switch to another program for reading instruction.

 

My undertanding is that, before Lips, there was not a direct way to address this issue in OG reading instruction, so OG reading instruction continued to start where it had before, but referred students not able to start there to Lips, or added Lips in the beginning.

 

A lot of that is -- my impression.

 

The difference between it and Earobics is not the scope and sequence, but the technique, I think. If Earobics or other things that focus on the listening aspect and breaking down the listening aspect will work ----- that is great for that child. If a multisensory approach focusing on linking sounds to the mouth position works, that is great for that child. I think they are two ways to get to the same place ----- a place that many children never need any help to reach. I am sure that one approach will be better for some kids than others, and then maybe some kids will do equally well with either approach.

 

http://www.earobics.com/solutions/rtiearobics.php

 

This is something I looked at when my son was not doing well with HearBuilder (competing product with Earobic). My interpretation is ----- Earobics works with a lot of kids, and for the few kids who do not do well, they get more intense services in some way, or try something different, once they have tried a certain amount of Earobics and are not getting it.

 

But I also think a speech teacher or reading teacher who has experience with a lot of kids, can know what to recommend that is more likely to be effective, a lot of the time.

 

But it just looks like Earobics overall is a Tier 2 intervention and my son would have gone to Tier 3. It does not say specifically what they will recommend for Tier 3, but the basic program seems to be Tier 2 from the description

"At the Strategic Level, Earobics offers a complete, scientifically-based supplemental intervention solution with learning resources for small groups as well as individual instruction." The Strategic Level is Tier 2.

 

I think it is equally possible a child could not do well with Lips, and do well with Earobics -- to be clear.

Edited October 10, 2012 by Lecka

[SheilaZ]

Let me give some encouragement...my now 11 year old was diagnosed at age 2 with Profound Verbal Apraxia, Aphasia, Global Dyspraxia and hypotonia, Auditory processing disorder, and sensory processing disorder. He was untestable in speech productions (could make no sounds on command) but was at age 6.5 in receptive language. A few years later he was also diagnosed with dyslexia....and Asperger's.

 

He's always been homeschooled with our doctor's and the school system's encouragement even.

 

Fast forward to now. He's in 6th grade and using Calvert with no problems.

I love hearing him read Swiss Family Robinson out loud.

His speech is wonderful but he still has a lisp and trouble with vocalic "r's." He still a toe-walker....who know if that will resolve.

He still has 5 hours of Speech/OT a week and is gaining skills every month.

 

He's a Boy Scout. (First Class) He plays baseball and soccer. He rides a bike and reads for fun. All things that we were told that he would never do when first diagnosed.

So there is hope, no matter what the doctors and therapists say. If we had just accepted their prognosis, our son would have never made the progress that he has.

We just worked at his level and for many years, I wrote things for him until his physical skills caught up to his mental skills.

 

 

For early speech, we used Easy Does it Apraxia at therapy and at home. PROMPT was not an option for a tactile sensitive child who could not stand having his face touched.

 

We used Hooked on Phonics with Explode the code and then Abecedarian. (I used Sing, Spell, Read, and Write with my older 2 but it was too much writing for my 3rd)

But the Fast ForWord program at speech has been the one that made the biggest improvement

 

For math, MCP math had great workbooks with lots of space. It's paced a little accelerated than Saxon. (I use Saxon for my "jock" and he complains about the lack of space.)

 

Rod and Staff Spelling and English have been winners. No distractions and lots of repetition and practice. (Plus phonics instruction through at least 6th grade.)

SOTW for history and lots of coloring practice.

And Handwriting without tears with the quad grips for the pencils. (School stores have them.)

[Lecka]

That is very inspiring!

[SheilaZ]

Thanks. Back in 2003, we never thought he would ever be a "success" story. I used to listen to the recordings at The Talking Place and just cry.

 

Nowadays, when he talking nonstop for hours...that I used to rejoice when he would put 2 and 3 words together.

 

The lesson I learned from my son is...Don't ever let anyone else decide how far you will go and how successful you will be.

[PeterPan]

Lecka, when our SLP does Earobics, she's doing it *with* PROMPT. So we're giving the physical input *and* doing the computer together. That probably makes it *roughly* equivalent to Lips as far as methodology. But yes, Earobics alone would be missing a whole component that could help. My ds definitely benefits from the sensory input of PROMPT. He has no ability to imitate otherwise.

[Lots of boys]

My son was diagnosed with verbal apraxia at 2 and moderate hypotonia at 2.5. It is just now at 4 that they are adding in his word retrieval issues.

 

Thank-you all so much for the recommendations. I will look into all of them.

 

My son was also very picky about listening to books as a toddler and would never sit for much longer than a minute. It is only now - at 4 - that he will happily listen to picture books. I find audio books have been a real struggle to keep his attention. I have been trying them in the car with a little better luck.

 

It is nice to know I am not alone and there are others out there on this Apraxia journey.

[PeterPan]

Will his listen if you just put it on while he plays? My ds did today. Tomorrow, who knows? LOL

 

If you were wondering about that book with the activities, it's http://www.amazon.com/Movement-Activities-A-Holly-Burns/dp/1420687573/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349915698&sr=8-1&keywords=9781420687576 My ds really enjoys the movements. They have simple instructions for the dc to follow. For instance, today for W we did a walrus:

 

1. Lie down on your tummy.

2. Arch your back and lift your head.

3. Put your hands below your chin to make tusks.

 

The instructions are accompanied by a picture of the dc doing the result, so you can see what it looks like. It always surprises me that he can do this. Just goes to show that gap between expressive and receptive!

[Lots of boys]

Thank-you. I just ordered that book from Amazon :) I really think my son will enjoy the movement.

[Lecka]

/aside

 

That makes total sense OhE. When I tried HearBuilder and Headsprout, it was before my son was in the speech therapy he needed to be in. If he had been doing it at the same time or afterward I think he would have done a lot better.

 

If I had it to do over I would have gotten him that kind of speech therapy a year or two (at least a year!!!!) earlier.

 

I have in common with some other people who really like Lips, I think, that we have kids who have some level of articulation errors, who did speech and maybe it just didn't work that well or didn't solve the whole problem, and then Lips (or that style of speech therapy) is huge for us. If there is already that aspect in the speech therapy -- of course there is no need to replicate it. And if the speech therapist recommends something supplemental (instead of as the whole program as I was trying) then that is different, too. Though I think Earobics does work great for a lot of kids by itself -- that is how I was trying to use it, and it was not enough for my son, but it seems that it is enough for a lot of kids.

 

For my son -- he just go referred up to private speech by his school speech teacher, b/c he was not making good progress with her. I really did not know that it would make such a difference.

Edited October 11, 2012 by Lecka

[bluechicken]

My 2.5 year old was just diagnosed with verbal apraxia. It is quite overwhelming but I am so happy to read these success stories. I will keep in mind all of these recommendations as well.

[PeterPan]

My 2.5 year old was just diagnosed with verbal apraxia. It is quite overwhelming but I am so happy to read these success stories. I will keep in mind all of these recommendations as well.

 

Hi and welcome to the boards! :) If you haven't checked into PROMPT for your little one, you might like to. The PROMPT Institute website has info, but I also recommend watching the video at this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa9KOMtY-N0

[bluechicken]

I did look up PROMPT last night and the closest provider is in Denver and that is about 8-9 hours from where I live. It looks like an amazing program and I will mention it to his SLP at his next visit just to see if they are familiar.

 

On a side note, I have seen mention of giving your child supplements. Can someone guide me to which supplement would be best for a 2.5 year old? Also, any dietary changes that may be helpful?

 

 

Thanks!

[lcook]

PROMPT and LiPS are two VERY different programs. PROMPT uses tactile input/cues to facilitate production of sounds. Using these cues the therapist can guide the child to produce the sounds. LiPS helps the student distinguish speech sounds by exploring the oral movements they use to produce the sounds. So with PROMPT you are helping a child produce sounds whereas LiPS is helping a child differentiate the speech sounds they can already produce.

[PeterPan]

I did look up PROMPT last night and the closest provider is in Denver and that is about 8-9 hours from where I live. It looks like an amazing program and I will mention it to his SLP at his next visit just to see if they are familiar.

 

On a side note, I have seen mention of giving your child supplements. Can someone guide me to which supplement would be best for a 2.5 year old? Also, any dietary changes that may be helpful?

 

 

Thanks!

 

Bluechicken, sometimes when you ask a therapist about PROMPT, they will say yes, they prompt. That's prompting with a little p. PROMPT is not prompting or cuing, and if they could do it they would be doing it. To get PROMPT you need someone on the PROMPT list. This is *not* an uncommon problem (therapists saying they do PROMPT when what they mean is they prompt), so I'm just telling you straight up. I had a therapist tell me she did it when she wasn't on the list, and I've talked with others who had that happen as well. If you want PROMPT, you need someone on the PROMPT list. And using that list you'll be able to tell what level of instruction they've received in the method. Ours is certified. I'd take any level if necessary, but the higher the level of training they've received, the more committed and skilled they are with the methodology.

 

8-9 hours is rough. Was that Denver therapist certified or an instructor? What would be REALLY cool is if you could get your current therapist to take the PROMPT training. But talk with the Denver therapist and see what she suggests. When a dc is older, you can literally go in and do intensive therapy for a week or two. Talk it through with her and see what she suggests. We're in the same pickle here in Ohio, with ours being the only one certified for a 3 state drive. You can get a level 1 or 2, but when you're talking severe apraxia, people are wanting certified. So yes, people make that kind of effort. Yes, you could do regular therapy for a year with a 2 yo and have no progress and a year from now be right back where you started, looking at PROMPT. So I'm not denying the difficulty and quandry, ouch.

 

What *I* would consider in that position is going for 2-3 days of sessions in a row and doing that twice a month. I'm just trying to imagine what I would do if I had to drive that distance to get PROMPT. If you did 2 or 3 days, rinse and repeat every 2-3 weeks, it would be equivalent to getting weekly therapy (which is all you really have to have with PROMPT) but you'd be keeping the drive a *little* saner. I guess that sounds horrible, but that's what I would consider doing. You could *try* it and see what you think. You're going to know the very first session if you're on track or not. PROMPT will BLOW YOUR MIND. He'll walk in one way and walk out another. And if you did those stacked, spaced sessions, after a few months you could space them out further.

 

We did weekly sessions (driving 2.5 hours each way) for the first 6+ months, then we started spacing them out to every other week and every month. I tried to be very diligent to work with him at home because we were spacing them. His motor control was age appropriate on the VMPAC Christmas of last year, so we actually decided to take the entire winter off. (The roads are bad here, made it hard to keep appointments in the winter.) Now we're doing double sessions (2 hours) every other week. He's a bit older and has the stamina now to do double sessions.

 

So I'm saying I think it *can* work to go that far and *may* be worth it to you. It depends on the severity of the apraxia and the quality of the therapist you'd be driving to. It *is* possible to space the appointments and still make great progress. You want to work with him at home and they want to teach you. It's the perfect kind of relationship for a homeschooler.

 

BTW, my ds is diagnosed with moderate verbal apraxia. Some people with dc with severe apraxia move to get closer to a therapist. So you just have to sort through your situation and what's needed. What compelled me on the PROMPT (versus trying things locally first) issue was video stuff on youtube where people were showing kids who had gone traditional first, had no progress after a year, and THEN tried PROMPT. I'm paying for the therapy, and I didn't want to pay for something and have it not work. I didn't want to have regrets about a year later and hindsite. Not everyone turns out that way with traditional obviously, but that was my thought process. And I think if you watch boards and online enough, you'll see that therapy till age 8 or later is the NORM with traditional therapy. We started at 2 and she says he's on track to be DONE at age 5. I kid you not. So the end is finally in sight for us! At this point, *I* know the things that are holding him back but people that meet him don't. He's indistinguishable, talkative, and intelligible. It's a marvelous outcome, so to me it has been worth the effort.

 

But you know, no pressure or anything. :lol: You'll just make your best decision. 8 hours is admittedly rough. Just weigh it out, see what your options are. Talk with the therapist. Think about spaced sessions and doing 2-3 days in a row. It can work if the therapist is really good, and it can be worth the effort. It's THAT much better.

[bluechicken]

Bumping this for an update. My son, who just turned 3, is still not speaking. He has maybe 3 total words and is mostly non-verbal. We had an evaluation with the developmental pediatrician in April and she did not believe he is on the spectrum. We have a new SLP who has seen him 6 times. We chatted today and she mentioned genetic testing??? and a psychology consult. She commented that he is very atypical, even for a speech apraxia kid. I have emailed the closest PROMPT SLP which is in Denver (we are in Wichita, KS) to see if she recommends a trip out. I feel like I am in over my head a bit but we just keep going and hoping for improvement.

[PeterPan]

Maybe she means a psych eval for spectrum? 

 

I looked at the map.  That's gonna be a LONG drive for you!  It's worth doing.  If the other SLP thinks it's apraxia, then when you make that trip, go in and do a week of intensive, or at least see what the PROMPT therapist would think of it.  You're gonna have $500 into the gas alone, so you might as well spend for a hotel a few more nights and get a whole week of therapy.  They can do 10 sessions in a week. The SLP might find it helpful to have video footage of him.

 

Some people move to get therapy.  Some people do those intensive sessions every so often.  

 

Is he on omega 3?  It makes a huge, huge difference in my ds.

[geodob]

Here's a link to Apraxia Kids, which has a lot of helpful information:

http://www.apraxia-kids.org/guides/family-start-guide/

[Lots of boys]

My son is turning 5 next month and has come a long way with his speech but seems to have hit a plateau now which is frustrating for him. He was diagnosed with Apraxia at 2.5 and Hypotonia around the same time. We did genetic testing (nothing significant was discovered), MRI, etc. all inconclusive.

 

I wanted to comment on the ASD dismissal. My son had no words at 2 and very few at three and he was seen by a neurologist who assured us he  did not think he was on the spectrum. As my son got older, some behaviours stood out more or seemed more atypical for his age (he still had tantrums, he still had poor language comprehension, he had poor fine and gross motor skills, toileting issues, etc.). We finally took him for a neuropsych eval and it was the best thing we could have done. She (the Psychologist ) spent almost  8 hours with him over many days and we got so much more information about him that we ever have before. He was diagnosed as being on the spectrum which was hard but now we know how to help him so much better.  ASD can look so different form one child to the next and so can Apraxia.

 

I wish you the best of luck - I know this journey is a hard one.