Re: speech problems

[Guest guest]

,

Maybe Troy has some auditory processing problems, where he can hear the

messages, but as the go through the " loop " in the brain, things get garbled

up. The signing might be more easy for him to " hear " , and understand. Has

he ever been diagnosed with Auditory Processing Disorder?

Mom to Kennedy 19 mos old CHARGEr, 10, 8, and wife to Graeme

New Brunswick, Canada

Visit the " Weir homepage " at:

http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palms/5716

ICQ #1426476

>From: marebear@...

>

> I am the mother of a 7 year old son who has charge.

>I was called into the school the other day by the learning

>support teachers and was asked to see if i could some

>how find some information for them in regards to my

>son.

> My son's ent has said there is no reason he can

>see, That my son should be able to talk. He has been

>taught sign language in school and uses it pretty well.

>He refuses to use it at home.He is a very vocal child.

>He has said words on occasion, but not consitently.

> The speech teacher at our school is very good with

>my son, but has never had to deal with a child, who

>doesn't speak, and needs to be taught..

> I was wondering if anyone might have some in sight

>as to, how to go about this. I would greatly appreciate

>it.

>

>

>

> thank you,

> mary

>

>mother of troy (7) charge

>

>

>---------------------------

[Guest guest]

,

A couple of years ago when I was concerned about my daughter's lack of language

development I searched and seached for

answers. One of the most amazing things I found was the Apraxia-kids

list-serve. The Apraxia-kids list-serve was

started by a Mother who had a child who was suspected pre-natally of having

Dandy-. At birth or sometime later,

it was discovered that the child did not have this condition but did have

something similar.

One of the features of Dandy can be lack of development of language. The

child because he had a similar

condition, was watched carefully for language and was identified with Apraxia of

Speech when diffiuclties surfaced..

Apraxia means lack of motor planning and apraxia of speech is often seen when a

child knows a word but can not come up

with the motor plan to say the word. This can also affect signing but it does

not sound like your child has apraxia of

sign. However, mine does. But, you may want to have your child evaluated for

apraxia of speech.

You may find some similiarities to Troy if you read the Apraxia-kids webpage.

Apraxia may be present when words are

spoken and then not spoken again, when there is difficulty pronouncing words,

when words do not beome phrases and

sentences. There are lots of links and a way to join a list-serve if you wish.

Apraxia of speech is sometimes responsive to sensory-integration therapy,

certain specialized types of speech therapy

and some people believe addition of omega fatty acids to the diet can be

helpful. Picure communication and sign

language have both been known to be extremely helpful in helping children with

Apraxia of speech.

It seems that the diagnosis is not very commonly made, but I would be VERY

surprised if this condition wasn't

responsible in some part for some of the difficulties some CHARGE children have.

I'll send the address for the webpage in a minute. I'd be interested to see if

you find the information applies to your

son or not.

Best of luck.

Mom to Kendra , 13, CHARGE, , 18 and Camille, 21

Portland, OR

marebear@... wrote: I am the mother of a 7 year old son who has charge.

> I was called into the school the other day by the learning

> support teachers and was asked to see if i could some

> how find some information for them in regards to my

> son.

> My son's ent has said there is no reason he can

> see, That my son should be able to talk. He has been

> taught sign language in school and uses it pretty well.

> He refuses to use it at home.He is a very vocal child.

> He has said words on occasion, but not consitently.

> The speech teacher at our school is very good with

> my son, but has never had to deal with a child, who

> doesn't speak, and needs to be taught..

> I was wondering if anyone might have some in sight

> as to, how to go about this. I would greatly appreciate

> it.

>

> thank you,

> mary

>

> mother of troy (7) charge

>

[Guest guest]

Hi again, ,

Here is the address for the Apraxia-kids website:

http://www.jump.net/~gmikel/apraxia/

You may find the sections " Frequently Asked Questions " and

" Speech and Language Topics " especially interesting.

wendy

Kendra's Mom

Portland, OR

[Guest guest]

Re: speech problems

I have an interesting observation from today about apraxia. One of my new

students (they arrived this week!!!) can sing and the words sound quite

clear. I heard him in the " sing-a-long " and gasped because he cannot make

speech unless it is imitated and it is so unclear.

Re: the ? about speech therapy for the non-verbal child....if it isn't

apraxia does the child have amplification? (ie. hearing aids, easy listener)

We approach speech quite differently for children who are deafblind,

because the concepts about what the words mean cannot be connected by visual

cues. Vision may provide only partial concepts and the motivation may also

not be there.

Speech " therapy " is done throughout the day in routine experiences and

in the routine environment. The child touches/experiences together 1+1

with the intervenor. The intervenor signs the key word, speaks the key

word clearly, holds the child's hands to make the sign, is encouraged to try

and produce a key sound from the key word, and then the process is repeated

a few times. " Todoma " may be added into the sequence...if the child will

allow his finger to touch your face. With sensory integration issues,

sometimes this is not possible so they may eventually work up from touching

your neck to at least get some tactile imput. Todoma is the method by which

the the child's hands are placed on the speaker's face....thumb on lips, two

fingers along jaw line. Without adequate vision the child may need tactile

input to help form speech sounds. We also use tacta-aids which vibrate in

the child's hand to the speech sound. Some love putting it all over their

body in a playful game. You can get them to be portable, but the one I used

was attatched to an auditory trainer.

We do some structured practice within routine at " calendar/language

dev'p time. " We use the progression of regular imitated sounds, starting

with the most easily to form, " ma, ma " and " ba, ba " . The child is really

rewarded for success. This is not a long exercise. The child will do it

more because it pleases you then for any meaning it gives him.

We use mirrors alot too, and when the child shows interest in the

mirror, we will go over and work on some speech by using image (but visual

field must be there of course).

With CHARGE, you should check the child's palate and the tissue under

the tongue to ensure it is not too large and impeding good tongue movement.

Also, cranial nerves may need therapy (as they relate to movement of the

tongue and muscles of face, etc.)

Ann Gloyn, DB Specialist, Canada

>

>

> Hi again, ,

>

> Here is the address for the Apraxia-kids website:

>

> http://www.jump.net/~gmikel/apraxia/

>

> You may find the sections " Frequently Asked Questions " and

> " Speech and Language Topics " especially interesting.

>

> wendy

> Kendra's Mom

> Portland, OR

>

[Guest guest]

Ann Gloyn,

I have been learning a lot from your messages. I had not heard of " Todoma "

before. And what are the tacta aids? And

how can I get them? They sound like a great idea!!

mom to , 7 mo CHaRGE

Tom Gloyn wrote:

>

>

> Re: speech problems

>

> I have an interesting observation from today about apraxia. One of my new

> students (they arrived this week!!!) can sing and the words sound quite

> clear. I heard him in the " sing-a-long " and gasped because he cannot make

> speech unless it is imitated and it is so unclear.

>

> Re: the ? about speech therapy for the non-verbal child....if it isn't

> apraxia does the child have amplification? (ie. hearing aids, easy listener)

> We approach speech quite differently for children who are deafblind,

> because the concepts about what the words mean cannot be connected by visual

> cues. Vision may provide only partial concepts and the motivation may also

> not be there.

> Speech " therapy " is done throughout the day in routine experiences and

> in the routine environment. The child touches/experiences together 1+1

> with the intervenor. The intervenor signs the key word, speaks the key

> word clearly, holds the child's hands to make the sign, is encouraged to try

> and produce a key sound from the key word, and then the process is repeated

> a few times. " Todoma " may be added into the sequence...if the child will

> allow his finger to touch your face. With sensory integration issues,

> sometimes this is not possible so they may eventually work up from touching

> your neck to at least get some tactile imput. Todoma is the method by which

> the the child's hands are placed on the speaker's face....thumb on lips, two

> fingers along jaw line. Without adequate vision the child may need tactile

> input to help form speech sounds. We also use tacta-aids which vibrate in

> the child's hand to the speech sound. Some love putting it all over their

> body in a playful game. You can get them to be portable, but the one I used

> was attatched to an auditory trainer.

> We do some structured practice within routine at " calendar/language

> dev'p time. " We use the progression of regular imitated sounds, starting

> with the most easily to form, " ma, ma " and " ba, ba " . The child is really

> rewarded for success. This is not a long exercise. The child will do it

> more because it pleases you then for any meaning it gives him.

> We use mirrors alot too, and when the child shows interest in the

> mirror, we will go over and work on some speech by using image (but visual

> field must be there of course).

> With CHARGE, you should check the child's palate and the tissue under

> the tongue to ensure it is not too large and impeding good tongue movement.

> Also, cranial nerves may need therapy (as they relate to movement of the

> tongue and muscles of face, etc.)

> Ann Gloyn, DB Specialist, Canada

>

> >

> >

> > Hi again, ,

> >

> > Here is the address for the Apraxia-kids website:

> >

> > http://www.jump.net/~gmikel/apraxia/

> >

> > You may find the sections " Frequently Asked Questions " and

> > " Speech and Language Topics " especially interesting.

> >

> > wendy

> > Kendra's Mom

> > Portland, OR

> >

>

> ---------------------------

[Guest guest]

-

How is apraxia identified and at what age? For those of us with young

children who have oral language delays/disorders, how do we begin to

determine if the delay is due to apraxia, oral motor delays, or hearing

issues? This is really confusing to me. Knowing the cause of the

language delay and whether it's a " delay " or a " disorder " would surely

help in deciding what kind of communication method to work with.

Michele W

mom to Aubrie (21 mos) CHaRgE and (7yrs), wife to DJ, in IL

westml@...

[Guest guest]

Michele Westmaas wrote:

>

>

> -

> How is apraxia identified and at what age? For those of us with young

> children who have oral language delays/disorders, how do we begin to

> determine if the delay is due to apraxia, oral motor delays, or hearing

> issues? This is really confusing to me. Knowing the cause of the

> language delay and whether it's a " delay " or a " disorder " would surely

> help in deciding what kind of communication method to work with.

Hi Michele,

From what I have read, apraxia of speech would not typically be

identified in a child until around age 2 minimally although some

children are suspected of having it before that time. Until there

is some oral or signed language to evaluate it is very hard to

make the correct identification. It helps to look at how the words

are spoken to be able to differentiate what might be a lack of muscle

strength, tongue moveability or other conditions as opposed or in

combination with apraxia sometimes. Oral apraxia would relate to

oral motor difficulties as opposed to language difficulties as seen in

apraxia of speech. The inability ot imitate some mouth movements

(such as a pucker for a kiss) can be associated with oral apraxia as

opposed to verbal apraxia. However,the inability to imitate some

mouth movements could be associated with facial paralysis also.

However, one of the problems of apraxia may actually be an absence

of words, so if you wait until there are words to correctly identify the

problem, there may have been wasted time. Many speech-language

pathologists highly recommend specific exercises and drills to best

remediate this problem, so not identifying it as a problem or a potential

problem has the danger of causing valuable appropriate practice time to

be missed and for inappropriate approaches to be utilized.

I once read that a person may have speech apraxia with no oral-motor

apraxia, but that conversely oral-motor apraxia most often is

accompanied by apraxia of speech. Certainly that statement was

probably not made after studying children with CHARGE, so it would

be important to know that fact, but know it wasn't specifically made

about CHARGErs. I think it is possible that some children have many

varieties of things going on so it really can be hard to understand how

all the pieces fit together.

Children can have apraxia in combination with hearing loss or with

other conditions, so it is wisest to address each suspected problem

as it surfaces and to know it truly can be hard to be sure at any time

exactly what is going on.

Once hearing loss or auditory processing difficulties are identified and

appropriate intervention steps are implemented, then it would seem

wise to look at the emerging language and be careful to note any

significant problems. Language 'delays' really will present themselves

and will resolve over time. 'Disorders' may show a marked change

from the norm in the way the language is developing.

I'll try to give an example of a delay. A child with mild hearing loss is

notgaining language. After identification of a problem and the usage of

hearing aids, the language emerges basically in a typical fashion. The

child may continue to be delayed or at a different development level

than peers initially, but over time the gap should narrow and close.

In a disorder, the same scenario would end differently. The language

that emerges after appropriate hearing aid use continues to be slow

or has significant variations. An example would be that while the child

is gaining some language, there is a marked inability to move form one

word utterances to two and on to three, etc. Or, the language that

develops does not include appropriate usage of tenses or other certain

mis-uses persist. For example a child may not be able to answer a

question. A child when asked " what color are your shoes? " might

answer " shoes " or another answer that shows there may not be

complete understanding of what is being asked. The usage of the

language may be 'dis-ordered " . There can be semantic-pragmatic

language disorders.

According to what I have read, apraxia may be identified more often

in some areas of the country than in others and some therapists may

havea specific expertise in this area of speech and language.

It would seem that addressing each problem area as it surfaces is the

best approach as one might never quite know the exact reason or

exact diagnosis. Some children are thought to have apraxia and

suddenly without help, their language improves dramatically. It's

possible in those cases that apraxia was not the correct identification

or that it was quite mild. Apraxia usually resolves more readily when

specific exercises are used. I believe there are links on the Apraxia-kids

webpage that describesome exercises and now to obtain books on

remediation.

I agree that since dysarthria (some muscle weaknesses) could look

somewhat like apraxia (motor-planning problems), there may truly

be difficulties in proper identification. Apparently really skilled slps

can tease this out. Or provide treatments for both until it becomes

really clear.

I think the apraxia website or the list-serve are both really excellent.

The website lists areas in the country that have parent support

meetings where parents compare notes and oftentimes experienced

speakers make presentations on apraxia and related conditions.

Sometimes through these channels it's possible to identify slps in

a geographic area who are highly regarded by families of children

with apraxia.

I hope some of this is clearer now, but your question really is good.

It CAN be very difficult to differentiate what is what. Since Kendra

has apraxia that affects her sign, I look back on words that she has

said (very few) and see that apraxia is probably one of the factors

that affected whether speaking became easy for her or not. She is

Deaf, so it is not entirely possible to know how much of the problem

in speaking was her deafness and how much was apraxia. However

there are children with perhaps more significant hearing loss than

Kendra that talk relatively easily. Also, Kendra had vision problems

that were not properly treated until this year and the vision problems

were probably affecting either lip-reading ability and/or sign

acquisition.

I would think it would be helpful to look at a check-list of apraxia of

speech and see how much applies or not. I believe there are such

lists on the website.

Mom to Kendra, 13, 19 and Camille, 21

Portland, OR