global apraxia

[Guest guest]

I am not good on exact definitions...sorry....I had been searching for a " name "

for my son for four years and when the pediatric neurologist said " global

apraxia " I finally had something, two words, that summed it up! So I know what

it is by watching my son, but don't have a good way of explaining it except to

say you see the same difficulties with the motor planning that you see in the

speech, with all motor movements. He seems to not know where he is in space

sometimes, for instance, teach him to buckle a seat belt (I think it took a few

years just to get that far) and then put him on the OTHER side of the car and he

absolutely can't figure out how to buckle from the other side...it is like motor

movements don't generalize...they have to be taught and repeated and repeated,

etc. etc. Sometimes he just stops, like in entering a room or entering a

car...just stops...sometimes will start again on own and sometimes needs a touch

or verbal cue to kind of " kind of get going again " . He has trouble with balance

things like skate board/bike (can't do them at all). He is not a 'climber',

still at eight cannot open candy that he really wants without scissors, has

atrocious handwriting for his age (and this is WITH many years of therapy...for

instance I had to cue him for many years to USE his other hand to hold the paper

while writing/coloring), etc. etc. It has seemed to me that motor movements

that come NATURALLY or INSTINCTIVELY to MOST kids do not come naturally to

him...e.g. putting your hands out if about to fall, buckling your knees when

falling, holding onto a swing, pushing your arm through a sleeve when dressing,

gripping someone while they are holding you. So we have had to teach and cue

him to do these for what seems to me thousands and thousands of times for him to

learn them. So instead of having only the speech stuff to teach, like blowing

candles out, learning to kiss....you ALSO have to teach how to hug, sit up,

walk, climb, run, open a door, etc. etc. Now, my son also has sensory issues,

and low tone and sometimes some weakness of his left side and also partial

hearing loss on his left side....I don't know how these overlap or account for

things as well....see what I mean? I do know that the term " global apraxia "

seemed to sum it up the best for us.

He has also had quite a bit of genetic testing done, blood work up and seizure

work up to make sure he doesn't have something else (which he may still have and

it just hasn't shown up on all tests). I would look in the archives to see more

descriptions, because I think I have read much better ones here in the past.

Carol

[Guest guest]

Carol -

Thank you - I've been reading and writing on this email line for

over a year now (not so much lately but I'm back!) and your

description of your son was like reading a description of our Josh (5

1/2 now). The only difference is that Josh doesn't " stop " in various

situations, he just keeps moving but doesn't have the motor planning

skills to be able to move " appropriately " for the situation. For

instance, we moved his car seat from one side of the car to the other

(just on a lark, it was something to try!). He had learned to " press

the button " to undo the seat belt on one side but was at a loss on

the other side - he kept trying to press the seat belt on the side it

had been on, not realizing the button was now on the other side.

After a few cues from us and a few reminders he got it though.

Sometimes we think of him as a bull in a china shop because he just

moves through situations rather than stopping to see what the

situation calls for (I'm all teary-eyed writing this, though, because

there was a time, with his hypotonia and delayed gross motor skills,

that we thought he wouldn't really be moving through any

situation!). But our Josh can't (yet) ride a bike or skateboard

(balance issues like yours), he's pretty darn good at throwing a ball

but can't (yet) catch one, and he's finally learned to use a spoon to

eat but, because of sensory issues and I think motor planning issues,

can't (yet, or won't) use a plastic spoon at a fast food restaurant

(we carry silverware with us wherever we go!).

Once again, it is so nice to have a place like this email line to

come to for reassurance that we, as the parents, are not alone and

that our kids have issues that other kids have, have dealt with, and,

in some instances, have overcome. Thanks everyone!

Sherry

[Guest guest]

Sherry,

I was interested in your response. How old is your Josh? Did I ask you this

before? I don't remember. What is so curious is that my son is exactly like you

describe...and he has always been amazingly accurate with his throwing! He is

nine next month and does not have the strength to make the ball go that far but

he contiues to be very accurate.

Carol p.s. he is still working on a two wheeler but did learn to swim last

year at eight...and jump off the dock!