Guest guest Posted January 31, 2004 Report Share Posted January 31, 2004 My son is 2.5 and has been diagnosed with probable apraxia, with the big tip off being the amount of 'groping' the SLP has witnessed. I'll describe what I've seen with him. When he is asked to copy movements with his tongue such as sticking it out, licking his lips or forming sounds - he moves his tongue around in his mouth quite a bit before finding the correct placement to perform the task. This is the best way I can describe it. Maybe someone else can give you a better description. Good luck! ~Tracey in WI > Could someone with experience watching a toddler " grope " for words > describe to me how it looks. The one thing that Josiah's ST says SHE > does not see this characteristic in him but I do or at least I think > I do. He is becoming more frustrated and aggressive at times so its > my job to figure out if its the sensory issues and the speech > frustrations or one in particular making his behavior change. Thank > you! Tammy in Maine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 31, 2004 Report Share Posted January 31, 2004 Hey Tam What I see as " groping " did not show up in Nick until just recently, when he started trying to say more than one word sentances. For Nick he seems to start to form one word than opens and shuts his mouth, he might raise his hands up to start to sign something then drops them and shakes his head and then tries the word. Sometimes he licks his lips. It really appears to me a visual acting out of searching for the word or that he can't form the word that he wants to say. That's been my experience at least. BTW, Nick doesn't do this in front of the SLP simply because he talks less with her than with us! - Nick's Mom > Could someone with experience watching a toddler " grope " for words > describe to me how it looks. The one thing that Josiah's ST says SHE > does not see this characteristic in him but I do or at least I think > I do. He is becoming more frustrated and aggressive at times so its > my job to figure out if its the sensory issues and the speech > frustrations or one in particular making his behavior change. Thank > you! Tammy in Maine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 31, 2004 Report Share Posted January 31, 2004 my 2.5 yr old son with just verbal gropes constantly. he pushes his lips out and moves them around. it seems like the entire lower half of his face is working. it lasts about 30 seconds and it looks like a struggle. it cannot be missed. hope this helps. nancy- -- In , " tam_carson " <siahsmom@g...> wrote: > Could someone with experience watching a toddler " grope " for words > describe to me how it looks. The one thing that Josiah's ST says SHE > does not see this characteristic in him but I do or at least I think > I do. He is becoming more frustrated and aggressive at times so its > my job to figure out if its the sensory issues and the speech > frustrations or one in particular making his behavior change. Thank > you! Tammy in Maine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 31, 2004 Report Share Posted January 31, 2004 My 2.5 year old doesn't actually move his mouth so much when he struggles to speak, he has low tone with tongue and mouth movements so I don't know how that plays...but when he hears a word and tries to say it....he looks at you for a few seconds, opens his mouth, looks at you again, hears the word again, moves his mouth a little then either doesn't say anything or after hesitating makes a sound that is rarely close to what he is trying to say. At ST he just looks at the therapist or the toy being used.....may open his mouth more or keep it lax as he often does....sometimes she has moved on to the other child or another word and suddenly Josiah does speak and try to say the word or sound she wanted. It is time delayed, he seems so puzzled, maybe its the fact he has these fine motor and oral problems that I keep thinking that if he can't figure out how to chew food right and swallow easily....how can his speech problem be phonological only. I'm just asking help with this. Thank you. Everyones answer are giving me a more accurate picture. Tammy in Maine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 Just a note on groping for speech. Not all kids do it. My son never did which was why his " knowledgeable " SLP at school said he wasn't apraxic. Despite a private SLP eval, Dr. Agin and later an IEE paid for by the school. Now if only she would become more educated to help these kids. Sadly, she does get kids to talk but can't get them past the articulation stages of longer utterances. So thankfully we have a new one for kindergarten and a great private SLP. denise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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