Re: Is my son's progress too slow ?? SLP thinks so......Please read!

[Guest guest]

When was 3, the school speech therapist thought was a

selective mute because she had made little to know progress after a

year of therapy.

We then found a good therapist, and started making slow but steady

progress.

I wouldn't rule out other possibilities. If there are easy tests

that can determine if there is anything else going on, I would

pursue those possibilities. It's always good to rule out different

things.

How would your child have received vocal chord damage? I've always

wondered if had some damage to her vocal chords. She was

intubated for a month when she was 6 weeks old. She didn't make a

peep (even when screaming) for at least a week after she got off the

ventilator. She has a very deep voice compared to her identical

twin sister. I've asked and everyone has blown off my question.

> Hi!

> We just began taking our 2.5 year old son to another SLP for

PROMPT.

> He has only met with her on 3 occassions. He has been receiving

> speech services through the Early Intervention Program since June

or

> July (1-2 times a week). The progress he has made since beginning

> general speech therapy has been limited to learning to blow (which

I

> thought was a significant stride, a few more vowel and consonant

> sounds along with just allowing us to manipulate/exercise his

mouth.

> He doesn't really have any new words although every once in a

while a

> great one comes out of his mouth and he doesn't repeat it. He is

> also very vocal, always has been.

>

> Anyway, the new SLP is questioning whether we should begin

focusing

> on other possbilities such as vocal cord damage, etc.. since his

> progress has been limited over the past 6 months. This is why I

> specifically sought out a PROMPT SLP thinking we should try

another

> approach. I do realize we haven't been making great progress and

> don't mind considering other possibilities but thought that when a

> child is diagnosed with verbal apraxia the expectation is that

> progress is slow.

>

> Am I wrong?? I guess I thought that if there was vocal cord

damage

> his ability to make 'sounds' would be affected.......

>

> (We have tried the EFA route but didn't notice huge gains there

> either)

>

> Any ideas?

> ~Tracey in WI

[Guest guest]

Hi Tracey,

Typically the progress with a child that has apraxia is slow -

painfully slow... unless the EFAs work for the child which in most

cases they do -but unfortunately which in your case you report they

do not.

I would explore with your child's neurodevelopmental MD to rule out

there are no physical reasons for your child's slow progress. In

most cases like this however it ends up either being the wrong

therapy approach or the wrong therapist. Even a very good SLP for

most children, is not a very good therapist for all.

There should be steady progress overall, and keeping a journal with dates is

a great way to keep track of progress/even if slow. In my opinion while you are

waiting on the MD appointment -you don't want to wait another 6 or

even 3 months for more progress -you have nothing to lose to try (yet) another

approach/therapist ASAP.

Your son is still young and that may also be at least part of the

reason for the delay/slow progress. There is the possibility that

developmentally he just isn't ready for more yet. Of course this

isn't the reason you want to bank on. So again -act now.

PROMPT or any one technique/therapy may be the sole answer for a

handful -but no therapy approach is the sole answer for all. What

comes close -try a therapist who is experienced in more than one

approach and can pull from her hat what it needed as it's needed.

Multisensory is the best for not just apraxic children, but for

most. Have you read The Late Talker book?

=====

[Guest guest]

This is just our personal experience:

Ian began speech therapy in May 2003. He made TONS of progress

with blowing, being willing to attempt requested sounds, receptive

language and such. It was not until February 2004 that the words

started flowing.

Ian needed to catch up in many non-verbal areas before the verbage

began. It is like a waterfall now. Just mastering pointing was a

large leap in developing language. I do not think he was capable of

forming words at 2.5 years. He will be 3 on the 14th of this month.

Take care.

Pam

> Hi!

> We just began taking our 2.5 year old son to another SLP for

PROMPT.

> He has only met with her on 3 occassions. He has been receiving

> speech services through the Early Intervention Program since June

or

> July (1-2 times a week). The progress he has made since beginning

> general speech therapy has been limited to learning to blow (which

I

> thought was a significant stride, a few more vowel and consonant

> sounds along with just allowing us to manipulate/exercise his

mouth.

> He doesn't really have any new words although every once in a

while a

> great one comes out of his mouth and he doesn't repeat it. He is

> also very vocal, always has been.

>

> Anyway, the new SLP is questioning whether we should begin

focusing

> on other possbilities such as vocal cord damage, etc.. since his

> progress has been limited over the past 6 months. This is why I

> specifically sought out a PROMPT SLP thinking we should try

another

> approach. I do realize we haven't been making great progress and

> don't mind considering other possibilities but thought that when a

> child is diagnosed with verbal apraxia the expectation is that

> progress is slow.

>

> Am I wrong?? I guess I thought that if there was vocal cord

damage

> his ability to make 'sounds' would be affected.......

>

> (We have tried the EFA route but didn't notice huge gains there

> either)

>

> Any ideas?

> ~Tracey in WI

[Guest guest]

Tracey: I do know that progress regarding speech/language delays are

disorders are slow by nature. We did not even have our son diagnosed

until he was 25 months old, so you are ahead of the game, so to

speak. At 25 months though, he only had a few words, and we only had

him in speech therapy one time a week. We started with sign

language and put his " words " on a list on our refridgerator. This

helped the whole family. We all got into helping . When he

said a new word, we wrote it down and celebrated it like crazy.

loved the positive attention and encouraged him to speak

more. It was also nice to see his " word list " grow. At 30 months,

he had about 30 words. He did not combine words until just before

he turned 3 years old, and it had really snow-balled from there. I

think he has made great progess in the past 2 years, but also

remember that your son is only 2.5 years old and may increase at his

own rate. I recall reading messages (when I started this list) from

mom's whose kids did not speak until age 3 or age 4, but really

caught up fast. I know that our therapists always gave me

encouragement as I felt down many times....I relied on their

expertise and guidance.

Whatever you do, dont give up! Keep going to therapy and trying

everything you find. What works for some kids may not work for your

child.....but other things will help. Keep trying and looking into

other alternative therapies that can help.

Good luck!

Kim