Guest guest Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 Hi Dawn, I spent many days pondering over this one, and after a lot of research and some good " hands on " experience, I know that in MOST INSTANCES, one has nothing to do with the other. Jordan, as all of my children, has ADHD. He also has dyspraxia, sensory integration disorder and hypotonia. I began treating each " piece " individually, making sure his therapies were specific and consistent. I made the decision to hold off on medication for the ADHD until we actually found out what behaviors or symptoms the ADHD is causing, and what is sensory based, or language based. After 5 months of intensive therapy, I now can see this clearly. His ADHD truly had nothing at all to do with his speech issues. His motor planning difficulties did. Once the motor planning issues were correctly addressed with the correct type of occupational therapy, not only did the motor planning issues get better, but so did the speech, and believe it or not, so did the ADHD. I do also believe that many ADHD kids are misdiagnosed sensory kids, and when their ADHD is mild to moderate, there are times that sensory integration therapy can alleviate some, of course not all, of the symptoms that appear to be ADHD. This definitely was true in Jordan. I began to watch when the very " hyper " times occurred.....when entering a supermarket, a child's play place or playground, anywhere that sensory stuff was very high. They just can't handle all the stimulation, therefore they get very hyper. Once we pull away all the " layers " with Jordan, I'll decide then whether medication is the right intervention for him. With my two older children, although my daughter still has huge sensory issues, the medication option was hands down. With Jordan it's not so clear. It truly was the OT that helped the speech. When the OT started in conjunction with the speech therapy, he just soared. He had a 1 year progression in 5 months time. He's clear and intelligible now, and can easily get past 6 words, where before, after word 2, it sounded like Cousin It. Working with the motor planning problem worked wonders. Yesterday he walked up to one of his speech therapists and said " Hi Miss Anu, what's up? " She was just floored! As were we! If I can help in any way, don't hesitate to email me privately. ~karyn [ ] Apraxia and ADHD Hi Everyone, My five year old son has been going through speech therapy for about a year. I feel he is making progress but I can't really determine if it is due to speech therapy or something developmental. Anyway, an idea popped into my head the other day and I wanted to know what you all thought ... My son was dianosed with ADHD earlier this year. I don't disagree with the diagnosis but since I felt like it didn't interfere with his life (for example, he is homeschooled so he doesn't have to sit still during class time, etc), I didn't put him on medication. BUT then I thought, what if it's the ADHD that's affecting his expressive language? Like, his mind/thoughts are going faster than his brain/mouth can keep up. I would love to hear from those of you with children with ADHD and apraxia. Thanks for " listening " , Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 > Hi Everyone, > I don't disagree > with the diagnosis but since I felt like it didn't interfere with his > life (for example, he is homeschooled so he doesn't have to sit still > during class time, etc), I didn't put him on medication. > > Hi dawn, I too agree with karyn. my son adam has adhd and apraxia. He is not on medication. Jeanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 My daughter does not have ADHD, but I do think one of the reasons why she has made progress is because she has a great attention span. Since she was about 3, she has been able to sit through therapy sessions and she has been very focused. In fact, all of her therapists mention her great attention span. I would imagine that have a short attention span would somehow impact the apraxia for different reasons. I think you are asking a good question about whether or not his brain can slow down in order to speak. My daughter really has to slow down in order to say something. Nothing comes very naturally. Don't know how to help you, unfortunately. Good luck! Suzi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 hi Karyn, My son has some issues that your son has regarding the hyperactivitiy. what does the OT do for the sensory intergration? what great organized way to attack the problem. I think I will keep a better eye on these things on indiv level. does your son have attentional problems when it comes to doing his work at school? (or other distractions around). thanks chris Karyn <KissmeKaate@...> wrote: Hi Dawn, I spent many days pondering over this one, and after a lot of research and some good " hands on " experience, I know that in MOST INSTANCES, one has nothing to do with the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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