- Apraxia question and I am new to the group!

[Guest guest]

I think there are many families on this list whose child received the dx

close to 6 years old. Regardless of age, I think most of us all look for

similar things in our SLPs.

A few questions that I would ask a prospective SLP are:

1) How many kids with apraxia have you successfully treated? (Hopefully the

answer is many!)

2) What approach do you use? Do you use one curriculum or a combo of a few?

(I prefer an SLP that takes a little from a few different curriculums as

opposed to following one curriculum from page 1 to finish.)

3) How do you determine which sounds you will work on? ( I like it when

they say that they work on sounds that they hear emerging in my child's

repertoire as opposed to teaching the sounds in a curriculum-based fashion.)

4) What continuing education courses have you taken on motor -based speech

impairments? Apraxia?

5) Do you employ oral motor activities? If yes, how? (For my son, I did not

want too much emphasis on oral motor work.)

6) How do you motivate your kids? (hopefully the SLP says that she asks

parents for input on what motivates their child as well as some trial and

error. The key is tapping into the child's interests/needs.)

7) Do you incorporate sensory activities into therapy? If yes, how? For my

son the SLP would start each session with " heavy work " and then reward my

son with a sensory activity after accurately making a certain number of

repetitions of a sound. For instance, he would get to plunge a note card

with the letter <S> on it after making 5 repetitions of the sound.

8) Would you describe your sessions as structured?

9) What role do you feel the family plays in the therapy process? (I wanted

the SLP to say that I was her partner and that she expected me to do daily

drill.)

10) Do you give homework? What sort of homework? (I would expect daily

homework where I would drill on one or two sounds for about 10 minutes a

day.)

11) How many sounds do you work on at once? (I would only want a few worked

on at a time since kids with apraxia need MANY repetitions of a certain

sound before mastering it, I felt it was in my son's best interest to only

work on a few sounds at a time to give him ample opportunity for practice.)

As far as homework for speech goes, our SLP would give us 3 or so sound to

work on and give us a list of target words for each sound. I was expected

to practice the target words at home for about 10 min a day. I made flash

cards with each target word. Then I would set it up so that after so many

sound productions, my son would get something he wanted. For him, it was

watching me play some Tonka computer game or a race car game. he did not

have the fine motor skills to play the games himself but he loved to watch

me. I would play on the computer for about 3 min each time he did about 20

sound productions, give or take depending on the success and mood that day.

As far as navigating the system goes, you are in the right place for that.

The parents and professionals on this list have a wealth of knowledge. After

years of being on this list, I still learn something new every day from

reading.

A great starting point is the book " The Late Talker " . I wish it had been in

print when we started out. Reading it is like standing on the shoulders of

giants!

Tricia Morin

North Carolina

wrote:

My 6 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with Apraxia.

I would like to know if there are any other families whose child has

also received a " late " diagnosis of Apraxia. It would be rather

helpful if some of those families could share with me how to find the

right speech therapist ( I am in Los Angeles). Also, what type of

follow through therapy at home have other families found successful

and or effective with their child.

I am a bit overwhelmed and I feel like my daughter and I have to make

up for lost time. I just do not know how to navigate the system and

find the most effective therapy for my daughter.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Guest guest]

Hi Tricia:

Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback. I appreciate you

taking the time and sharing with me questions to ask a potential SLP.

One of my big concerns is the lack of SLP in Los Angeles and not only

the lack of SLP's, but their lack of experience and knowledge of

apraxia. It is truly appalling. So, I am in the process of trying

to find a SLP now. THe waiting list to even see a SLP here in LA is,

and I kid you not, 6 months to a year!!!!

I did find one,She is actually the SLP that diagnosed my daughter as

being Apraxic. But she is sooooooo expensive and it breaks my heart

that I can not continue to see her and I feel that I am letting my

daughter down. I have tried to get funding, but it is a bit difficult

and the SLP does not take insurance, nor is she contracted with THE

Los Angeles Unified School District.

I've gone to Universities, clinics but unfortunately, the SLP's do

lack apraxia experience. I know there is a SLP out there for my

daughter, I just have to keep searching.

Again, thank you and please let me know how you guys are doing.

[Guest guest]

,

I guess some places you have to dig harder than others to find therapists

who can effectively treat apraxia. Here are some support groups/contacts in

CA. They might also have some ideas for you or know of some families in your

area who are working with an appropriate SLP.

Support Groups*:

V.O.I.C.E.S. (which stands for Victory Over Impairments of Communication,

Expression and Speech) is a non-profit organization founded in January, 2003

by Tamara Hill and Byron , parents of a child with Apraxia.

V.O.I.C.E.S. is a direct result of the desire to network with parents and

professionals who care about the unique issues speech disordered children

face.

V.O.I.C.E.S. was created to be a resource for families with children who

have Apraxia and other communication disorders. Through V.O.I.C.E.S., we

will help raise awareness of Apraxia and other communication disorders and

become a part of the solution, helping every child to be heard and

understood and achieve empowerment through communication!

Contact Us!

Please drop us a line!

E -mail: voices_inc@...

Phone: 310-910-3555

Website: http://www.4voices.org

Apraxia_Dyspraxia_CA is a California-based internet support group for

parents of children with Apraxia or Dyspraxia who live in California. Due

to the limited local resources on this disorder, a parent (and child) can

feel isolated. By banding together to share what we have each learned, we

hope to end that isolation. We will cover all types of Apraxia including

verbal, oral, limb, motor, and global (a.k.a. DCD, Developmental

Coordination Disorder). Our group also includes the related soft signs such

as Hypotonia and Sensory Integration Dysfunction and other disorders such as

Dystharia that may co-exist with Apraxia. We will share local resources and

therapies that we have discovered, as well as giving our personal doctor and

therapist recommendations.

Come join us as we discuss all the alternatives, such as the variety of

therapy options as well as supplements. We are constantly building our list

of resources in our Links section of our site. Come share your experiences

and learn from ours. We will get through this maze together. Welcome!

Contacts: Jill

To join the Apraxia_Dyspraxia_CA group via the internet see the website

below:

Website: Apraxia_Dyspraxia_CA/

To subscribe via e-mail, send an e-mail to:

Apraxia_Dyspraxia_CA-subscribe

If you have questions prior to joining, e-mail Jill the list owner at:

Apraxia_Dyspraxia_CA-owner

Support Contacts*:

Contact: Suzi Knowles

California

E-Mail: suzi_knowles@...

I know you said that you hadn't had luck at the univeristy clinic near you

but here is a list of all the univeristy clinics in CA. Maybe there is

another one near you that might work out.

http://www.speech-express.com/universities/california.html

Best of luck in your search!

Tricia Morin

North Carolina

wrote:

Hi Tricia:

Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback. I appreciate you

taking the time and sharing with me questions to ask a potential SLP.

One of my big concerns is the lack of SLP in Los Angeles and not only

the lack of SLP's, but their lack of experience and knowledge of

apraxia. It is truly appalling. So, I am in the process of trying

to find a SLP now. THe waiting list to even see a SLP here in LA is,

and I kid you not, 6 months to a year!!!!

I did find one,She is actually the SLP that diagnosed my daughter as

being Apraxic. But she is sooooooo expensive and it breaks my heart

that I can not continue to see her and I feel that I am letting my

daughter down. I have tried to get funding, but it is a bit difficult

and the SLP does not take insurance, nor is she contracted with THE

Los Angeles Unified School District.

I've gone to Universities, clinics but unfortunately, the SLP's do

lack apraxia experience. I know there is a SLP out there for my

daughter, I just have to keep searching.

Again, thank you and please let me know how you guys are doing.

[Guest guest]

Even if she doesn't' take insurance couldn't' you file the insurance

yourself to get reimbursed?

Roxanne

[ ] Re: - Apraxia question and I am new

to the group!

Hi Tricia:

Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback. I appreciate you

taking the time and sharing with me questions to ask a potential SLP.

One of my big concerns is the lack of SLP in Los Angeles and not only

the lack of SLP's, but their lack of experience and knowledge of

apraxia. It is truly appalling. So, I am in the process of trying

to find a SLP now. THe waiting list to even see a SLP here in LA is,

and I kid you not, 6 months to a year!!!!

I did find one,She is actually the SLP that diagnosed my daughter as

being Apraxic. But she is sooooooo expensive and it breaks my heart

that I can not continue to see her and I feel that I am letting my

daughter down. I have tried to get funding, but it is a bit difficult

and the SLP does not take insurance, nor is she contracted with THE

Los Angeles Unified School District.

I've gone to Universities, clinics but unfortunately, the SLP's do

lack apraxia experience. I know there is a SLP out there for my

daughter, I just have to keep searching.

Again, thank you and please let me know how you guys are doing.