Re: Questions-3 yr old - Feeling discouraged

September 14, 2004

Hello

My son did not begin speech therapy until 33 months of age at that time he

had ii ii for night night, ii for hi & ma for me & everything else. He was

at the expressive level of a 6 - 9 month old at age 3. At a little over 3

1/2 we began to supplement with Pro EFA & in 3 1/2 weeks he began to make a

few more sounds. Suddenly within a very short time we were hearing ba for

ball & a few other simple sounds. Then a few months later he began to say

things like no eee for no his sister. He was in private speech

therapy with a very good therapist 2 times a week for 30 minutes each. At

age 4 we put him in a communication disorder class through our public

school. It was 5 days a week for 2 1/2 hours a day. We kept him in private

therapy until age 5 1/2. Fast forward to today & he is a 6 year old 1st

grader. He is in mainstream 1st grade being pulled out 4 times a week for

30 minutes of speech. He still has a long road but most can understand him.

He has many friends & enjoys school. From everything I have read ABA is

not appropriate for our kids. Find a therapist that works well with your

child & provides a good multisensory therapy. Our therapist combines a

little bit of Prompt, little bit of other methods that work well with our

son. She has experience with apraxic children. Hope this helps some, you

are among good company on this list!!

Tammy I. in FL

From: Petruk <lesliep@...>

Reply-

< >

Subject: [ ] Questions-3 yr old - Feeling discouraged

Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 23:21:23 -0400

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September 14, 2004

,

A couple of things, does your son have a behavioral issue? From what I know

ABA works wonderfully with children with behavior issues, that is just what I

have heard, also if he does ABA would absolutely benefit a child with Apraxia/

SPD. Also, you asked " is there anything else I should be doing? " Does your

son have an occupational therapist, especially if it is an OT who specializes

in sensory issues? That aids a great deal with language, more than you know!

Also The Listening Program (music therapy) also has aided a great deal, my

dd at 3 probably only spoke at most 20 words that only describes something

never used words to communicate, so it has been a struggle. She is 4 1/2 now

and

speaks and communicates with me probably at a 2 1/2 to a 3yo level, and has

about 150 to 200 words and uses them in 3 words sentences, she also has an SLP

who structures in Apraxia and an OT who structures in sensory processing. She

has never had ABA, although her behavior at 3 to 3 1/2 y.o. might have

warranted it, but she did adjust to all of her therapies and today she

transitions

and copes with a lot of stressful situations well, she is in a Pre-K class for

typical kids and another class for special needs and the school will evaluate

her on her 5th Birthday in March to see if she can go to Kindergarten with and

an afternoon program for assistance. My only advise is if you were concerned

about only the 1 word then there are these other avenues to take in addition

to speech and the fish oils, I understand it sounds like a lot but believe me

it is what gave my daughter her voice today.

Best of luck to all of you, and let me know how you feel.

Love,

Traci

September 16, 2004

Hi ,

My Daughter turned 3 on September 4 and she sounds a lot like your son. She

says Mama, Hi, and the letters A, H and S. I too have the fear that she may

never talk. I recently purchased the Nordic Naturals Pro-EFA in liquid form,

but have had no luck getting it into her. She is still bottle fed (we have

feeding issues as well) and she can totally taste it in the bottle no matter how

little an amount I put in (we are talking 1/2 a cc). So, I had really high

hopes for the Pro-EFA, but if I can't get it into her, then I need to look into

something else. What is coromegas? My daughter also does a few signs, but she

has some trouble with those due to Apraxia, I think. She hasn't been diagnosed

with it, but my husband and I as well as 3 SLPs suspect she has it. However,

the Developmental Ped. didn't seem to think so. I have to disagree with him,

but only time will tell at this point. She is awaiting a Communication Device,

that I am hoping we will receive in November, IF insurance approves it.

I don't have any advise to help you and your son, but wanted to let you know

that someone else out there is in a similar situation as you and your family.

Good luck to you and your son!

Nikki

-- Original Message -----

From: Petruk

Sent: Monday, September 13, 2004 11:21 PM

Subject: [ ] Questions-3 yr old - Feeling discouraged

Hi,

My son turned 3 yrs old on August 2nd. To date his only word is " mama " . He

has picked up on more signs though...my fear is --- will he ever talk???? I

am wondering if there are any other parents out there who have children who

only had one word at age 3 that started talking and if so when? He is in

speech therapy (co-treat with an OT 2 times a week and individual 2 times a

week). Anything else I should be doing? He is on coromegas (1 package a

day). We had tried the Nordic Naturals but didn¹t see any change. After

the conference in Pittsburgh I learned of Coromega and started those --- saw

signiciant improvement in 2 weeks with signs and communicating back and

forth. I am wondering also, if I should increase his dosage to 2 packs a

day?

I am also wondering, although my son is not autistic, I don¹t know anything

(other then just hearing it is used with autistic children) about the ABA

program --- does anyone know if this is something that would work with

children who are apraxic and any sights that have good information on the

program?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Feeling discouraged,

September 16, 2004

Hi All,

As I read this thread -- I can ditto your feelings. I joined this group

when my son was about 3 with little to no language. Refused EFA or anything --

no matter how I masked it. The develop ped -- offered no dx and same with

all SLP.

My savings grace was getting him a prompt therapist. She taught my son how

to say his name!! Of course I had to pay -- insurance was just in the way.

And although she clearly stated she is not certified to make dx -- she felt

strongly he had apraxia.

We did get the dx of Verbal apraxia confirmed with Dr. Agin.

Now at 5 he is in kindergarten. He does speak -- in full sentences. But

clearly is way behind. On a good day I understand about 20% of what he says.

He has a long road. But not without the support of a loving family and some

loving teachers.

My unqualified comments are -- when your child says little to none -- the dx

of apraxia is difficult. I had asked Doctors, Develop Ped, SLP , etc.,

about when he was 18 months -- most wrote it off. But when he did start

talking

-- now they are all shaking there heads yes -- apraxia -- for sure.

(PS for all the " potty people " he still has #1 accidents -- daily -- have

tried it all -- may be medical--has not had #2 accident since he was 3 yrs old)

Hope this encouragement helps.

For me this board is a wonderful place with wonderful people.

Thank you all,

Lori J.

mother to 5.1 verbal apraxia

September 17, 2004

Nikki -

You wrote that your dd won't take the fish oils in her bottle (I can so

relate to the feeding issues!), have you tried mixing it it her food? We put it

in Josh's applesauce or on his oatmeal in the a.m., on whatever, then just mix

it in. Just recently, we forgot to mix it in a couple of times and he actually

took it off a spoon, straight! Don't know how often that might happen but you

never know!

Sherry

Nikki Kmett <nkmett@...> wrote: