- A Couple of Questions about Tanner

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I am relatively new to the group and I had a couple of questions about

Tanner. If you consider these questions to be of too personal in

nature or intrusive, please don't hesitate to let me know.

I have a 31 month old son who just began talking 3.5 months ago. He

was evaluated at 22 months and ASD was " suggested " . As the months have

gone by and his speech has emerged, he has lost most of the ASD

symptoms. However, even though he has grown more social and interested

in other children, I can tell that he is intimidated by children whose

speech is better than his.

Today, we were at a playgroup for children who have speech " issues " .

All the children there, except for one boy my son's age, have speech

delays. My son avoids this other child like the plague and " clams up "

whenever that boy is nearby. When I peeked into the playroom, the

playgroup director had my son sitting in a chair at the front of the

group to read a book (Brown Bear, Brown Bear). My son knows this book

like the back of his hand but he barely uttered a sound. The other

little boy was shouting out the words before my son could get the

words out. I was horrified for him and was in tears. He is barely 2.5

and although he gained 100's of words in a 3 month period, he has some

apraxia. His articulation is horrible on about 1/3 of his words.

I discussed this with the playgroup director. She contends that it is

done to " help " the child's self-esteem. I could see my son was deeply

self-conscious about having to read to the class. Yes, even toddlers

are self-aware when it comes to speech problems.

Do you feel that Tanner's apraxia had a lasting impact on his social

development? This is a big fear for us. Our son is appearing more

" typical " as time goes on but I worry a great deal about his social

development and possible scars due to the apraxia.

Also, the only ASD " symptom " that is left (beside social awkwardness

but I feel that is due to apraxia alone) is that he scripts quite a

bit. He acts out Elmo segments (plays the part of Elmo, Mr. Noodle, -

with props!) and while he's acting out the scenes, he sings the Elmo

song, says lines from the show etc. It is showing some nice

pretend/symbolic play but I worry about the scripting. I've been told

that some children with apraxia script as a way to learn language. Did

Tanner ever do this?

I am so heartened by the amazing progress Tanner has made and I keep a

number of your posts on our refrigerator as a reminder that things

will get better. It would be helpful to know if Tanner went through an

echoic stage, scripting, and social awkwardness due to his apraxia.

Might help us to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Thanks in Advance.

Kim

Nick (31 months)