Re:How do you explain apraxia to your child with apraxia?

[Guest guest]

Your son is the age my daughter was when her awareness of her Apraxia grew.

She used to shrug her shoulders and act like everyone else was foolish for

not understanding her. Hehe. I loved that stage because she was so carefree

& would still talk to people.

I told her that, sometimes, everyone has trouble speaking, and that if we

do, we have to try harder. (She LOVES when I am tired & read her a bedtime

story, because I mess up sometimes and she'll say, " Try, try again, mommy! " )

I explained that her brain knew what it wanted her to say, but her brain

wasn't talking to her mouth. I told her we had to do exercises to make her

brain and mouth be friends & that with enough practice, her brain could move

her mouth the right way & she would talk like everyone else.

It was a little easier for us, because my little sister was in speech

therapy and my daughter idolizes her. When she heard her aunt was in ST, she

was fine with going to ST.

She still gets angry when we can't understand her. We have had her sing

songs, and talk on camera. we play them back to her so she can hear what she

sounds like. she was pretty upset the first time she " heard " herself. but, I

think it also helped her understand why we can't always understand her. She

has a little tape recorder that has a microphone on it, that amplifies her

voice. she likes using it when we do ST @ home :-)

I also try to keep her on her toes when she speaks by reminding her, " Is it

tootie, or cookie? " if she says cookie wrong, etc. (Exaggerating the target

sounds)

Hope that helps :-)

Aubrey

[Guest guest]

Your son is the age my daughter was when her awareness of her Apraxia grew.

She used to shrug her shoulders and act like everyone else was foolish for

not understanding her. Hehe. I loved that stage because she was so carefree

& would still talk to people.

I told her that, sometimes, everyone has trouble speaking, and that if we

do, we have to try harder. (She LOVES when I am tired & read her a bedtime

story, because I mess up sometimes and she'll say, " Try, try again, mommy! " )

I explained that her brain knew what it wanted her to say, but her brain

wasn't talking to her mouth. I told her we had to do exercises to make her

brain and mouth be friends & that with enough practice, her brain could move

her mouth the right way & she would talk like everyone else.

It was a little easier for us, because my little sister was in speech

therapy and my daughter idolizes her. When she heard her aunt was in ST, she

was fine with going to ST.

She still gets angry when we can't understand her. We have had her sing

songs, and talk on camera. we play them back to her so she can hear what she

sounds like. she was pretty upset the first time she " heard " herself. but, I

think it also helped her understand why we can't always understand her. She

has a little tape recorder that has a microphone on it, that amplifies her

voice. she likes using it when we do ST @ home :-)

I also try to keep her on her toes when she speaks by reminding her, " Is it

tootie, or cookie? " if she says cookie wrong, etc. (Exaggerating the target

sounds)

Hope that helps :-)

Aubrey

[Guest guest]

Hi, Aubrey -

I just wanted to say that I thought your way of explaining it to your daughter

was great. We explained it to Josh in a bit of a different way but with the

same thought and he was OK with it. However, like your daughter and her aunt,

it seemed to help Josh to know that someone else had a similar " problem. " It

also helped him, since he wets at night (thank goodness for Good-nites!), that

his uncle was a " wetter " when he was a kid, too. I think it really helps any

kid to know that they are not alone with whatever issue arises - and not just

that Mommy or Daddy had a similar problem but someone else.

Josh is now having issues about eating with the kids in his class - his motor

skills are not great and he still uses a spoon instead of a fork (he's going to

be 9 in May) and I think he's embarassed about his eating skills (of course, the

kids in his class all have issues where they sometimes eat but are definitely

wanderers - I apologize to anyone whose child has autism but the kids in Josh's

class all are autistic and their behaviors during lunch are very distracting and

sometimes frightening to Josh - very long story). It had gotten to the point

that he would just lay down on the floor in his classroom (they all eat in their

respective classrooms - no lunchroom in the school) and would not eat at all.

He would wind up eating with his teacher after school, one-on-one. Josh and I

had a very long talk on Sunday night about how his eating skills are fine, that

he works hard at it, he uses his spoon just fine and he's working on the fork,

etc., etc., and, most

importantly, he should be proud of himself for how far he's come. He sat and

ate in the classroom yesterday, with an aide, after the other kids were done

eating. Yeah! Progress!

He also is in Special Olympics basketball - he was having problems getting the

ball all the way up to the net (hypotonia in torso/trunk and limbs) but Santa

brought him a basketball for Christmas. We played A LOT over the week I took

off of work and we talked about how he's getting better at passing, dribbling,

and shooting. We went last night to practice and he stayed not only for the

whole practice (first time), but also did all the various skill stations, ran

around like crazy, and, for the first time, worked with one of the adult

" buddies " rather than me! They gave out uniforms for the divisionals coming up

in two weeks and he just walked around very proudly carrying his gym bag over

his shoulder!

Moral of the story - if we all keep showing and telling our kids how proud we

are of them, and how proud they should be of themselves with their

accomplishments as we travel in this journey, they will all succeed.

Sherry (and Josh)

aubrey <hypnotist_collectr@...> wrote:

Your son is the age my daughter was when her awareness of her Apraxia grew.

She used to shrug her shoulders and act like everyone else was foolish for

not understanding her. Hehe. I loved that stage because she was so carefree

& would still talk to people.

I told her that, sometimes, everyone has trouble speaking, and that if we

do, we have to try harder. (She LOVES when I am tired & read her a bedtime

story, because I mess up sometimes and she'll say, " Try, try again, mommy! " )

I explained that her brain knew what it wanted her to say, but her brain

wasn't talking to her mouth. I told her we had to do exercises to make her

brain and mouth be friends & that with enough practice, her brain could move

her mouth the right way & she would talk like everyone else.

It was a little easier for us, because my little sister was in speech

therapy and my daughter idolizes her. When she heard her aunt was in ST, she

was fine with going to ST.

She still gets angry when we can't understand her. We have had her sing

songs, and talk on camera. we play them back to her so she can hear what she

sounds like. she was pretty upset the first time she " heard " herself. but, I

think it also helped her understand why we can't always understand her. She

has a little tape recorder that has a microphone on it, that amplifies her

voice. she likes using it when we do ST @ home :-)

I also try to keep her on her toes when she speaks by reminding her, " Is it

tootie, or cookie? " if she says cookie wrong, etc. (Exaggerating the target

sounds)

Hope that helps :-)

Aubrey

[Guest guest]

I like the explanation that everyone has trouble because it's so true. I even

find myself " searching " for words sometimes when I am tired and actually

slightly stuttering(like tongue tied mispronunciation). Anything that makes our

children feel good about themselves and helps them see that everyone has slight

faults can only help their self-image. Thanks for the great ideas everyone...

even those of us with younger children that haven't voiced their comprehension

of their disability can use this info. I personally think that my 3.5 yr old

son knows very well about his speech delay and is very hesitant to talk in front

of people other than family. He hasn't told me how he feels yet, but I expect

to hear about it in the future. Now I wil be better prepared for the

questions!! :0)

[Guest guest]

Hi, Aubrey -

I just wanted to say that I thought your way of explaining it to your daughter

was great. We explained it to Josh in a bit of a different way but with the

same thought and he was OK with it. However, like your daughter and her aunt,

it seemed to help Josh to know that someone else had a similar " problem. " It

also helped him, since he wets at night (thank goodness for Good-nites!), that

his uncle was a " wetter " when he was a kid, too. I think it really helps any

kid to know that they are not alone with whatever issue arises - and not just

that Mommy or Daddy had a similar problem but someone else.

Josh is now having issues about eating with the kids in his class - his motor

skills are not great and he still uses a spoon instead of a fork (he's going to

be 9 in May) and I think he's embarassed about his eating skills (of course, the

kids in his class all have issues where they sometimes eat but are definitely

wanderers - I apologize to anyone whose child has autism but the kids in Josh's

class all are autistic and their behaviors during lunch are very distracting and

sometimes frightening to Josh - very long story). It had gotten to the point

that he would just lay down on the floor in his classroom (they all eat in their

respective classrooms - no lunchroom in the school) and would not eat at all.

He would wind up eating with his teacher after school, one-on-one. Josh and I

had a very long talk on Sunday night about how his eating skills are fine, that

he works hard at it, he uses his spoon just fine and he's working on the fork,

etc., etc., and, most

importantly, he should be proud of himself for how far he's come. He sat and

ate in the classroom yesterday, with an aide, after the other kids were done

eating. Yeah! Progress!

He also is in Special Olympics basketball - he was having problems getting the

ball all the way up to the net (hypotonia in torso/trunk and limbs) but Santa

brought him a basketball for Christmas. We played A LOT over the week I took

off of work and we talked about how he's getting better at passing, dribbling,

and shooting. We went last night to practice and he stayed not only for the

whole practice (first time), but also did all the various skill stations, ran

around like crazy, and, for the first time, worked with one of the adult

" buddies " rather than me! They gave out uniforms for the divisionals coming up

in two weeks and he just walked around very proudly carrying his gym bag over

his shoulder!

Moral of the story - if we all keep showing and telling our kids how proud we

are of them, and how proud they should be of themselves with their

accomplishments as we travel in this journey, they will all succeed.

Sherry (and Josh)

aubrey <hypnotist_collectr@...> wrote:

Your son is the age my daughter was when her awareness of her Apraxia grew.

She used to shrug her shoulders and act like everyone else was foolish for

not understanding her. Hehe. I loved that stage because she was so carefree

& would still talk to people.

I told her that, sometimes, everyone has trouble speaking, and that if we

do, we have to try harder. (She LOVES when I am tired & read her a bedtime

story, because I mess up sometimes and she'll say, " Try, try again, mommy! " )

I explained that her brain knew what it wanted her to say, but her brain

wasn't talking to her mouth. I told her we had to do exercises to make her

brain and mouth be friends & that with enough practice, her brain could move

her mouth the right way & she would talk like everyone else.

It was a little easier for us, because my little sister was in speech

therapy and my daughter idolizes her. When she heard her aunt was in ST, she

was fine with going to ST.

She still gets angry when we can't understand her. We have had her sing

songs, and talk on camera. we play them back to her so she can hear what she

sounds like. she was pretty upset the first time she " heard " herself. but, I

think it also helped her understand why we can't always understand her. She

has a little tape recorder that has a microphone on it, that amplifies her

voice. she likes using it when we do ST @ home :-)

I also try to keep her on her toes when she speaks by reminding her, " Is it

tootie, or cookie? " if she says cookie wrong, etc. (Exaggerating the target

sounds)

Hope that helps :-)

Aubrey

[Guest guest]

I like the explanation that everyone has trouble because it's so true. I even

find myself " searching " for words sometimes when I am tired and actually

slightly stuttering(like tongue tied mispronunciation). Anything that makes our

children feel good about themselves and helps them see that everyone has slight

faults can only help their self-image. Thanks for the great ideas everyone...

even those of us with younger children that haven't voiced their comprehension

of their disability can use this info. I personally think that my 3.5 yr old

son knows very well about his speech delay and is very hesitant to talk in front

of people other than family. He hasn't told me how he feels yet, but I expect

to hear about it in the future. Now I wil be better prepared for the

questions!! :0)

[Guest guest]

Thank you -- I think that is an explanation that my son will

understand. I also have played recordings back to him, and he

doesn't recognize himself. He says " is that me? " , but it doesn't

concern him yet, thank God. I'm always trying to develop his

awareness without sounding like there's something wrong with him,

and without harping on him. Thanks again. Since I'm new here, I'm

not sure how to navigate throught this, but I wanted to thank

everone who responded to my question. It's a huge help.

-Sue

>

>

>

> Your son is the age my daughter was when her awareness of her

Apraxia grew.

> She used to shrug her shoulders and act like everyone else was

foolish for

> not understanding her. Hehe. I loved that stage because she was so

carefree

> & would still talk to people.

>

> I told her that, sometimes, everyone has trouble speaking, and

that if we

> do, we have to try harder. (She LOVES when I am tired & read her a

bedtime

> story, because I mess up sometimes and she'll say, " Try, try

again, mommy! " )

>

> I explained that her brain knew what it wanted her to say, but her

brain

> wasn't talking to her mouth. I told her we had to do exercises to

make her

> brain and mouth be friends & that with enough practice, her brain

could move

> her mouth the right way & she would talk like everyone else.

>

> It was a little easier for us, because my little sister was in

speech

> therapy and my daughter idolizes her. When she heard her aunt was

in ST, she

> was fine with going to ST.

>

> She still gets angry when we can't understand her. We have had her

sing

> songs, and talk on camera. we play them back to her so she can

hear what she

> sounds like. she was pretty upset the first time she " heard "

herself. but, I

> think it also helped her understand why we can't always understand

her. She

> has a little tape recorder that has a microphone on it, that

amplifies her

> voice. she likes using it when we do ST @ home :-)

>

> I also try to keep her on her toes when she speaks by reminding

her, " Is it

> tootie, or cookie? " if she says cookie wrong, etc. (Exaggerating

the target

> sounds)

>

> Hope that helps :-)

>

> Aubrey

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you -- I think that is an explanation that my son will

understand. I also have played recordings back to him, and he

doesn't recognize himself. He says " is that me? " , but it doesn't

concern him yet, thank God. I'm always trying to develop his

awareness without sounding like there's something wrong with him,

and without harping on him. Thanks again. Since I'm new here, I'm

not sure how to navigate throught this, but I wanted to thank

everone who responded to my question. It's a huge help.

-Sue

>

>

>

> Your son is the age my daughter was when her awareness of her

Apraxia grew.

> She used to shrug her shoulders and act like everyone else was

foolish for

> not understanding her. Hehe. I loved that stage because she was so

carefree

> & would still talk to people.

>

> I told her that, sometimes, everyone has trouble speaking, and

that if we

> do, we have to try harder. (She LOVES when I am tired & read her a

bedtime

> story, because I mess up sometimes and she'll say, " Try, try

again, mommy! " )

>

> I explained that her brain knew what it wanted her to say, but her

brain

> wasn't talking to her mouth. I told her we had to do exercises to

make her

> brain and mouth be friends & that with enough practice, her brain

could move

> her mouth the right way & she would talk like everyone else.

>

> It was a little easier for us, because my little sister was in

speech

> therapy and my daughter idolizes her. When she heard her aunt was

in ST, she

> was fine with going to ST.

>

> She still gets angry when we can't understand her. We have had her

sing

> songs, and talk on camera. we play them back to her so she can

hear what she

> sounds like. she was pretty upset the first time she " heard "

herself. but, I

> think it also helped her understand why we can't always understand

her. She

> has a little tape recorder that has a microphone on it, that

amplifies her

> voice. she likes using it when we do ST @ home :-)

>

> I also try to keep her on her toes when she speaks by reminding

her, " Is it

> tootie, or cookie? " if she says cookie wrong, etc. (Exaggerating

the target

> sounds)

>

> Hope that helps :-)

>

> Aubrey

>

>

>

>