word retrieval - semantic issue?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I was very confused yesterday as i see my apraxic son's issue to be about word

retrieval. But it seems that " word retrieval " is seen as a something different

and seen as 'worse' along with CAPD. I say 'worse' because... and i am reading

between the lines here... perhaps it's not as 'curable' as apraxia.

Finally, after thinking hard, i have decided it's a question of semantics.

put this very well to me and summed up what i see as my son's word retrieval

issue.

" So word retrieval is motor planning in that the brain cannot find the pathways

to access the word? "

This is how i see it with my son. I guess the most important fact i cling to (!)

is that once the pathway has been established the word is retrievable.

certainly someone mentioned that their SLP saw 'word retrieval' as something

different from apraxia and I can understand 's point of view. However, for

some of us, word retrieval is the biggest issue and definately a " motor planning

in that the brain cannot find the pathways to access the word " is too long to

write as a description.

Since I joined this group, some months ago, I have found it to be extremely

useful with information. My son is not a 'cherub' as he doesn't have all the

manifestations of apraxia, he doesn't have hypotonia and he doesn't have oral

motor problems. In addition he is deaf with a cochlear implant so the diagnosis

was even harder because language would be delayed in his case anyway. He may

also have other language disorders too, but with such a small language base it's

not possible to tell.

However, therapy etc for apraxia is helping and I feel more empowered because of

this group and the diagnosis than ever before.

regards

michelle

UK mummy to james 8 and rory 6 both deaf, rory has verbal dyspraxia

[ ] Word retrieval or speech impairment?

Word retrieval may be easy to diagnose in a patient with

Alzheimer's or Parkinson's Disease who doesn't have a speech

impairment. But there is not enough research in preschool or early

elementary school aged verbal disabled children to definitely state

that the child that does not say a word or the right word on command

has word retrieval issues and that the problem instead is not a

speech/motor planning problem. They are different diagnosis and

treatments...and one I believe comes with a greater stigma -word

retrieval. To me saying a preschool child with a speech impairment

has word-retrieval issues is like saying a child with a hearing

impairment has CAPD because he has trouble understanding verbal

commands. I don't care if Dr. Hall did a study with 5

children,,,,to decide that apraxia and word retrieval issues may go

together and this was confirmed by follow up of 2 of those 5

children http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?

_nfpb=true & _pageLabel=RecordDetails & ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED288

283 & ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno & objectId=0900000b80041e57

Below I have a study with about the same amout of children that

disputes this with nonverbal autistic children.

As almost always the ones that stand up for the children are the

parents of those children. Not that long ago all " believed " the

hearing impaired were " dummies " or retarded.

http://deafness.about.com/cs/featurearticles/a/retarded_2.htm

I bet this group could prove what I am saying on anecdotal stories

of following verbal disabled children that are misdiagnosed but

where the parents didn't allow the diagnosis they knew was false and

fought it. Test those children at 9 or 10 -test my son Tanner today

for example. Those who didn't believe in him didn't have a chance

to destroy his confidence or chance to succeed because we didn't let

them. I'm happy to know he proved them wrong but not happy to know

some of you may believe he is somehow different. Tanner is very

typical of most apraxic children in our group.

Not all children with apraxia have phenomenal memories...and not all

have average or above average IQs...it does appear most like Tanner

do however. I too am sorry for those that don't fall into that

group but no matter what there is always hope. I can tell you that

perhaps I am such a strong advocate for not allowing this label to

be placed on a child unless all are 100% sure...and that would be

down the road not preschool age..because some unknowledgeable SLPs

tried to diagnose Tanner with word-retrieval problems and receptive

issues back when he was transitioning to kindergarten and they

were " positive " he " wouldn't make it in mainstream kindergarten "

They were wrong and as many of you know Tanner was a top student and

in the 3rd grade had some bumps due to ignorance but still

maintained a low B average and tested private to have 5th grade

abilities in a number of academic areas including math.

I believe in my heart and have said before and stand by that if I

let " them " who didn't believe in Tanner, lead Tanner's direction,

that 'they' would be right. Where would Tina's son be who all

believed MR if her and her husband didn't stand by him while all

disagreed. Again her example came at a perfect time. Don't feel

guilty if you are one of the parents that has that diagnoses and you

up till this moment believe or believed it...it's never too late to

question it. At preschool age and at the early elementary school

years we help create who they become later in life. Who knows if

it's ever too late -look at who was misdiagnosed all her

life and started to get appropriate therapy and help and started to

talk for the first time at 17 and one of the first things she typed

on the computer was " I am not retarded " .

http://www.cherab.org/news/.html (Hi Robin and !!)

When will reading what I am trying to say really be more harsh when

you have time to still fix it or ten years or more from now? I

appear to have trouble getting my point through, so I just hope some

of you do hear me -because it will at least help save your children

from falling into possible false diagnosis. Here's one study that

may be of interest:

Failure to confirm the word-retrieval problem hypothesis in

facilitated communication

Journal Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

Publisher Springer Netherlands

ISSN 0162-3257 (Print) 1573-3432 (Online)

Subject Behavioral Science

Issue Volume 25, Number 6 / December, 1995

DOI 10.1007/BF02178190

Pages 597-610

Online Date Friday, September 30, 2005

Carol A. Vázquez1

(1) Psychology Department, State University of New York, 314

Faculty Tower, 12561-2499 New Paltz, New York

Résumé / Abstract

Two hypotheses were raised and empirically tested to account for the

failure of previous controlled validation studies to find evidence

of literacy in nonspeaking persons with autism using facilitated

communication : (a) The naming tasks used in other studies have

triggered specific word retrieval problems, or anomia, and ( a

perceptual problem, visual agnosia, prevents subjects from

recognizing objects without touching them. Three nonspeaking

autistic children who had used facilitation for at least 2 years

were evaluated with four experimentally controlled tasks, over a

period of 5 months. In descriptive and object handling tasks, and in

a traditional picture identification task subjects failed to type

correct answers when facilitators were blind ; one subject, however,

occasionally engaged in signing and vocalizations that were context-

appropriate. Results reflected a generalized language deficit,

rather than isolated word-finding or perceptual difficulties, and

were consistent with many previous studies revealing facilitator

cuing. Questions are raised about inconsistencies in pseudo-correct

scores, a measure of facilitator influence, reported here and in

previous research.

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN & cpsidt=2935229

Three nonspeaking children with autism who had used facilitated

communication were evaluated with four experimentally controlled

tasks. Findings suggested a generalized language deficit, rather

than isolated word-finding or perceptual difficulties, and were

consistent with previous studies revealing facilitator cuing.

Questions are raised about inconsistencies in pseudocorrect scores,

a measure of facilitator influence. (Author/DB)

http://www.eric.ed.gov/sitemap/html_0900000b80021b70.html

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