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Does anyone know what happens in an apraxic child's mind when they finally

have an explosion of speech? My son is 4 with PDD NOS and apraxia. I don't

understand this speech problem very well, he is highly intelligent and such a

good boy, he has lots to say but he just cant. He is making progress but it is

so slow. I am just waiting for something spontaneous. He is getting

appropriate therapies. Does anyone know as a child gets older do the chances

get

smaller they will learn speech. Jen

************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com

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More typically than not, it is slow and steady progress. Hard work

esp. if he is already verbal.

That said, of course, I have an exception. We have seen explosions of

speech (if you can call them that) when we hit a nail on the head

with a supplement - EFAs or vitamin E or carnitine.

There is something else going on right now physically that we are

trying to figure out. I'm sure when we hit that nail - another burst

will happen.

Hang in there -

>

> Does anyone know what happens in an apraxic child's mind when they

finally

> have an explosion of speech? My son is 4 with PDD NOS and apraxia.

I don't

> understand this speech problem very well, he is highly intelligent

and such a

> good boy, he has lots to say but he just cant. He is making

progress but it is

> so slow. I am just waiting for something spontaneous. He is

getting

> appropriate therapies. Does anyone know as a child gets older do

the chances get

> smaller they will learn speech. Jen

>

>

>

> ************************************** See what's new at

http://www.aol.com

>

>

>

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Don't know, but a speech therapist just told me one

child (age 9) just started speaking! Never give up.

--- jennyjudy@... wrote:

> Does anyone know what happens in an apraxic child's

> mind when they finally

> have an explosion of speech? My son is 4 with PDD

> NOS and apraxia. I don't

> understand this speech problem very well, he is

> highly intelligent and such a

> good boy, he has lots to say but he just cant. He is

> making progress but it is

> so slow. I am just waiting for something

> spontaneous. He is getting

> appropriate therapies. Does anyone know as a child

> gets older do the chances get

> smaller they will learn speech. Jen

>

>

>

> ************************************** See what's

> new at http://www.aol.com

>

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

>

>

>

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a little bit of hope...my son didn't utter 2 word sentences until about the

age of 4...and today @ 6 y.o., he is speaking in sentences. The words that

he does know come out really clear & coherent. He does have receptive &

expressive delays and I blame this on his late development. Just last year

he could not form a letter in his name ..and today, he is writing his name

and knows how to spell..so, alot can change in a year's time...in 3 months

alot can change. Keep very positive attitude...and continue his

therapies...

jennyjudy@...

Sent by:

childrensapraxian To

et@...

m cc

Subject

10/31/2007 03:10 Re: [ ] explosion

PM of speech

Please respond to

childrensapraxian

et@...

m

Does anyone know what happens in an apraxic child's mind when they finally

have an explosion of speech? My son is 4 with PDD NOS and apraxia. I don't

understand this speech problem very well, he is highly intelligent and such

a

good boy, he has lots to say but he just cant. He is making progress but it

is

so slow. I am just waiting for something spontaneous. He is getting

appropriate therapies. Does anyone know as a child gets older do the

chances get

smaller they will learn speech. Jen

************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com

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Share on other sites

I love hearing these kinds of stories! Sometimes it's hard imagining

my son ever talking in sentences, but I know it WILL happen

eventually. He's only 32 months, so I'm still holding out hope that

he has this sudden speech/language explosion at 3.

Just another little positive story of how quickly something can click:

Just last week my son showed NO signs of recognizing colors. I mean

he couldn't even hand me a blue block if I held up a blue block and

showed him what blue looks like. The whole color concept just seemed

to be beyond his comprehension. Well, just yesterday it was like he's

known his colors all along! He still can't say any of the colors, but

receptively he seems to know all the primary colors. I can just say,

" can you find a blue block? " and he does it without any problem. Now

I have definite proof that he really is filing away all the

information he's presented. It might take him longer than an average

child to figure out a way to access the information, but once he

accesses it he's able to use it quickly and easily. I'm just so proud

of him and it gave me new hope that I seemed to have lost for a little

while.

Bridget

>

>

> a little bit of hope...my son didn't utter 2 word sentences until

about the

> age of 4...and today @ 6 y.o., he is speaking in sentences. The

words that

> he does know come out really clear & coherent. He does have receptive &

> expressive delays and I blame this on his late development. Just

last year

> he could not form a letter in his name ..and today, he is writing

his name

> and knows how to spell..so, alot can change in a year's time...in 3

months

> alot can change. Keep very positive attitude...and continue his

> therapies...

>

>

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Share on other sites

Most times we refer to speech explosions in children with

developmental delays in speech. Many children with disorders of

speech need to be taught via therapy to say every new sound and

word. Not to say children with apraxia don't have speech surges -but

it's not like those with developmental delays where they go from

delayed to normal -but yes there are surges. In the archives there

is a message from BJ who has a child with apraxia/PDD with a speech

explosion you may want to read below.

Actually there really is much in the archives about language/speech

explosions in this group in relationship to children with apraxia -

but when I advanced searched the key words " speech explosion apraxia "

all links primarily were in regards to the EFAs. Going back just a

year or so ago parents didn't do all they are today -just therapy and

EFAs -but results were amazing as you'll read in the archives. I

advanced search here the words " speech explosion apraxia " (did not

include ProEFA or any EFA wording) and almost nothing came up for

2007 -lots for 2006 -but an overwhelming amount the further back you

go -below are just a few. Sadly we don't hear from many of these

parents anymore. But apraxia isn't just a childhood condition and I

do wish those with older children/teens will feel free to start

posting questions and sharing updates again.

Speech therapy of course is always a given -and even without EFAs

it's what will help children with apraxia -just way slower. The

surges are addictive -you always want more. Apraxia is not like a

developmental delay however so even with a surge it doesn't

necessarily bring the child up to normal speech -just up to where the

hope increases and fear fades. Over time -like my son Tanner they

get to where most won't know there is a speech problem, unless he

needs to express complex words in complex thought -the breakdown is

the same but ages with them. For those of you with older children

just make sure that teachers are aware that just because your child

can't always eloquently express answers verbally doesn't mean he or

she doesn't know the answer as they should. Apraxia is a disability

of motor planning that can be overcome which many of the children who

are now older, including teens and young adults are showing. For

those that still have trouble with speech -like (real life

Little Mermaid http://www.cherab.org/news/.html ) they can use

augmentative devices to communicate. (Robin do you want to jump in

to update all on ?)

For new parents you may want to archive messages as many of the more

recent ones don't have to do with the traditional or simple

alternative therapies for apraxia that have worked for most over the

past years.

Below are just a few -and again I'm sure you'll love BJs

~~~~~~~~~~~~start of archives

From: BJBlackler@...

Date: Sun Dec 9, 2001 8:06am

Subject: 1-week " progress " report on ProEFA

Hi all --

Short version: RUN . . . do not walk . . . to try ProEFA for

yourselves!!!!

I am absolutely astounding with my son's progress. Prior to starting

this

product, he was diagnosed with severe dyspraxia and never talked

unless

prompted.

Long version:

Well . . . we started (4, PDD-NOS, verbal dyspraxia) on the

Nordic

Naturals ProEFA capsules one week ago. He takes one gelcap per day.

Here are

some random notes I made this week . . .

Day #1: he appeared to sleep a more restful sleep at night

Day #2: he appeared to be " seeing " things in a new light -- i.e. he

was more

curious about things than usual, really looking stuff over (like he

was on

LSD or something). Answers questions more readily when prompted than

before.

Day #3: he is starting spontaneous, commenting behavior (for

instance,

telling me that " it's raining " in the cartoon he was watching)

totally out of

the blue. He also appears to be " following " the storyline of the

cartoons and

actually understanding what's going on. Actually laughing out loud at

the

cartoons when appropriate. When the commercial comes on advertising

that

kid's songs video, he is actually singing short little phrases along

with it

-- this has NEVER happened before. Apparently he's known the words

all along,

just couldn't voice them.

Day #4: spontaneous speech blitz. Commenting on everything. Expanding

from

his original repetoire of 2-3 word phrases (i.e. more juice please)

to 5-6

word phrases (can I have more juice, please?) and using intonation as

well.

Striking up " conversations " with his younger sister (1.5 years old),

as in

" Hi, Jacy, let's play. Do you want to play? " " Come on, Mom. Need new

diaper. "

New vocabulary words are being used that I think he's been " storing "

in his

head for quite a while. They're coming out of nowhere -- I'm not

prompting

these.

I did not tell anyone I was beginning these supplements on .

His

private SLP commented about what a leap in progress he's made in the

past

week or so. His special ed preschool teacher, and the school SLP,

also both

commented about this in our IEP meeting this week.

Teacher's comment from our communication notebook: " tons of

spontaneous

phrases today -- he said, " Look, here comes Lydia " and " We are going

this

way " while leading us to the playground at recess. "

SLP commented about his eagerness to work this week. Says he readily

repeats

anything she prompts him to. His articulation appears to be getting

clearer.

Private SLP commented that is starting to " direct " her group

therapy

sessions, telling everyone where to sit, etc. Funny!

saw a parent running across the parking lot yesterday (she was

running

late for pickup of her child). He shouted out clear as day, " NO

RUNNING!!!! "

I cracked up! The parent stopped dead in her tracks -- up to this day

she had

never heard say anything spontaneously.

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!! Listmates, just so you know where we are coming from

here

.. . . I have had my son on a strict gluten-free/casein-free diet for

a little

over a year now. I keep an accurate daily report on his food intake,

behavior, disposition which helps me track down possible causes when

he's

having a bad day. The only thing we've been doing differently this

week is

the ProEFA supplementation. There is a direct correlation here to his

speech

improvements, as far as I can tell.

My only regret is that I didn't have the $22 to shell out earlier on

to start

on this regimen sooner.

I will probably write more later today, I still have a couple of

questions

and comments about our earlier discussion of whether or not to cut

down on

the hydrogenated oils. But I just wanted to pass along this great

news.

Thanks to the listowners and CHERAB for pointing me in the right

direction.

-BJ in polis, MD

Fri Aug 31, 2007 12:57 am

Hanagan hanagan_8@...

?????

Hello,

I'm new to this group, and have a few questions.....

My 2 1/2 year old is showing some signs of apraxia (per speech

therapist). He

has difficulty moving his tongue (up, down, sideways), and often

deletes the

beginning or ending sounds of words. Currently he has about 40 single

syllable

words that he uses spontaneously and clearly (i.e. up, out, work,

eat, knee,

etc....). He has several babble words (mama, dada, wawa) quiet a few

words that

he mimicks or says unclearly. This is actually the result of a recent

verbal

explosion.....He had only a couple of words a month ago. Anyway, I've

been

giving him the fish oil (hence the verbal explosion), and I have a few

questions about it:

1. How much fish oil should I be giving him. I'm currently giving him

the

Nordic Naturals Omega 3,6, 9. The dose I'm giving is two or three

capsules a

day. Is this OK?? Should I give him more or less???? The adult

recommended dose

is two caps per day.

2. How much vitamin E is suggested? I've given him 1/3 to 1/2 capsule

a few

times (not regularly).

3. I've seen some behavioral changes since giving him the

supplements, too. I

don't know if it's the result of the supplements or not, but at first

I saw more

tantrums.....Then he seemed calmer at the park (more attentive to

things/being

more of an observer). This is unusual for he's known as the kid that

doesn't sit

down.....Sometimes he has a " wild " look in his eyes, and it seems that

information is racing through his head. I've just never seen these

behaviors

before and wondered if they're linked to the supplements. I know that

two year

olds experience lots of changes, though!!

Anyway, he's two and weighs 33 pounds.....I just didn't want to give

him too

much of the supplements and potentially hurt him. As I stated

earlier, I have

seen a remarkable difference in his verbal abilities since adding

them!

Any advice or suggestions will help. I realize that this information

might be

tucked away on the site already, but I'm terrible with

technology.....and am

currently confused about how to access it.

Thanks so much,

Fri Sep 15, 2006 5:17 pm

" anncat1996 " anncat1996@...

Re: Question about speech therapy

Honestly, I'm not sure what to think about the once a week versus more

so I'll give you my thoughts for both sides and our experience. Take

from it what you will.

My daughter finally got in with a great SLP in January 2006 at age 2.5

years. She has lots of training and experience with apraxia and lots

of understanding of SID and autism behavioral issues as well. I think

she really takes into account how to best overall treat any individual

child.

For most of this year we have only been to see her once a week for 60

minutes. I asked her about going more times per week and she said her

experience had been that kids this young got burnt-out on speech

therapy if they went several times a week. She recommended therapy

once per week and then us working with her at home. She said she

wanted us to have at least a couple of targeted language times at home

each week. We did see some real progress in this format. Charlotte

was largely non-verbal and really started vocalizing a lot more. This

summer (mid-July) she started a language explosion. We had started 1

Pro-EFA per day about a month before that so I'm sure that played a

role in the explosion. Truth be told driving distance and cost also

played a role in the decision to have only one time per week, but had

our therapist recommended more we would have done that without a

thought.

This last month we have started going 2 times per week, but one of

those times is 30 minutes of therapy in the swimming pool (which

Charlotte really responds to).

Really my bigger concern than only getting therapy one time per week

is if the therapist knows how to work with kids with apraxia. They

need different therapy and can really languish in more traditional

speech therapy. Our therapist through early intervention, while a

nice, good traditional therapist had no idea how to work with

Charlotte's apraxia.

Wed Sep 13, 2006 1:03 pm

" epoxycozy " epoxycozy@...

Re: ProEFA dosage for 18 month old

My son was @22 months and weighed around 21-22 lbs when I started

him on ProEFA. I started with one capsule and had good results

within 10 days (more sounds, more willingness and ability to

imitate) and WOW results within about 6 weeks (more words, 2

syllable words, and eventually putting 2-3 words together.)

With 1 capsule I saw no negative effects (BTW, his mild eczema

disappeared as well).

I waited 5 months and then added another capsule. This time I did

have some mild mushy stools for a few days and about 10 days of

sleep disturbance (refusing naps)and moody and cranky behavior both

of which stopped suddenly after that 10 days. Then we saw another

explosion of speech. Mostly increase in length of speech utterances

(and a short-term decline in articulation..sigh..), starting to sing

some, more imaginative language (talking about the past and future),

and his speech became more conversational.

I would recommend starting with 1 capsule at first (give in the

morning) and wait for a couple of weeks-1 month just to make sure

that your child doesn't have a negative reaction. If it looks good

I would probably increase to 2 capsules after 2-3 months and then

add the Pro-EPA after another 2-3 months. I tend to go slow on

things and be cautious.

(Max's Mom, 2.6 suspected oral/verbal apraxia)

Thu Jul 27, 2006 12:54 am

" anncat1996 " anncat1996@...

Big Changes

I am trying to be cautiously realistic here, but I had to post about

the changes we have seen in our daughter in the last few days. We

started her on ProEFA 4 weeks ago and I find it hard to believe all of

these changes at the same time are coincidental.

My daughter has spina bifida and hydrocephalus to complicate her

apraxia. She learned to walk (no braces or anything ) right

around her second birthday. Her gross motor skills have slowly been

developing just have been delayed. Her occupational therapist

commented though that looking back the apraxia has probably

complicated her gross motor skill development as well. I feel

fortunate that we have breastfed for as long as we have (for many

reasons), but I think also all of the DHA and EPA in breastmilk have

really been helpful for her.

Anyway in the last few days Charlotte has suddenly started saying lots

of words. I mean we've heard her say probably 25 or 30 new

identifiable (by us anyway) words! She already had two words phrases

through her signs and limited (3 word) oral vocabulary and she is now

using 2 word oral phrases quite a bit! She brought me two little

plastic Bs (those cheap plastic magnetic letters) tonight and clearly

said " two Bs. " Then I said " yes 2 Bs, one green and one yellow. " She

said " green, yellow. " Wow! Of course then I screwed it up. She does

not like any recognition of her speech at all, especially positive

reinforcement when she says something. We are extremely careful to

not point it out to her at all or she completely melts down and shuts

down. Well I said " yes, green and yellow " a little too

enthusiastically and she melted down. It was still a fabulous moment

to hear her saying so many things. My husband hears a lot more than I

do as she is much more willing to play around with her speech with

him. He heard it a lot last night, but I didn't hear anything really

until tonight. It was very cool.

Also, today we went to a playdate and she was climbing things that

really surprised me. Her climbing skills have definitely been slowing

improving, but this seemed like a bigger jump forward to me. Her

self-help skills are also starting to improve in the last couple of

weeks. These are things we've been working on so maybe she's just

getting them figured out, but the timing is really amazing.

Her speech therapist has commented to me that she thinks Charlotte is

just going to have a language explosion some day when she is able to

get over her anxiety about speech, but I think even she is going to be

a little amazed at how many different words we are hearing this week.

(Not that the therapist will hear any of it I suspect as Charlotte

doesn't speak much at speech, but I can report it to her anyway).

For anyone who has gotten this far and wants to know we are just

giving her one capsule of the ProEFA each day. She also get a couple

of tablespoons of flax oil every morning, but she's been getting that

for a year at least.

I know we still have a long row to hoe, but it's nice to really see

some progress.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~end of archives

=====

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That is wonderful to hear. Your description of your son filing away

all the info for future use sounds just like my daughter (33 mos)!

I am always amazed when she draws out something from days, weeks,

months ago that I've long forgotten. :-)

> >

> >

> > a little bit of hope...my son didn't utter 2 word sentences until

> about the

> > age of 4...and today @ 6 y.o., he is speaking in sentences. The

> words that

> > he does know come out really clear & coherent. He does have

receptive &

> > expressive delays and I blame this on his late development. Just

> last year

> > he could not form a letter in his name ..and today, he is writing

> his name

> > and knows how to spell..so, alot can change in a year's

time...in 3

> months

> > alot can change. Keep very positive attitude...and continue his

> > therapies...

> >

> >

>

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Share on other sites

I so see what you mean in our house. My son is doing well and while

diet was a big find for us he would not be doing as well as he is

without the therapy he has had over the past year and the homework

regimen we followed from the therapists, the concerts, play gyms and

other stuff we took him to to be around other kids and people to add

to his experiences and the ear tube surgery he had. The fish oil

protocol most used did not work for him in the same way as others

here on the board but every kid is different and we now see that an

autoimmune thing he has may have prevented the typical fish oil

progress seen here. I am going to give him straight cod liver oil,

something I did see some help with over the summer and see what

happens. My kids get a lot of A and D though so I'll do small

amounts. , big cheech, advised me wisely to not rule out things

that did not work in the past because as the kids progress and change

so do their needs. That is why I am returning to fish oil in a new

way.

> Hi all --

>

> Short version: RUN . . . do not walk . . . to try ProEFA for

> yourselves!!!!

> I am absolutely astounding with my son's progress. Prior to starting

> this

> product, he was diagnosed with severe dyspraxia and never talked

> unless

> prompted.

>

> Long version:

> Well . . . we started (4, PDD-NOS, verbal dyspraxia) on the

> Nordic

> Naturals ProEFA capsules one week ago. He takes one gelcap per day.

> Here are

> some random notes I made this week . . .

>

> Day #1: he appeared to sleep a more restful sleep at night

>

> Day #2: he appeared to be " seeing " things in a new light -- i.e. he

> was more

> curious about things than usual, really looking stuff over (like he

> was on

> LSD or something). Answers questions more readily when prompted than

> before.

>

> Day #3: he is starting spontaneous, commenting behavior (for

> instance,

> telling me that " it's raining " in the cartoon he was watching)

> totally out of

> the blue. He also appears to be " following " the storyline of the

> cartoons and

> actually understanding what's going on. Actually laughing out loud

at

> the

> cartoons when appropriate. When the commercial comes on advertising

> that

> kid's songs video, he is actually singing short little phrases along

> with it

> -- this has NEVER happened before. Apparently he's known the words

> all along,

> just couldn't voice them.

>

> Day #4: spontaneous speech blitz. Commenting on everything.

Expanding

> from

> his original repetoire of 2-3 word phrases (i.e. more juice please)

> to 5-6

> word phrases (can I have more juice, please?) and using intonation

as

> well.

> Striking up " conversations " with his younger sister (1.5 years old),

> as in

> " Hi, Jacy, let's play. Do you want to play? " " Come on, Mom. Need new

> diaper. "

> New vocabulary words are being used that I think he's been " storing "

> in his

> head for quite a while. They're coming out of nowhere -- I'm not

> prompting

> these.

>

> I did not tell anyone I was beginning these supplements on .

> His

> private SLP commented about what a leap in progress he's made in the

> past

> week or so. His special ed preschool teacher, and the school SLP,

> also both

> commented about this in our IEP meeting this week.

>

> Teacher's comment from our communication notebook: " tons of

> spontaneous

> phrases today -- he said, " Look, here comes Lydia " and " We are going

> this

> way " while leading us to the playground at recess. "

>

> SLP commented about his eagerness to work this week. Says he readily

> repeats

> anything she prompts him to. His articulation appears to be getting

> clearer.

>

> Private SLP commented that is starting to " direct " her group

> therapy

> sessions, telling everyone where to sit, etc. Funny!

>

> saw a parent running across the parking lot yesterday (she

was

> running

> late for pickup of her child). He shouted out clear as day, " NO

> RUNNING!!!! "

> I cracked up! The parent stopped dead in her tracks -- up to this

day

> she had

> never heard say anything spontaneously.

>

> Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!! Listmates, just so you know where we are coming

from

> here

> . . . I have had my son on a strict gluten-free/casein-free diet for

> a little

> over a year now. I keep an accurate daily report on his food intake,

> behavior, disposition which helps me track down possible causes when

> he's

> having a bad day. The only thing we've been doing differently this

> week is

> the ProEFA supplementation. There is a direct correlation here to

his

> speech

> improvements, as far as I can tell.

>

> My only regret is that I didn't have the $22 to shell out earlier on

> to start

> on this regimen sooner.

>

> I will probably write more later today, I still have a couple of

> questions

> and comments about our earlier discussion of whether or not to cut

> down on

> the hydrogenated oils. But I just wanted to pass along this great

> news.

> Thanks to the listowners and CHERAB for pointing me in the right

> direction.

>

> -BJ in polis, MD

>

>

>

> Fri Aug 31, 2007 12:57 am

> Hanagan hanagan_8@...

> ?????

>

> Hello,

> I'm new to this group, and have a few questions.....

>

> My 2 1/2 year old is showing some signs of apraxia (per speech

> therapist). He

> has difficulty moving his tongue (up, down, sideways), and often

> deletes the

> beginning or ending sounds of words. Currently he has about 40

single

> syllable

> words that he uses spontaneously and clearly (i.e. up, out, work,

> eat, knee,

> etc....). He has several babble words (mama, dada, wawa) quiet a few

> words that

> he mimicks or says unclearly. This is actually the result of a

recent

> verbal

> explosion.....He had only a couple of words a month ago. Anyway,

I've

> been

> giving him the fish oil (hence the verbal explosion), and I have a

few

> questions about it:

>

> 1. How much fish oil should I be giving him. I'm currently giving

him

> the

> Nordic Naturals Omega 3,6, 9. The dose I'm giving is two or three

> capsules a

> day. Is this OK?? Should I give him more or less???? The adult

> recommended dose

> is two caps per day.

>

> 2. How much vitamin E is suggested? I've given him 1/3 to 1/2

capsule

> a few

> times (not regularly).

>

> 3. I've seen some behavioral changes since giving him the

> supplements, too. I

> don't know if it's the result of the supplements or not, but at

first

> I saw more

> tantrums.....Then he seemed calmer at the park (more attentive to

> things/being

> more of an observer). This is unusual for he's known as the kid that

> doesn't sit

> down.....Sometimes he has a " wild " look in his eyes, and it seems

that

> information is racing through his head. I've just never seen these

> behaviors

> before and wondered if they're linked to the supplements. I know

that

> two year

> olds experience lots of changes, though!!

>

> Anyway, he's two and weighs 33 pounds.....I just didn't want to give

> him too

> much of the supplements and potentially hurt him. As I stated

> earlier, I have

> seen a remarkable difference in his verbal abilities since adding

> them!

>

> Any advice or suggestions will help. I realize that this information

> might be

> tucked away on the site already, but I'm terrible with

> technology.....and am

> currently confused about how to access it.

>

> Thanks so much,

>

>

>

> Fri Sep 15, 2006 5:17 pm

> " anncat1996 " anncat1996@...

> Re: Question about speech therapy

>

>

> Honestly, I'm not sure what to think about the once a week versus

more

> so I'll give you my thoughts for both sides and our experience. Take

> from it what you will.

>

> My daughter finally got in with a great SLP in January 2006 at age

2.5

> years. She has lots of training and experience with apraxia and lots

> of understanding of SID and autism behavioral issues as well. I

think

> she really takes into account how to best overall treat any

individual

> child.

>

> For most of this year we have only been to see her once a week for

60

> minutes. I asked her about going more times per week and she said

her

> experience had been that kids this young got burnt-out on speech

> therapy if they went several times a week. She recommended therapy

> once per week and then us working with her at home. She said she

> wanted us to have at least a couple of targeted language times at

home

> each week. We did see some real progress in this format. Charlotte

> was largely non-verbal and really started vocalizing a lot more.

This

> summer (mid-July) she started a language explosion. We had started 1

> Pro-EFA per day about a month before that so I'm sure that played a

> role in the explosion. Truth be told driving distance and cost also

> played a role in the decision to have only one time per week, but

had

> our therapist recommended more we would have done that without a

> thought.

>

> This last month we have started going 2 times per week, but one of

> those times is 30 minutes of therapy in the swimming pool (which

> Charlotte really responds to).

>

> Really my bigger concern than only getting therapy one time per week

> is if the therapist knows how to work with kids with apraxia. They

> need different therapy and can really languish in more traditional

> speech therapy. Our therapist through early intervention, while a

> nice, good traditional therapist had no idea how to work with

> Charlotte's apraxia.

>

> Wed Sep 13, 2006 1:03 pm

> " epoxycozy " epoxycozy@...

> Re: ProEFA dosage for 18 month old

>

>

> My son was @22 months and weighed around 21-22 lbs when I started

> him on ProEFA. I started with one capsule and had good results

> within 10 days (more sounds, more willingness and ability to

> imitate) and WOW results within about 6 weeks (more words, 2

> syllable words, and eventually putting 2-3 words together.)

>

> With 1 capsule I saw no negative effects (BTW, his mild eczema

> disappeared as well).

>

> I waited 5 months and then added another capsule. This time I did

> have some mild mushy stools for a few days and about 10 days of

> sleep disturbance (refusing naps)and moody and cranky behavior both

> of which stopped suddenly after that 10 days. Then we saw another

> explosion of speech. Mostly increase in length of speech utterances

> (and a short-term decline in articulation..sigh..), starting to sing

> some, more imaginative language (talking about the past and future),

> and his speech became more conversational.

>

> I would recommend starting with 1 capsule at first (give in the

> morning) and wait for a couple of weeks-1 month just to make sure

> that your child doesn't have a negative reaction. If it looks good

> I would probably increase to 2 capsules after 2-3 months and then

> add the Pro-EPA after another 2-3 months. I tend to go slow on

> things and be cautious.

>

> (Max's Mom, 2.6 suspected oral/verbal apraxia)

>

> Thu Jul 27, 2006 12:54 am

> " anncat1996 " anncat1996@...

> Big Changes

>

> I am trying to be cautiously realistic here, but I had to post about

> the changes we have seen in our daughter in the last few days. We

> started her on ProEFA 4 weeks ago and I find it hard to believe all

of

> these changes at the same time are coincidental.

>

> My daughter has spina bifida and hydrocephalus to complicate her

> apraxia. She learned to walk (no braces or anything ) right

> around her second birthday. Her gross motor skills have slowly been

> developing just have been delayed. Her occupational therapist

> commented though that looking back the apraxia has probably

> complicated her gross motor skill development as well. I feel

> fortunate that we have breastfed for as long as we have (for many

> reasons), but I think also all of the DHA and EPA in breastmilk have

> really been helpful for her.

>

> Anyway in the last few days Charlotte has suddenly started saying

lots

> of words. I mean we've heard her say probably 25 or 30 new

> identifiable (by us anyway) words! She already had two words phrases

> through her signs and limited (3 word) oral vocabulary and she is

now

> using 2 word oral phrases quite a bit! She brought me two little

> plastic Bs (those cheap plastic magnetic letters) tonight and

clearly

> said " two Bs. " Then I said " yes 2 Bs, one green and one yellow. " She

> said " green, yellow. " Wow! Of course then I screwed it up. She does

> not like any recognition of her speech at all, especially positive

> reinforcement when she says something. We are extremely careful to

> not point it out to her at all or she completely melts down and

shuts

> down. Well I said " yes, green and yellow " a little too

> enthusiastically and she melted down. It was still a fabulous moment

> to hear her saying so many things. My husband hears a lot more than

I

> do as she is much more willing to play around with her speech with

> him. He heard it a lot last night, but I didn't hear anything really

> until tonight. It was very cool.

>

> Also, today we went to a playdate and she was climbing things that

> really surprised me. Her climbing skills have definitely been

slowing

> improving, but this seemed like a bigger jump forward to me. Her

> self-help skills are also starting to improve in the last couple of

> weeks. These are things we've been working on so maybe she's just

> getting them figured out, but the timing is really amazing.

>

> Her speech therapist has commented to me that she thinks Charlotte

is

> just going to have a language explosion some day when she is able to

> get over her anxiety about speech, but I think even she is going to

be

> a little amazed at how many different words we are hearing this

week.

> (Not that the therapist will hear any of it I suspect as Charlotte

> doesn't speak much at speech, but I can report it to her anyway).

>

> For anyone who has gotten this far and wants to know we are just

> giving her one capsule of the ProEFA each day. She also get a couple

> of tablespoons of flax oil every morning, but she's been getting

that

> for a year at least.

>

> I know we still have a long row to hoe, but it's nice to really see

> some progress.

>

> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~end of archives

>

> =====

>

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I agree with Will if your child has not had an evaluation already- which

is late. So has he had one yet? Also I'm not sure what

you mean by blabber -do you mean jargon? Most children do go through

the jargon stage during the first year or so -but apraxia can create

developmental lags so perhaps this is a stage your child didn't go

through before and is going through it now. If you check the

archives -quite a few kids start doing activities that appear to be

immature for their age once on the fish oil -even sucking and

teething!!! -but it passes. If anyone needs archives on this and

can't find them let me know. Here's some more about developmental

stages -again with apraxia the kids at times go through these stages

a bit late. Better late then never at times -at least most children

in this group evolve into vocal communicators!

" Hearing children produce " vocal jargon babbling " (meaningless jargon

babbling that sound like sentences) at 12-14 months "

http://pages.slc.edu/~ebj/IM_97/Lecture13/L13.html

Was he pretty quiet (not much or any babble) before fish oils?

The part that is a concern is that you appear to have trouble getting

his attention. Was he always like this? If a bunch of people are

standing around pointing to a plane or a puppy does he look to see

what everyone else is looking at? When he is on his own what does he

like to play and does he play with his toys appropriately? How is he

around other children in groups or one on one? Does he have any

friends? Is he in any type of preschool placement/is he in any type

of therapy? What do others say about him?

=====

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BJ where have you been?!!! Please do update and let us know how

everything is! It always seems like we have a new group so it's

awesome to hear from you again!!

Hope your days have been and are filled with miracles!

=====

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> >

> > Does anyone know what happens in an apraxic child's mind when

they

> finally

> > have an explosion of speech? My son is 4 with PDD NOS and

apraxia.

> I don't

> > understand this speech problem very well, he is highly

intelligent

> and such a

> > good boy, he has lots to say but he just cant. He is making

> progress but it is

> > so slow. I am just waiting for something spontaneous. He is

> getting

> > appropriate therapies. Does anyone know as a child gets older do

> the chances get

> > smaller they will learn speech. Jen

> >

> >

> >

> > ************************************** See what's new at

> http://www.aol.com

> >

> >

> >

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In order to get out of bed every day I must believe both my kids have

treatable conditions. I totally understand you must maintain a

greater level of scrutiny with those feelings as a physician. To hear

your optimism is great after all you and yours have endured. You have

helped me personally so much and you have made it possible for so

many of us to ask the right questions and get needed testing. In the

end I believe apraxia can be treated. I further believe that you will

have a lot to do with it being treated safely. Best wishes and I hope

you personally get more answers for your own child on Monday. All

these kids are different but everyone's puzzle helps get answers for

the affliction as a whole.

Best Wishes and God Bless!

> > >

> > > Does anyone know what happens in an apraxic child's mind when

> they

> > finally

> > > have an explosion of speech? My son is 4 with PDD NOS and

> apraxia.

> > I don't

> > > understand this speech problem very well, he is highly

> intelligent

> > and such a

> > > good boy, he has lots to say but he just cant. He is making

> > progress but it is

> > > so slow. I am just waiting for something spontaneous. He is

> > getting

> > > appropriate therapies. Does anyone know as a child gets older

do

> > the chances get

> > > smaller they will learn speech. Jen

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > ************************************** See what's new at

> > http://www.aol.com

> > >

> > >

> > >

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It's a good sign that you saw an initial surge. How long did the

surge last? What dosage is he on and for how long again? Sometimes

you have to increase the dosage a bit or tweak the formula or both

when you see the plateau.

=====

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