Reading fluency testing questions in re: to apraxia

[Guest guest]

I have just had a therapist do an extensive evaluation on our 6.9

year old son. He did not qualify for public school speech services

after the school gave him one vocab test. I felt that he was still

struggling some so I sought a recommended private SLP to do more

testing.

I don't have all the results of the tests yet but she did tell me

quickly that along with auditory processing issues his fluency was

very low. She said that his phonemic and phonological awareness were

both slightly above average but his fluency was 2%. I asked how that

was tested and she said that the test has the child (because he's

under 7) " read " colors. They determine that the child knows all the

colors in the test and then there are lines of colored squares that

the child must read. My question to her and to this community is

wouldn't his having apraxia affect his ability to say the

colors/words out loud? I struggled with this with his K teacher.

She would continually test him verbally and the test would be

skewed. Is anyone familiar with the above testing? The therapist is

a licenced SLP and she has other degrees behind her. I would assume

that she would know how apraxia would affect fluency? She did

tell me that he tests as having a moderate to severe communication

impairment and she was shocked that the school never picked up on the

processing issues. She told me she was embarrassed that someone in

her profession would release him from services.

She also told me that he tested differently than any child she has

ever seen. I guess he would answer several question incorrectly and

then just before the test would ceiling out, he would get one right.

She said he kept doing that until he went well above his age group.

She said it's almost like his processing or what ever would be there,

then drop off, then come back in. She said she's never seen anything

like it before.

I'd love to hear from others who have gone this route. I am home

schooling so I don't have to push right now and the therapist has

asked me to stop teaching him to read until we can develop a specific

program to fit his needs. I'd just like to hear from others on how

apraxia affects reading fluency. I guess I'm more concerned that he

will be able to read silently and comprehend what he is reading more

than I'm worried about his ability to read out loud. Does that sound

crazy?

Sorry for rambling. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around moderate

to severe communication impairment, processing issues and a 2%

fluency test. I KNOW that people said apraxia is NEVER alone, that

other issues would surface. It just feels so damn defeating when you

think things are going better and then a test shows big huge holes.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. If you feel that this is a

better topic for off list please email me at smccann@...

All the best,

McCann

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

When I read your post, I was a little confused about a couple of things. First

of all, did the SLP test your child on reading fluency or verbal fluency

(speech)? From what I'm understanding, the therapist lined up colors on a sheet

of paper, and had your son say them.....correct?? Or did he read the words? At

any rate, I'll attempt to share what I can on this topic.

The apraxia will indeed affect his reading and verbal/speech fluency. On that

note, the reading fluency assessment will be inaccurate due to his speech

issues. In that case, if your son was attending a classroom setting, I'd

recommend a 504 or IEP modification that would address the issue of " fluency

assessments " . Since he's not in a classroom setting.....and I'm not (yet) that

familiar with the homeschool arena, I can't really offer a suggestion. But,

what I would say is this.....fluency assessments are administered in order to

detect reading issues. For example, if a child is struggling with decoding

words (sounding them out), then their reading will be choppy or not fluent. If

a child does not have a good grasp of sight words (irregular words), then their

fluency will be interrupted. Sight words should be automatic (read quickly and

not sounded out). Furthermore, if a child is not reading fluently, then

comprehension can be affected. Lastly, fluency is important for oral reading

purposes (making print sound like spoken language). With all of this said, your

son's reading fluency score will be affected by the apraxia.....just the motor

planning required for the automaticity of the sight words (ALONE) would be a

major SNAG in oral reading for an apraxic child.....but some of these things may

help:

*Refer to the Sitton word lists of high frequency words. You can google

Sitton.....the first one hundred words are for first grade, the second

one hundred are for second graders, etc.....These are those " automatic words "

*When teaching decoding (or sounding out) of cvc (consonant/vowel/consonant)

words, refer to word families. Word families are hill, bill, mill, etc.....they

have the same rime or ending. Our brains are pattern seeking devices, so making

these word connections are incredibly helpful for early readers. You can google

word families.

*Make or create books with your son. Writng together can be fun, it will

facilitate oral lang (helpful with his speech issue), and give him interesting

reading material to practice. Practice his reading/fluency on these familiar

texts or homemade books.

*Practice fluency on predictible text.....these books say some of the same

things over and over throughout the book. For example, a certain phrase is

repeated throughout the book.

*Practice fluency on familiar texts. These are books that kids know well.....no

decoding issues.....

AND, I'm NOW remembering that the SLP said to cease reading instruction.....so,

maybe this list can be helpful at some point in your future.

One more thing, I've seen TONS of kids struggle with fluency issues.....TONS!

(sorry so long)

@...: smccann@...: Wed,

23 Jan 2008 14:18:50 +0000Subject: [ ] Reading fluency testing

questions in re: to apraxia

I have just had a therapist do an extensive evaluation on our 6.9 year old son.

He did not qualify for public school speech services after the school gave him

one vocab test. I felt that he was still struggling some so I sought a

recommended private SLP to do more testing. I don't have all the results of the

tests yet but she did tell me quickly that along with auditory processing issues

his fluency was very low. She said that his phonemic and phonological awareness

were both slightly above average but his fluency was 2%. I asked how that was

tested and she said that the test has the child (because he's under 7) " read "

colors. They determine that the child knows all the colors in the test and then

there are lines of colored squares that the child must read. My question to her

and to this community is wouldn't his having apraxia affect his ability to say

the colors/words out loud? I struggled with this with his K teacher. She would

continually test him verbally and the test would be skewed. Is anyone familiar

with the above testing? The therapist is a licenced SLP and she has other

degrees behind her. I would assume that she would know how apraxia would affect

fluency? She did tell me that he tests as having a moderate to severe

communication impairment and she was shocked that the school never picked up on

the processing issues. She told me she was embarrassed that someone in her

profession would release him from services.She also told me that he tested

differently than any child she has ever seen. I guess he would answer several

question incorrectly and then just before the test would ceiling out, he would

get one right. She said he kept doing that until he went well above his age

group. She said it's almost like his processing or what ever would be there,

then drop off, then come back in. She said she's never seen anything like it

before.I'd love to hear from others who have gone this route. I am home

schooling so I don't have to push right now and the therapist has asked me to

stop teaching him to read until we can develop a specific program to fit his

needs. I'd just like to hear from others on how apraxia affects reading fluency.

I guess I'm more concerned that he will be able to read silently and comprehend

what he is reading more than I'm worried about his ability to read out loud.

Does that sound crazy?Sorry for rambling. I'm still trying to wrap my mind

around moderate to severe communication impairment, processing issues and a 2%

fluency test. I KNOW that people said apraxia is NEVER alone, that other issues

would surface. It just feels so damn defeating when you think things are going

better and then a test shows big huge holes.Thanks for taking the time to read

this. If you feel that this is a better topic for off list please email me at

smccann@... the best, McCann

_________________________________________________________________

Shed those extra pounds with MSN and The Biggest Loser!

http://biggestloser.msn.com/