Re: child with apraxia

[Guest guest]

This is FALSE FALSE FALSE:

" I suggested sign language to the speech therapist who explained to

me that this may cause her to become reliant on signing and not

speaking - so that was ruled out. "

Sign language may give this child a voice! Meaning it will help her

communicate. It's easier to speak than to sign so as she learns how

to speak she will sign less or stop but give her the means to

communicate for goodness sake!

>

>

> Hello!

>

> I am a prekindergarten teacher at the Dionne Warwick Insitute in

East

> Orange, NJ. I have a 3 year old student who may possibly have

Apraxia of

> Speech according to our in-school Speech Therapist. As I read

through the

> symptoms, she does fall into this category. She uses gestures to

> communicate. Points to pictures (I've labeled my classroom with

pictures

> and words to help). Although she tries very hard to say words,

most of her

> sounds come out as " ga' or " go " or " gee " . She gets very frustrated

when

> trying to communicate and her message doesn't seem to be getting

through. I

> haven't observed any other developmental disabilities or delays

other than

> the fact that this child has difficulty communicating with us using

speech

> (also keeping in mind that this child is just 3 years old).

>

> As this child's teacher, I am VERY interested in helping this

child,

> however, I do not know where to begin. I suggested sign language

to the

> speech therapist who explained to me that this may cause her to

become

> reliant on signing and not speaking - so that was ruled out. She

did

> however give me a book to order sign language picture prompts and

cards that

> I could " try them to see if they worked " . I just want my student

to feel

> successful when she attempts to communicate with us. She tries SO

hard!

> Her mom is very eager to get her child the help that she needs as

she is a

> prekindergarten teacher as well. Our issue is that our district is

short

> handed when it comes to Speech Therapy. It doesn't look like

she'll be

> getting the services she needs any time soon.

>

> What can my student's mother and I do to begin the process of

helping this

> child while we wait for services? What can I do in the classroom?

What can

> mom do at home?

>

> Thank you in advance,

>

> Tamara Wyatt

> (973) 266-5930 WK

>

[Guest guest]

Forgot my link:

http://www.apraxia-kids.org/site/apps/nl/content3.asp?

c=chKMI0PIIsE & b=788447 & ct=464165

" Often when someone raises the idea of using sign language for a

child with apraxia, parents may experience confusion and even fear.

After all, " The child can hear just fine! Why would we use sign

language for a hearing child? " Or " But won't using the sign mean my

child won't need to talk? Won't it keep him/her from speaking? "

Conversely, some parents report that their child's speech language

pathologist has told them that the child will rely on sign and thus

not learn to speak. This article attempts to address many of these

myths about signing. "

Click the above link to read the whole article.

>

>

> Hello!

>

> I am a prekindergarten teacher at the Dionne Warwick Insitute in

East

> Orange, NJ. I have a 3 year old student who may possibly have

Apraxia of

> Speech according to our in-school Speech Therapist. As I read

through the

> symptoms, she does fall into this category. She uses gestures to

> communicate. Points to pictures (I've labeled my classroom with

pictures

> and words to help). Although she tries very hard to say words,

most of her

> sounds come out as " ga' or " go " or " gee " . She gets very frustrated

when

> trying to communicate and her message doesn't seem to be getting

through. I

> haven't observed any other developmental disabilities or delays

other than

> the fact that this child has difficulty communicating with us using

speech

> (also keeping in mind that this child is just 3 years old).

>

> As this child's teacher, I am VERY interested in helping this

child,

> however, I do not know where to begin. I suggested sign language

to the

> speech therapist who explained to me that this may cause her to

become

> reliant on signing and not speaking - so that was ruled out. She

did

> however give me a book to order sign language picture prompts and

cards that

> I could " try them to see if they worked " . I just want my student

to feel

> successful when she attempts to communicate with us. She tries SO

hard!

> Her mom is very eager to get her child the help that she needs as

she is a

> prekindergarten teacher as well. Our issue is that our district is

short

> handed when it comes to Speech Therapy. It doesn't look like

she'll be

> getting the services she needs any time soon.

>

> What can my student's mother and I do to begin the process of

helping this

> child while we wait for services? What can I do in the classroom?

What can

> mom do at home?

>

> Thank you in advance,

>

> Tamara Wyatt

> (973) 266-5930 WK

>

[Guest guest]

Sounds like it may be apraxia. Get the book The Late Talker, by

Geng.(barnes & noble) Check out Cherub.org on line and contact

[Guest guest]

Just another vote for sign language. I remember reading a study that

showed in " typically developing " children using sign language

sometimes caused a six month delay in speech. We sign (not all the

time, but consistently) for my son. My younger daughter signed before

she could speak - it was an enormous help. She is WAY ahead of her

peers in the complexity of her speech.

At my son's school they use pictures, sign and spoken language. He

picked up on the pics first b/c he also have motor planning issues

making it hard to do signs. He eventually picked up signs and

eventually spoke. You need to give her a voice - she is trying, she

is motivated, she will not be 'lazy' and rely on signs. She needs to

feel safe, loved and understood in order to do that hard work she'll

need to do in order to learn typical speech.

She is so lucky to have you for a teacher. Way to go!

cATHY

>

> Sounds like it may be apraxia. Get the book The Late Talker, by

> Geng.(barnes & noble) Check out Cherub.org on line and contact

[Guest guest]

My daughter was a late speaker and signing helped her to talk. Her first words

were the ones she knew the signs for. I started signing basic words to her

(more, cookie, etc..) And she picked these words up first and would also sign

and say them. She still will sign with her spoken words sometimes. Signing

helps acquire speech, your in school speech therapist should know better.

Through EI all of our therapists including speech worked on signing. In my sons

preschool class his SLP works on signing as well as sounds. She said that gross

motor (signing) comes before fine motor (speech). And this is coming from a

school system that is familiar with apraxia. Good luck.

-------------- Original message --------------

From: Jeanne Buesser <jbmistletoe@...>

Hello!

I am a prekindergarten teacher at the Dionne Warwick Insitute in East

Orange, NJ. I have a 3 year old student who may possibly have Apraxia of

Speech according to our in-school Speech Therapist. As I read through the

symptoms, she does fall into this category. She uses gestures to

communicate. Points to pictures (I've labeled my classroom with pictures

and words to help). Although she tries very hard to say words, most of her

sounds come out as " ga' or " go " or " gee " . She gets very frustrated when

trying to communicate and her message doesn't seem to be getting through. I

haven't observed any other developmental disabilities or delays other than

the fact that this child has difficulty communicating with us using speech

(also keeping in mind that this child is just 3 years old).

As this child's teacher, I am VERY interested in helping this child,

however, I do not know where to begin. I suggested sign language to the

speech therapist who explained to me that this may cause her to become

reliant on signing and not speaking - so that was ruled out. She did

however give me a book to order sign language picture prompts and cards that

I could " try them to see if they worked " . I just want my student to feel

successful when she attempts to communicate with us. She tries SO hard!

Her mom is very eager to get her child the help that she needs as she is a

prekindergarten teacher as well. Our issue is that our district is short

handed when it comes to Speech Therapy. It doesn't look like she'll be

getting the services she needs any time soon.

What can my student's mother and I do to begin the process of helping this

child while we wait for services? What can I do in the classroom? What can

mom do at home?

Thank you in advance,

Tamara Wyatt

(973) 266-5930 WK

[Guest guest]

Just echoing what others are saying - sign language has been wonderful

for our family. DD is almost three, no words yet. This morning her

dad left for work, and she turned to me and signed, " Daddy, car, " to

say, " Is daddy going in his car? " To be able to have that level of

communication with her is just priceless to me. It gives me a great

glimpse into her head, and helps her feel good about telling me what

she's thinking.

Has it delayed her speech even further? I have no idea. But before

she could sign she was extremely frustrated. Now that we have a

langugage for communicating, everything is better.

[Guest guest]

>

>

> Hello!

>

> I am a prekindergarten teacher at the Dionne Warwick Insitute in

East

> Orange, NJ. I have a 3 year old student who may possibly have

Apraxia of

> Speech according to our in-school Speech Therapist. As I read

through the

> symptoms, she does fall into this category. She uses gestures to

> communicate. Points to pictures (I've labeled my classroom with

pictures

> and words to help). Although she tries very hard to say words,

most of her

> sounds come out as " ga' or " go " or " gee " . She gets very frustrated

when

> trying to communicate and her message doesn't seem to be getting

through. I

> haven't observed any other developmental disabilities or delays

other than

> the fact that this child has difficulty communicating with us using

speech

> (also keeping in mind that this child is just 3 years old).

>

> As this child's teacher, I am VERY interested in helping this

child,

> however, I do not know where to begin. I suggested sign language

to the

> speech therapist who explained to me that this may cause her to

become

> reliant on signing and not speaking - so that was ruled out. She

did

> however give me a book to order sign language picture prompts and

cards that

> I could " try them to see if they worked " . I just want my student

to feel

> successful when she attempts to communicate with us. She tries SO

hard!

> Her mom is very eager to get her child the help that she needs as

she is a

> prekindergarten teacher as well. Our issue is that our district is

short

> handed when it comes to Speech Therapy. It doesn't look like

she'll be

> getting the services she needs any time soon.

>

> What can my student's mother and I do to begin the process of

helping this

> child while we wait for services? What can I do in the classroom?

What can

> mom do at home?

>

> Thank you in advance,

>

> Tamara Wyatt

> (973) 266-5930 WK

>

Hi all,

Just wanted to thank everyone for their responses on this. I have

passed along the emails to tamara. Jeanne