Re: Potty training a non-verbal 3 year old- TO EVERYON...

August 6, 2008

Well-- I have a few thoughts that might help, but let me ask a few questions

fist.

~How are you reacting when the accidents happen?

(sometimes they like getting the attention that they cause)

~How much liquids is he ingesting daily?

~what is he doing at the time the accidents happen?

In all honesty-- the child being non-verbal really should NOT affect the

overall potty training thing, so I'm not sure that it's because he's not

talking. So I would try to figure out a few other things in the process.

Now-- if the child has GLOBAL APRAXIA/DYSPRAXIA, this *CAN* affect the

bowels and potty training, but does your son have that or does he only have

Apraxia of Speech?

Becky

In a message dated 8/6/2008 6:07:15 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

jmlester04@... writes:

Oh my gosh!!! Kris you are soooo lucky. I took everyoneâ€™s advice also, put

away the pull-ups, and put just underpants on my 3yr 3 mo old son and I have

just cleaned up the 6th accident for the day with NO pees or poops in the

potty. What are you doing that I am not doing? I canâ€™t even catch him to

have him pee on the potty. Yesterday he sat for about 45 minutes one time

on the potty while watching a dvd and did nothing in the potty. I donâ€™t

know what I am doing wrong!

Ann

-----Original Message-----

From: _ childrensaprachi_

(mailto: )

[mailto:_ childrensaprachi_

(mailto: ) ]On Behalf Of kristinakate1213

Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2008 5:52 PM

_ childrensaprachi_

(mailto: )

Subject: [childrensapraxianeSubject: [childrensapraxiane<WBR>t] Potty tra

EVERYONE,THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT

today was day 1...no more pull-ups!

we had one pee on the floor,

2 pees in the potty.

we have multiple little poops in the panties

2 poops in the potty.

not too bad

many thanks to all the bevy of advice and support.

working on her body language, and prompts....tomorrowworking on her bo

special treats....only for potty rewards!

off to a better than expected start...she goes back to school on the

18th...she is in the EELP program, to mainstream kids into

kindergarten, and is speech intensive...kindergarten, and is spe

advances in the next week and a half before school starts....i would

LOVE to have her trained BUT i am trying to be realistic that it may

not be perfect just yet.

overall...every single suggestion that i received today has worked

wonders....never thought we would do this much in just a day!!!!

again

a big round of THANK YOUS!!!!

kris

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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)

August 6, 2008

Ann-

Personally speaking, we've always had more success with the approach of the

timing thing. If he's not quite going THAT often, that could be the source

of his frustration when he goes to the potty and doesn't pee when " expected " .

With some kids-- it's so hard to know where the source of frustation is, and

like you said, the whole power struggle thing.

I would definitely stick with the ONE way to go about it though- and keep at

it consistently. Since it worked better for us, I would suggest every so

often taking him to the potty and giving some sort of incentive for just getting

there, rather than a reward for peeing. Did that make sense the way I said

it? LOL

Think of something simple that would remove it being a power struggle and

get him excited to GET to the potty-- and then let that be the goal as compared

to his PEEING on the potty. sort of one step at a time, rather than making it

TWO steps that it is right now. Stress telling him how proud you are that he

went TO the potty and tried. etc

Hope that makes sense

Also-- definitely stick with regular underwear, and stress that they are

" BIG BOY " pants, and say how big and grown up he looks in them, just like daddy,

etc. Every boy wants to be like his daddy-- so this is a good thing to

stress.

I probably have more thoughts but my brain is tired, and not thinking

straight right now-- but I'll think of what else I'm not remembering and get

back

to you

bek

In a message dated 8/6/2008 9:15:15 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

jmlester04@... writes:

Becky, as far as we know he only has apraxia of speech. Although I have

never understood global apraxia.

When he has the accidents, I donâ€™t get mad, I just matter of factly tell him

he needs to tell mommy when he has to go pee pee and then we take his soiled

clothes off and put on clean ones. He is not overindulging in liquids, but

drinking when he wants to drink. At the time of the accidents he is just

playing normally. I agree with you that the child being non-verbal should not

affect the overall potty training â€“ that is why I decided to do away with the

pull-ups during the day and just do regular underwear. When I used to put

the timer on the clock and put him on the potty every 30 minutes he used to get

so frustrated and hate to sit on the potty, so I felt like it was becoming a

power struggle. So now I am trying to use regular underwear, showing him

where the potty is and letting him decide when to sit on it. Hmmmmmmmmmmm, not

working very well, but I am not willing to give up yet.

Ann

-----Original Message-----

From: _ childrensaprachi_

(mailto: )

Well-- I have a few thoughts that might help, but let me ask a few questions

fist.

~How are you reacting when the accidents happen?

(sometimes they like getting the attention that they cause)

~How much liquids is he ingesting daily?

~what is he doing at the time the accidents happen?

In all honesty-- the child being non-verbal really should NOT affect the

overall potty training thing, so I'm not sure that it's because he's not

talking. So I would try to figure out a few other things in the process.

Now-- if the child has GLOBAL APRAXIA/DYSPRAXIA, this *CAN* affect the

bowels and potty training, but does your son have that or does he only have

Apraxia of Speech?

Becky

August 6, 2008

Becky, as far as we know he only has apraxia of speech. Â Although I have never

understood global apraxia. Â

When he has the accidents, I donâ€™t get mad, I just matter of factly tell him

he needs to tell mommy when he has to go pee pee and then we take his soiled

clothes off and put on clean ones.Â He is not overindulging in liquids, but

drinking when he wants to drink. Â At the time of the accidents he is just

playing normally.Â I agree with you that the child being non-verbal should not

affect the overall potty training â€“ that is why I decided to do away with the

pull-ups during the day and just do regular underwear.Â When I used to put the

timer on the clock and put him on the potty every 30 minutes he used to get so

frustrated and hate to sit on the potty, so I felt like it was becoming a power

struggle.Â So now I am trying to use regular underwear, showing him where the

potty is and letting him decide when to sit on it.Â Hmmmmmmmmmmm, not working

very well, but I am not willing to give up yet.

Ann

[childrensapraxiane<WBR>t] Potty tra

EVERYONE,THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT

today was day 1...no more pull-ups!

we had one pee on the floor,

2 pees in the potty.

we have multiple little poops in the panties

2 poops in the potty.

not too bad

many thanks to all the bevy of advice and support.

working on her body language, and prompts....tomorrowworking on her bo

special treats....only for potty rewards!

off to a better than expected start...she goes back to school on the

18th...she is in the EELP program, to mainstream kids into

kindergarten, and is speech intensive...kindergarten, and is spe

advances in the next week and a half before school starts....i would

LOVE to have her trained BUT i am trying to be realistic that it may

not be perfect just yet.

overall...every single suggestion that i received today has worked

wonders....never thought we would do this much in just a day!!!!

again

a big round of THANK YOUS!!!!

kris

August 6, 2008

This is really what we did as well. We simply kept an eye on them

(CONSTANTLY) and you can quickly see the signs of when they are getting ready

to pee,

so then just to the quick " grab and run " move. and make it a game at that

point.

but we didn't have the power struggles because we would do it less often

In a message dated 8/6/2008 10:44:59 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

apraxia@... writes:

I switched to an every 2 to 3 hour with 30 minutes reminders with better

results.

**************Looking for a car that's sporty, fun and fits in your budget?

Read reviews on AOL Autos.

(http://autos.aol.com/cars-BMW-128-2008/expert-review?ncid=aolaut00050000000017

)

August 6, 2008

Don't let him decide when to sit on it. Just take him every hour you

can and bring in some books or toys while he sits and tries. They

never decide on their own until they get used to it. Kristy

On Aug 6, 2008, at 6:59 PM, Ann and Lester wrote:

> Becky, as far as we know he only has apraxia of speech. Although I

> have never understood global apraxia.

>

> When he has the accidents, I don’t get mad, I just matter of factly

> tell him he needs to tell mommy when he has to go pee pee and then

> we take his soiled clothes off and put on clean ones. He is not

> overindulging in liquids, but drinking when he wants to drink. At

> the time of the accidents he is just playing normally. I agree with

> you that the child being non-verbal should not affect the overall

> potty training – that is why I decided to do away with the pull-ups

> during the day and just do regular underwear. When I used to put

> the timer on the clock and put him on the potty every 30 minutes he

> used to get so frustrated and hate to sit on the potty, so I felt

> like it was becoming a power struggle. So now I am trying to use

> regular underwear, showing him where the potty is and letting him

> decide when to sit on it. Hmmmmmmmmmmm, not working very well, but

> I am not willing to give up yet.

>

> Ann

>

> [childrensapraxiane<WBR>t]

> Potty tra

> EVERYONE,THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT

>

> today was day 1...no more pull-ups!

>

> we had one pee on the floor,

> 2 pees in the potty.

>

> we have multiple little poops in the panties

> 2 poops in the potty.

>

> not too bad

>

> many thanks to all the bevy of advice and support.

> working on her body language, and prompts....tomorrowworking on her bo

> special treats....only for potty rewards!

>

> off to a better than expected start...she goes back to school on the

> 18th...she is in the EELP program, to mainstream kids into

> kindergarten, and is speech intensive...kindergarten, and is spe

> advances in the next week and a half before school starts....i would

> LOVE to have her trained BUT i am trying to be realistic that it may

> not be perfect just yet.

>

> overall...every single suggestion that i received today has worked

> wonders....never thought we would do this much in just a day!!!!

>

> again

> a big round of THANK YOUS!!!!

>

> kris

>

August 6, 2008

Have you tried putting a potty out in his play area or central area in the

house? It might help serve as a reminder to go and be easier for him to get to

in a hurry.

I know you said you tried having him go every 30 minutes. This was our mistake

and we ended up with a power struggle, too. I switched to an every 2 to 3 hour

with 30 minutes reminders with better results.

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* And while you're out there getting where you're getting to, *

* I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too, *

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RE: [ ] Potty training a non-verbal 3 year old- TO

EVERYON...

Becky, as far as we know he only has apraxia of speech. Although I have never

understood global apraxia.

When he has the accidents, I donâ€™t get mad, I just matter of factly tell him

he needs to tell mommy when he has to go pee pee and then we take his soiled

clothes off and put on clean ones. He is not overindulging in liquids, but

drinking when he wants to drink. At the time of the accidents he is just

playing normally. I agree with you that the child being non-verbal should not

affect the overall potty training â€“ that is why I decided to do away with the

pull-ups during the day and just do regular underwear. When I used to put the

timer on the clock and put him on the potty every 30 minutes he used to get so

frustrated and hate to sit on the potty, so I felt like it was becoming a power

struggle. So now I am trying to use regular underwear, showing him where the

potty is and letting him decide when to sit on it. Hmmmmmmmmmmm, not working

very well, but I am not willing to give up yet.

Ann

-

August 7, 2008

Thanks Angiâ€¦yes we do have a portable potty that we have placed in our family

room so that he can easily get to it while he is watching a dvd or playing.Â

But your idea of putting him on the potty every 2-3 hours is probably a good

idea to avoid the power struggle of every 30 minutes. I think Iâ€™ll try that.Â

And someone else mentioned a reward for actually sitting on the potty vs. only

rewarding him for actually â€œgoingâ€ in the potty.Â I think that is a good

idea and will try that also.Â Thanks everyone!

Ann

RE: [ ] Potty training a non-verbal 3 year old- TO

EVERYON...

Becky, as far as we know he only has apraxia of speech. Although I have never

understood global apraxia.

When he has the accidents, I donâ€™t get mad, I just matter of factly tell him

he needs to tell mommy when he has to go pee pee and then we take his soiled

clothes off and put on clean ones. He is not overindulging in liquids, but

drinking when he wants to drink. At the time of the accidents he is just playing

normally. I agree with you that the child being non-verbal should not affect the

overall potty training â€“ that is why I decided to do away with the pull-ups

during the day and just do regular underwear. When I used to put the timer on

the clock and put him on the potty every 30 minutes he used to get so frustrated

and hate to sit on the potty, so I felt like it was becoming a power struggle.

So now I am trying to use regular underwear, showing him where the potty is and

letting him decide when to sit on it. Hmmmmmmmmmmm, not working very well, but I

am not willing to give up yet.

Ann

-

August 7, 2008

Hi. We just finished, for the most part potty training my 3 yr old.

She turned 3 on June 21st.

Some more thoughts:

As someone mentioned, you really need to move it from having him try

every 30 minutes to every 2-3 hours. You can't rely on him going

when he needs to. He's not trained for that yet (hence,

potty " training " ). It's your responsibility to make sure he is

trying to go. With my daughter, we started with rewards for going,

but that really didn't motivate her...what did was the threat of

taking something away...don't freak, it's not as bad as it sounds!

For example, I'd say " lets go try to potty " she'd say " no " (or

usually shake her head no), so then I'd say if you want to keep

playing dolls we need to try to potty, then we can play dolls again.

If I still got a " no " , then I'd say " Okay, but we're not going to

play dolls until you try to go potty " . You can even *save* the good

things to entice sitting on the potty...like going outside, playing

with favorite toy, etc. Example " let's go potty so we can go play

outside " ... Another favorite thing while she was learning was to

*beat us to the potty*. I'd tell her I have to go potty so I was

going first before her, then I'd pretend to run to the

bathroom...she'd run right after me and get on the toilet 1st (I'd

let her win, of course!!!).

I also make sure she goes before we go out. This is a must. We only

do pull ups at night, and those are the night time ones. I have no

intentions of waking her to go potty. I figure when she's old

enough, it will come!! I also have a newborn, so sleep is precious

in my household! I did have to make a 3 hour trip for an unexpected

funeral. We did wear pull ups for that. She was dry to and from.

We made stops and made sure she went in the potty. I made a big deal

about her pull ups being like her panties and she shouldn't tee-tee

in them.

She's still learning. She poops just fine in the potty and knows

exactly when she has to go. That sensation is bigger than the pee

one. She still had a little bit of trouble deciphering when she has

to go pee. But, she doesn't have accidents, at least I don't

consider them accidents. Sometimes (not always) she'll tee-tee a

little, tiny bit in her panties, then stop the flow and go potty.

She'll hand me her panties and say " tee-tee " . I tell her that's okay

because she stopped and went to the potty and finished. Then I tell

her what a good job she's doing.

In the beginning, she wanted me with her all the time (or someone in

the family). I've started transitioning her to go on her own. If

she tells me she needs to go potty, or if I prompt her to go potty

(because it's been a while since she's gone), I'll tell her to go get

started and I'll be right there. Then I go in and check on her, tell

her I'll be right back, and leave then come back!

I hope this has helped and I just haven't rambled on and on!!

August 7, 2008

Ann you wrote: " as far as we know he only has apraxia of speech. Â

Although I have never understood global apraxia "

Most of us believe that's all we are dealing with in the early days.

In fact however if your child is diagnosed with apraxia or was

diagnosed with apraxia in the past decade or so -he or she probably

does have other issues outside of speech. It's rare to find an

apraxic child who just has a motor planning aspect of speech. There

are typically motor planning aspects in the body -even in breathing

while talking -and that one you may not see until your child starts

to try to talk in longer sentences years down the road!

We quickly learn however it's best for our child to learn if we are dealing with

more.

Here's some of the basic " soft signs "

http://www.cherab.org/information/speechlanguage/parentfriendlysoftsigns.html

Here's a bit on limb apraxia which is also called global

(but global can mean so many things -even trouble blowing noses on command!)

http://www.cherab.org/information/associated/limbapraxia.html

There are a number of reasons why a child may be late to potty train

in this group. One -and we can't rule this out -is that for whatever

reason many children are training later today so it's become more of

the norm not to have a potty trained two year old. Below are a few

theories as to why our group has so many children that have issues in

this area where they don't train until late 3 or early 4.

1. Motor planning problem- with apraxia the problem is doing or saying

something you want to " on command " Going to the potty " on command "

can be a problem too.

2. Hypotonia/weakness -it's not unusual for children with apraxia to

have both motor planning and weakness issues combined (with or

without sensory issues on top of that)

Translation -they have little to no control yet.

3. Stress -children with apraxia have a lot on their plate. They are

frustrated and working hard on basic things that come easily to

others.

The above typically combines making late to potty train the norm

here -and if you don't know if your child is dealing with any or all of the

above -then double #3.

Late to potty train isn't that big of a deal in comparison as to what

can come next if you are not prepared for it and that is

constipation. The longer I've had to reflect on it over the years I

believe that constipation is the one aspect of apraxia that doesn't

require therapy and can best be dealt with through diet and

behavioral approaches. After speaking for hours with Tanner's

pediatric gastroenterologist Dr. Lawrence from Palm Beach who I

love -he suspects that it could be motor planning -weakness -brain

stem signaling problem -but there's nothing he can do about that. If

everything tests to be fine as far as it did for Tanner -he suspected

that with many of these children they have trouble going to the

bathroom at some point -become constipated and it hurts when they do

go -and that compounds why they have even greater trouble. Dr.

is a traditional medical gastroenterologist but gave me a list of

foods to add to Tanner's diet as well as those to limit (nothing had

to be eliminated) as well as a behavioral approach using stickers and

prizes. Worked like a charm. Check the archives as Tanner has not

been constipated ever in years. Dr. was you have no idea our

hero. If your child is late to potty train you have no idea how

horrible constipation is- and neither did I. But if you can do

things today to prevent it please learn from the hundreds or

thousands of us that had to go through constipation with our apraxic

children and try to prevent it. Use the behavioral approaches to

help potty train now!! Get your child on as regular a schedule as

possible as soon as possible once they are potty trained. That to me

is more important than being potty trained.

Below is an old archive on " pure apraxia " I used to think Tanner had

pure apraxia (he's so far from that it's crazy!!) but you live and

learn (and then you buy Luvs?)

From: " kiddietalk " <kiddietalk@...>

Date: Wed Mar 17, 2004 4:06 pm

Subject: Re: PURE APRAXIA

Hi AC,

Pure apraxia is possible but rare.

More common would be misdiagnosis of apraxia (the child

really is/was " just " a late talker with a simple delay in speech)

Below is an archive on this subject -and yes it's always been a

popular topic and one with many opinions, even from the experts.

From: " kiddietalk " <kiddietalk@...>

Date: Mon Jan 26, 2004 2:21 pm

Subject: Re: any pure apraxia children?

In response to some of the many posts on this -this group is a

mixture of all types of late talkers ranging from mild " just " late

talkers with simple delays in speech, to those with more complex and

severe impairments that overlap with other conditions. The majority

here do not post and lurk instead, and this includes the majority of

those with " just " late talkers. Some have told me they don't want

to post because they don't believe their child's problems will be

taken seriously in comparison to what others are going through. I

just want to once again say -all are welcome here and all is taken

seriously.

Out of the few that do post, there are a handful that post to reach

out to help others (thank you for all that do this!) and share

updates and we get to know them. Most post when they have a

question or when they are upset about something, but a few come here

to share joys that only we can understand (like being excited about

a 4 year old that says " hi " for the first time)

Pure apraxia is a question that comes up often, and as long ago as

when Tanner was first diagnosed. In fact below are two of my first

ever messages on this where first I question what " pure apraxia " is

a day or so after Tanner was diagnosed -and then another where I

sign next to Tanner's name " pure apraxia " (and yes -I too was wrong)

Interestingly enough in my first messages I describe Tanner's signs

of oral apraxia and sensory problems and hypotonia which -but since

nobody including Tanner's pediatrician knew they were warning signs -

none were addressed until after these " soft signs " were diagnosed by

the neurodevelopmental MDs.

I'll put my post below, here is just one of the more recent archives

and then some other comments below that on your direct question:

" From what I've seen personally and in this group, apraxia, like

autism, is multifaceted in most cases...meaning it's not " just " an

impairment of speech. Bilker is one of the only children I

know who has " pure " apraxia of speech and nothing else.

http://www.debtsmart.com/talk/brandon.html

(even though most of us in the early stages also believe it's " only "

a speech delay as you will even read in my first posts 4 years ago.) "

Most children with apraxia do not have PDD, however it's not

uncommon for children with PDD to have apraxia. Most children with

apraxia do have mild low tone (weakness) and/or mild motor planning

problems in other areas of the body. It's also not uncommon for

a 'typical' apraxic child to have sensory integration dysfunction,

even if it's mild. Through anecdotal reports apraxic children are

also late to potty train and may be prone to constipation. (and if

asked to blow their nose into a tissue they will breath in instead

of blow out!)

Children with apraxia or any communication disorder are known

through studies to be at risk for learning disabilities. the issue

of

using verbal based cognitive or receptive testing on verbal disabled

children?

http://www.cherab.org/news/verbaldisabledtest.html Just like in

the story behind the movie " Stand and Deliver " -I love the

quote " students will rise to the level of expectations "

http://www.kcbx.net/~jbunin/files/reviews/teachers.html which is

most likely based in proof by the research of Dr. Rosenthal.

http://www.pineforge.com/newman4study/resources/rosenthal1.htm I've

spoken to Dr. Rosenthal about the current testing problem our

society and school systems are placing on verbal disabled children,

how this is discriminatory - and the damaging impact of using this

type of testing based on what his research proves. Dr. Rosenthal is

shocked to say the least -and agrees with my views on this -he

believes this should be studied as well. Please contact me if you

are interested in learning more about this too.

We as the ones that care for these children have to believe that

this is not necessarily true -my son Tanner is just one example of a

child that could have still been in a special needs class and viewed

as low average abilities due to verbal based testing -but instead is

a straight A student in all subjects in an accelerated academics

first grade class. Many if not all of our children benefit from

multisensory therapy as well as multisensory education. For example

when Tanner's school taught the children about the circulatory

system -each child had a chance to " be " a white blood cell or red

blood cell or platelet while walking through the halls of the

school. Tanner came home and explained the circulatory system to us

and it was amazing. I am also a strong believer that as a group in

general most of the children with multifaceted communication

impairments (those who don't just have verbal apraxia) will benefit

from starting kindergarten at six vs. at five so that they have that

extra year to work on the intensive therapy, and give that extra

year for development. I don't know anyone that regretted " holding

back " their child for a year -but I personally know quite a few that

regret starting their child at five, especially if the child is a

young five.

Here is an archive on how our children, and adults like them that

are verbal disabled, have been viewed by the majority:

" Now if you want to know the negative view our children will face if

we don't change it as a group-then read this link (

http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/12/02/special.ed.testing.ap/ ) for the good

and the bad:

" These children are going to plateau at a certain level -- that is

the nature of a disability, " said Harper, who teaches students with

autism, learning disabilities, mental retardation, Tourette's

syndrome, vision and hearing deficiencies and brain injuries. " These

kids are not going to grow out of it, not going to grow up and be

OK. It's sad, but that is the way it is. "

" In Nashville, Tenn., schools director Pedro called

it " ludicrous, to give a (special ed) student a test that they

cannot read or understand, much less know the answer. "

And this quote opens a can of worms to me:

" There is no way some of these kids can meet the testing standards, "

she said. " If they could, they wouldn't be with us in the first

place. "

I'd love to ask this person " And if they were not with you in the

first place...could they instead be a straight A student in the

mainstream? " and then tell her about my son Tanner who is one of

many who would be in these classes due to verbal based IQ and

receptive ability tests...but instead is a straight A student in all

subjects in the mainstream

http://www.cherab.org/news/verbaldisabledtest.html

But just like I like to leave out the bad parts most of the time and

focus on the good (like saying that even though most children

diagnosed with leukemia will be cured...I don't like to talk about

what happens to almost all of those few that are not cured. Because

there is always hope -and you don't want to ever give that up.)

Here is someone to cheer from the same article!

" There have been low expectations for some of these children all

along, " he said. " And that's not because of mental abilities, but

because of poor instruction received in the early grades. We need to

challenge schools that these children can achieve. Sure, they will

need an intensive program, but they can be brought up to grade

level. "

~ Tomalis, acting assistant secretary for elementary and

secondary education

Hurray for ' Tomalis!! "

Subject:

Thanks for the talking kids page!

Date:

Wed, 10 Mar 1999 11:03:00 -0500

From:

& Glenn <shop-in-service@...>

To:

pressone@...

Hi ,

Our 2 3/4 year old son Tanner was diagnosed yesterday with apraxia.

However, as I'm sure you are well aware, we have been dealing with

his

non speech for much longer. (You may have read my e-mail about

Tanner.) Tanner looks like a cherub-strangers say that all the

time.

So we call him " the cherub boy " .

It was wonderful to hear your adorable sons, and the other children

speak. It really does help. At this point our son sounds the most

like

when the father says " 1, 2, 3, a, b, c, " . Without much

prompting

he is non verbal. Also, most of the time, when my husband and I

try

to ask Tanner questions where he would have to try to answer, my

older

son, who is four, talks for him. Like your son, Tanner looks and

acts

normal. Actually outside of expressive speech, Tanner tests on every

other area above average. This was unfortunately the reason our

pediatrician was never concerned. We had to push to get his hearing

and

speech evaluation.

If you could tell us some background on your son it would be

appreciated. When did he first get diagnosed? How many days of

therapy

a week does he receive? When did you see the greatest improvement?

Like Tanner, was there a time he didn't really talk? What is " pure

apraxia " ? Even though he is a perfect weight now, I have been

concerned with the way he sometimes shoves large amounts of food in

his

mouth. Is apraxia a rare condition? I've spent the morning trying

to

find a local support group where I could receive the answers to some

of

these questions. Even Tanner's speech therapist said there is not

much

known about it because it is pretty rare. I did find a world wide

support group for apraxia in Greenbay Wisconsin called MUMS with 20

to

40 members.

Well again, thanks for putting the talking kids page together. Let

me

know what you need, and my husband and I can send you a tape and

picture

of Tanner.

Best,

August 7, 2008

Thank you , your info has been helpful. I think putting him on the

potty every 2-3 hours is a lot better than every 30 minutes. With 30

minutes it just became too much of a power struggle. Although when I

started doing it every 2-3 hours, he still has accidents in between potty

sitting times and still doesn’t go when he sits on the potty. I pray this

will eventually change.

Ann

[ ] Re: Potty training a non-verbal 3 year old-

TO EVERYON...