Re: Seem to be fighting a losing battle here

[Guest guest]

Others can tell you better but one thing that is very helpful is an

outside evaluation, preferably from an ST who works in the school

district and has a side business. As for the apraxia/autism concerns, a

good neurodevelopmental pediatrician who know these two conditions is

best so that when you request therapy you get the best and most

tailored type.

You really have to be proactive. My son, at 18 mos, said his first

word...Stop. Perfectly. Things fell far after that but we are coming

out of that. Anyway, the private ST told me that in NJ, the " S " sound

is something the school is happy if they can say by age 11. What?

Your child and their future is in your hands, no one elses. Do not ever

forget that and let noone in your way. You are not a worry wort. You

are a mom getting the shaft and it needs to end. Hell hath no fury like

a mommy protecting her baby. Go Leigh Anne! This and anything that

comes your way in surmountable. Know that always and feel supported:)

[Guest guest]

Re: Brett has a huge vocabulary and is right on schedule for reading

and math, but I have to translate what he says for all but the closest

family members. He can say individual words just fine, but anytime

he puts more than 2 or 3 words together, it just comes out as a

garbled mess. It's almost like it becomes one long word of

unintelligible sounds. I have a 2 year old stepdaughter that has far

clearer speech than Brett does at 7.

>>>>>Dystharia (sp?) Have you read The Late Talker?

Re: Some " autistic tendencies " - tends to play along side other

children instead of with them, looks at the ceiling when talking

instead of making eye contact, makes cars " fly " up near his eyes

instead of rolling them on the ground - but overall, I don't think he

would be labeled autistic. He did have an extreme aversion to water

(everything from baths, to spray bottles, to even water fountains)

birth until he was 3, but he got over that and is now a total fish.

Every kid has little quirks, so I generally put those in that

category.

>>>>> Paralell play should have happened by now. The eye thing, take

a look at this:

http://www.megson.com/readings/BiologicalBasis.pdf

Do not be afraid of reading about autism. It is where the money is.

Just be prepared to do a fact or crap about what does and does not

fit your kid.

Another good book is Dr. Bock's 4 As book.

Email me on or offlist. Viva la mommy:)

[Guest guest]

Leigh Anne are you in the United States?!!! Please let me know as I

don't even know where to start!!!

=====

[Guest guest]

Third times the charm I hope - wasn't recognizing me as being

signed in, so if you have already received this twice, I'm sorry!

Yes, I live just outside Dallas, Texas.

>

> Leigh Anne are you in the United States?!!! Please let me know as I

> don't even know where to start!!!

>

>

> =====

>

[Guest guest]

Typically I would agree Liz but this sounds like a seven year old

child that has not had speech therapy or even diagnosis yet (and I

could be wrong) If there is an impairment of speech that is not

addressed you can compound the verbal and other disabilities with a

psychological or self esteem problem. That could explain some of

what is going on. If Brett is aware of what he knows and how others

perceive him -he may be shutting down. Frustrations as well tend to

make verbal disabled children shut down or lash out. This is why

it's best to address these issues through early intervention. But

can't cry over the spilled milk (I know some of you won't anyway!)

because we have to look at now and how to best proceed.

If this child belonged classified as autistic more than likely he as

a 7 year old school age child would have been diagnosed or classified

as such by someone -even a pediatrician - without any advocacy. If

the child has not yet had an appropriate evaluation for appropriate

diagnosis for appropriate therapy at 7 -the best advice is to help

this child secure appropriate evaluations so that he can secure

appropriate therapies. If in the US what the school has done is

nothing short of insane. We as parents can tend to put our head's in

the sand and may want to take the wait and see approach...but this

child is 7 years old!

Or has Brett been in speech therapy? What diagnosis does the

professionals believe he has if he has been in speech therapy?

And the word you were looking for Liz is dysarthria. With dysarthria

you have weakness where the errors in speech are consistent. Apraxia

is historically inconsistent errors. Then again once on EFAs it's

not as clear. There may be many diagnosis outside of autism or

apraxia but whatever it is -one thing is for sure. It's not a simple

delay in speech and too much time has already passed. Waiting longer

will not help -and the longer one does wait in a situation like this -

the more catching up that child/teen/adult will have to do. There is

a reason for early intervention.

Hope to hear back more so we can better help.

=====

[Guest guest]

Leigh Anne I'm going to speak tomorrow to our resident expert in this

area Cheryl http://cherab.org/about/cheryl.html an award winning teacher/SLP/

VP of CHERAB. If you read this please let me know if Brett has been

in any speech therapy and if so what diagnosis has been mentioned.

If not what I was trying to say in my last message to Liz is that

even if you don't know that Brett is entitled to therapy not just in

kindergarten -but from the birth to 3 through Early Intervention and

3 up in your town school -your child's school should know. How dare they

ignore your child's needs like this! Especially in Texas a state

where there appears to be so many verbal disabled children? It's

just so outrageous. I hope others can help as well but in the

meantime here are some support sources in Texas:

Support Groups*:

Houston Area Support Group for Developmental Apraxia of Speech

Contact: Mimi Branham MA, CCC-SLP

E-Mail: teala@...

Phone: (713) 807-1131

Support Contacts*:

Contact: Robyn

Southlake, Texas

E-mail: mysticcreek@...

Contact: Marilyn May

Northwestern Texas

E-Mail: marilynsgm@...

Contact: (Liz) Morabito

Marshall, Texas

E-Mail: MBALiz@...

Phone: (903) 934-9046

Contact:

Dallas, Texas

E-Mail: lapw@...

Contact: Cheri E. , M.S. CCC-SLP

Oklahoma and Texas

E-Mail: C@...

=====

[Guest guest]

Yeah! finally found me again, and I can post!

I have already sent this in an email, but I'll reiterate it here for

the rest of the world to see:

No, Brett has never had any type of diagnosis or speech therapy. I

tried at age 3 and again at 4, but both times was told that he could

make all the sounds appropriate for his age and that all kids develop

at a different rate.

I originally took Brett for testing at the request of his

pediatrician, but when I told him what the district had said, he

seemed to think it would suffice for the time being.

As far as the autism goes, those are merely my observations, nothing

official. Brett is a very loving boy that loves to be cuddled and

held and played with. I have seen nothing in the way of suppressed

emotions or anything like that. It's really just some minor behaviors

that one sees again and again when reading about autism.

Having read through all of the responses (I am truly overwhelmed,

thank you so much) I realize now that I should have pushed harder when

they told me he didn't need any intervention. I just assumed that the

people testing him knew more about what was going on than I did.

Thanks again, and I look forward hearing from you after you talk to

Cheryl.

Leigh Anne

>

> Leigh Anne I'm going to speak tomorrow to our resident expert in this

> area Cheryl http://cherab.org/about/cheryl.html an award winning

teacher/SLP/

> VP of CHERAB. If you read this please let me know if Brett has been

> in any speech therapy and if so what diagnosis has been mentioned.

> If not what I was trying to say in my last message to Liz is that

> even if you don't know that Brett is entitled to therapy not just in

> kindergarten -but from the birth to 3 through Early Intervention and

> 3 up in your town school -your child's school should know. How dare

they

> ignore your child's needs like this! Especially in Texas a state

> where there appears to be so many verbal disabled children? It's

> just so outrageous. I hope others can help as well but in the

> meantime here are some support sources in Texas:

>

> Support Groups*:

>

> Houston Area Support Group for Developmental Apraxia of Speech

> Contact: Mimi Branham MA, CCC-SLP

> E-Mail: teala@...

> Phone: (713) 807-1131

>

>

> Support Contacts*:

>

> Contact: Robyn

> Southlake, Texas

> E-mail: mysticcreek@...

>

> Contact: Marilyn May

> Northwestern Texas

> E-Mail: marilynsgm@...

>

> Contact: (Liz) Morabito

> Marshall, Texas

> E-Mail: MBALiz@...

> Phone: (903) 934-9046

>

> Contact:

> Dallas, Texas

> E-Mail: lapw@...

>

> Contact: Cheri E. , M.S. CCC-SLP

> Oklahoma and Texas

> E-Mail: C@...

>

> =====

>

[Guest guest]

For the record, I was not saying the child was autistic . And for

the mom involved, I stand firm on that Megson article which recommends

a lot of stuff seen here. Lastly, the mother downplaying her own

observations and you sort of confirming that is nonsense. If you

notice your kid doinfg something you read about in autism literature

you need not be fearful of saying so and the sooner you do the better

for your kid. Just make sure they don't warehouse him under that label

or any other including apraxia. As for a regular ped catching it...good

luck with that. My highly esteemed ped has a kid on a special diet with

all sorts of recognized issues and said to me about my son " Well he

looks at me so he's not autistic. " Brilliant genius, was not saying he

was but can you at least address the multiple delays? He did not. I did

and am damn glad I did not need his referral or my kid would be far

worse off right now. You cannot expect a teacher, evaluator or doctor

to address everything if you do not express and discuss your concerns.

You will not " give him autism " in doing so but you will very likely get

better treatment other than " he'll grow out of it. "

[Guest guest]

Wow ! Wish I knew of this when I was  in Houston. I have to admit, having so

many resourses in Texas sure didn't help Shyann any. County help ignored us

because we lived 6 feet over the county line. I had to go the private therapy

route. I personally am not surprised that Brett is not getting the help he

needs. I know how Texas is better than any state.  Joy

[ ] Re: Seem to be fighting a losing battle here

Leigh Anne I'm going to speak tomorrow to our resident expert in this

area Cheryl http://cherab. org/about/ cheryl.html an award winning teacher/SLP/

VP of CHERAB. If you read this please let me know if Brett has been

in any speech therapy and if so what diagnosis has been mentioned.

If not what I was trying to say in my last message to Liz is that

even if you don't know that Brett is entitled to therapy not just in

kindergarten -but from the birth to 3 through Early Intervention and

3 up in your town school -your child's school should know. How dare they

ignore your child's needs like this! Especially in Texas a state

where there appears to be so many verbal disabled children? It's

just so outrageous. I hope others can help as well but in the

meantime here are some support sources in Texas:

Support Groups*:

Houston Area Support Group for Developmental Apraxia of Speech

Contact: Mimi Branham MA, CCC-SLP

E-Mail: tealaflash (DOT) net

Phone: (713) 807-1131

Support Contacts*:

Contact: Robyn

Southlake, Texas

E-mail: mysticcreek@ att.net

Contact: Marilyn May

Northwestern Texas

E-Mail: marilynsgmgmail (DOT) com

Contact: (Liz) Morabito

Marshall, Texas

E-Mail: MBALizmcc4u (DOT) com

Phone: (903) 934-9046

Contact:

Dallas, Texas

E-Mail: lapwearthlink (DOT) net

Contact: Cheri E. , M.S. CCC-SLP

Oklahoma and Texas

E-Mail: Cdfqhugo (DOT) com

=====

[Guest guest]

While I absolutely want to get Brett whatever help he needs, I'm still

a little leery of jumping right into the autistic pool as it were.

Having worked for 7 years with low-functioning autistic children, I am

well aware of the symptoms covered by the spectrum. Actually, in my

experience, most children have one or two quirks that could be

considered part of the spectrum, but not all of those children are

considered autistic. I mean, there are some things in those symptom

lists that I do and I know I'm not autistic!

But, again, whatever the diagnosis ends up being, it just want it to

be the right one. And I have brought up the possibility of autism

with both his pediatrician and his teachers. The pediatrician didn't

see any glaring signs and because he is right on level with all of his

classmates (except for fluency obviously) he didn't see the need to

go through all of the testing involved at that time. His teachers

just tell me that they can't legally comment on any type of disability

he may or may not have :::eye roll:::

While I may be naive in terms of the legalities involved in dealing

with a school district on these matters, I am by no means sheltered

enough to think that I can " give him autism. " No one really knows

what makes a child become autistic, but it dang sure isn't whether or

not I read something about it or suggest that he might have it. I am

not by any means downplaying his symptoms. If that were the case, I

would not have mentioned them at all.

I do appreciate the article, and you are right, it has some good

information. I appreciate all the help I can get! I just wanted to

make it clear that I am not afraid of a diagnosis of autism. I just

don't want him labeled that way unless it is really true and I am much

more concerned with his speech at this point.

Thanks again,

Leigh Anne

>

> For the record, I was not saying the child was autistic . And for

> the mom involved, I stand firm on that Megson article which recommends

> a lot of stuff seen here. Lastly, the mother downplaying her own

> observations and you sort of confirming that is nonsense. If you

> notice your kid doinfg something you read about in autism literature

> you need not be fearful of saying so and the sooner you do the better

> for your kid. Just make sure they don't warehouse him under that label

> or any other including apraxia. As for a regular ped catching it...good

> luck with that. My highly esteemed ped has a kid on a special diet with

> all sorts of recognized issues and said to me about my son " Well he

> looks at me so he's not autistic. " Brilliant genius, was not saying he

> was but can you at least address the multiple delays? He did not. I did

> and am damn glad I did not need his referral or my kid would be far

> worse off right now. You cannot expect a teacher, evaluator or doctor

> to address everything if you do not express and discuss your concerns.

> You will not " give him autism " in doing so but you will very likely get

> better treatment other than " he'll grow out of it. "

>

[Guest guest]

Leigh Anne from what you emailed me in private, I agree - don't go

there. Some here believe that everyone that has a child with a

speech impairment could try autism methods but historically it's not

needed by those of us that have the " average " speech impaired child.

It's good to be aware of all options but to also be aware of which

methods are more extreme in time and cost as well as pros and cons of

each method. Besides there are so many other alternative therapies

over the years people found success with. Some of them are mentioned

in The Late Talker book.

From what you wrote we need to help you secure some traditional

appropriate speech therapy.

In my opinion right now the best place to start is to help you get an

evaluation (or two) so that you can secure appropriate diagnosis and

therapy for Brett. One 22 year old from this group was first

diagnosed with apraxia at 7 (?) and Khalid loved his speech therapist

who took his therapy to the basketball court. The only reason I

bring up apraxia is because you say the longer the utterance the more

he breaks down and that is a sign. From what you wrote in spite of

his speech the fact that he is such a good student and so popular in

you must have done something very right!!

I didn't talk to Cheryl yet today but hope to have more for you

tomorrow. Don't worry we'll get to the bottom of this!

=====

[Guest guest]

Actually from her description, it sounds like Brett has some minor dysarthria

issues that might be easily handled via some oral motor therapy. When kids are

struggling to communicate sometimes their behaviours do seem odd as they

struggle inwardly.... just about every child has 'some' characteristics during

their development that could be interpreted as ASD if you look hard enough.

I would seek therapy for the speech right away and look at how he is doing in

school. Can he follow instructions... Does he exhibit signs of sensory issues

or overload... that sort of thing. But it seems like little Brett just needs

some good oral motor work right now and this may just clear everything right up

for him and he can move on. Hard to tell without seeing him in person....

Janice

[sPAM][ ] Re: Seem to be fighting a losing battle

here

Leigh Anne from what you emailed me in private, I agree - don't go

there. Some here believe that everyone that has a child with a

speech impairment could try autism methods but historically it's not

needed by those of us that have the " average " speech impaired child.

It's good to be aware of all options but to also be aware of which

methods are more extreme in time and cost as well as pros and cons of

each method. Besides there are so many other alternative therapies

over the years people found success with. Some of them are mentioned

in The Late Talker book.

From what you wrote we need to help you secure some traditional

appropriate speech therapy.

In my opinion right now the best place to start is to help you get an

evaluation (or two) so that you can secure appropriate diagnosis and

therapy for Brett. One 22 year old from this group was first

diagnosed with apraxia at 7 (?) and Khalid loved his speech therapist

who took his therapy to the basketball court. The only reason I

bring up apraxia is because you say the longer the utterance the more

he breaks down and that is a sign. From what you wrote in spite of

his speech the fact that he is such a good student and so popular in

you must have done something very right!!

I didn't talk to Cheryl yet today but hope to have more for you

tomorrow. Don't worry we'll get to the bottom of this!

=====

[Guest guest]

The concern would not be autism per se but genetic predisposition to

autoimmune and heart stuff. Neither of my kids fits a label but we have

this. Left unaddressed it can become Aspergers, full blown autoimmune

disease, etc.