Apraxia?

[princess7199]

I have read on here about speech delays. Has anyone had someone tell you that it is apraxia? This is what they are saying is possible for my 4 year old. She has been in a special ed-preschool and has made wonderful progress. Just to give you a picture. When she first started back in Aug. she had the speech of a one year-old. She knew only a dozen words yet was obviously very smart and could understand people with no trouble and could manage to get her point across 98% of the time. There were some emotional problems, but we have changed school districts and she has been doing well. O.K. Well my question is this? Are there any special things that I need to know about. I don't want the school people just telling me a bunch of nonsense just to get their hands on my child. Have any of you ever hand any major issues with school personal just saying that there are problems when there really aren't? Her school is also trying to say that she needs to "socialize" more and I don't agree with that I just want her to be able to talk. Right now she can't even say her own name. I also have a son that is about to turn three who has the same speech problem if not worse so he will probably be in school next year for at least speech. I am already having problems with this because I don't think that he is ready for a classroom and I am the only one who thinks this? How do you deal with standing up to teachers who don't agree with what you think is best? Especially if you have no one to back you up? Thanks, sorry so long.

[Piglet68]

Keeping in mind that I have never dealt with a situation like this, here's my advice.

First, do your research on your own. Look up "apraxia" on the web, and learn everything you can about it and what the latest research/professionals suggest for dealing with it.

Second, have your child evaluated by a specialist and let THEM tell you what she needs from her school environment, whether it's socialization or something else. I wouldn't trust the schools to know or to do what's in her best interest.

You might also want to look around on the Education boards forums: Learning at Home and Learning at School. I'm betting there are a few mamas there who have experience with special ed situations.

Good luck!

[Becky N.]

My son will be 3 next month and has severe apraxia, and I also suspect he may fall somewhere on the high functioning end of the autistic spectrum. His immune system is dysfunctional, causing him to react on some level to almost every food product in existence (or maybe it just seems that way to me!) He gets diarrhea, cranky and very spaced out when he eats forbidden foods. His immune dysfunction is the root cause of all his problems.

Anyway, I really suggest you check out the apraxia-kids.org
website and get on their listserve. There are a lot of great articles on there by professionals, covering how to diagnose apraxia, treat it, etc. It has been SO helpful to us, esp. in gettin my son the proper therapy. Jacoab is finally able to say some simple 2-syllable words (he even said blueberry the other day, boo-beh-ee!) and put some words together after a year of 2x week speech therapy.

Also, feel free to PM me with any questions or just to vent. Apraxia and ASD have been the bulk of my life for the last year! It's such a scary and lonely thing when your baby has problems.

Best wishes, Becky