Familiar with Verbal Apraxia anyone?

[OTmama]

I have a 3 year old who has verbal apraxia - no other developmental issues fortunately - and has just started speech therapy (private pay - YIKES!) since the school system won't pick him up for services until September.

Just wondering if anyone else has had experience with a child that has limited verbal skills (he signs quite a bit though) due to apraxia. I am finding that though I want to expose him to other children as much as possible (he is VERY sociable), I am afraid of how mean other kids can be. Foe example, on a playground the other day, my son was trying to get another boy, probably around 4 years old, to play with him. My son was using some single words and some gestures toward the playscape and the other boy turned to his mother and said "what is he speaking chinese?" - my heart just broke in two. I know I can't protect him from others insensitivity, but what's a (probably overly sensitive) mother to do???

I am also wondering what speaking will be like for him in the future...do kids with apraxia ever speak effortlessly, or will he always struggle? I quess noone can really answer that question - it's a wait and see kind of thing...just thinking as I type.

[MtnCanary]

My son has apraxia also, and will be 3 next month. Rather than playing with random kids at the park, are there a few friends with children of similar ages that you can get together with? I have found that encounters with random kids are difficult. While my son has never been teased or commented at, other kids find it easy to ignore him (usually they ignore his requests to give back something they've just taken from him). I find it better for us to stick with a couple of friends whose kids know my son and take his communication style in stride.

If you're bothered by comments from other kids, maybe you could think of some stock phrases to come back with. I think most kids around that age aren't intentionally being insensitive with their comments, so you could use it as a learning moment. I usually just say "oh, it's just taking him a little longer to learn to talk, so he uses sign and tries the best with the words he knows" and keep it casual, like it's no big deal. That way it's more normal to the kid who is commenting.

You might want to post over in Special Needs Parenting, too. I know there are several moms of apraxic kids there. Good luck in the speech therapy - it's been very beneficial for us. Oh - be prepared for the first few weeks or so of ST to be mostly play as the therapist and your son build a relationship. I wasn't prepared for that and for the first few months thought it was a total waste of time. Now I see him working so hard for his ST and know it was worth the time for him to be comfortable with her.

Kristin
mom to dd (5 1/2), ds (almost 3!) and #3 due in June

[chann96]

My daughter was diagnosed with moderate apraxia in January '06 at 2.5 years and January '07 her SLP told me that she barely notices the apraxia affecting her speech anymore. She still has articulation issues and some apraxia issues, but she has come sooo far in a year that is amazes us all. I tell you this to say that yes, kids with apraxia can do really well with proper support.

A few basic thoughts here:
1. A great SLP with apraxia knowledge and experience is a must. We went private and it has been worth every penny (and it's been a lot of pennies ).

2. Investigate Omega 3-6-9 fish oil supplements. There is an apraxia board over an yahoo that discusses them a lot. I really think that has been a part of why my daughter has done so well.

3. Check on the SN boards as the OP mentioned. There are several moms of kids with apraxia over there.

4. I never really figured out the social thing frankly and it always made me sad. I knew Charlotte really wanted to play with kids, but had no ability to communicate that to them. She is also very shy so that didn't help. We found a small group of kids and she is now starting to come out of her shell more and interact with them as she has become more confident with her speech. Even though her language leaped last fall it has really taken her until this spring before she has been willing to try to speak in front of many people and she still won't speak in front of people she doesn't know. Her SLP tells me that isn't uncommon with kids with apraxia; they speak in situations that feel "safe".