[newmothermary]

Forgive me if I already asked this question here. (Can't keep track of all the message boards!)

:
Do you give your DC fish oil or ProEFA to improve babbling/speech? If so, what would you say is the success rate.

Thanks!

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...ry/unknown.jpg

 

[logan&jordansmommy]

I give it to my ds but it hasn't improved his speech. I still use it though because I still think it is great for brain development and health. We use Nordic Naturals Cod liver oil

 

[mamastotwo]

I give it to DD every day for general cognative and cardiac health. I take it for the same reasons (and try to get DS but he refuses). I think omega 3's are good but it's more subtle i think. And it's the type of thing that is hard to tell how her speech would be different since she's been taking Omega-3's since in utero.

Have you been to an ENT? The time i hear about dramatic changes in speech and babbling is when a child with fluid in their ears gets tubes. They can't always see the fluid.

 

[chann96]

I give my daughter NN Pro-EFA (we all take it now). She had a dramatic change in speech about a month after we started giving it to her and I think the EFA's were part of the reason why.

 

[LauraLoo]

We give ds fish oil (Coromega Orange Paste - he takes it very well.) We started it last November and did see an increase in verbal ability (or willingness to speak - sometimes it's hard to tell with him!

) However, he always seems to have jumps with his speech during this time of year. I'm going to continue giving it to him regardless of whether it was coincidence or not.

 

[pamama]

Yes. We started giving our ds Nordic Naturals Pro-EFA and Pro-EPA before he turned 3. At that time he was diagnosed with oral and verbal apraxia. He could not make any consonant sounds before we started it, but very soon after started making sounds. He had been in speech therapy (with 2 awesome therapists) twice a week for nearly a year at that time. At his max dosage he was up to 2 EFA and 1 EPA twice a day. He still didn't say his forst word until he was almost 4. He is now 5 1/2. I have now cut back to that dosage to once a day since his speech has vastly improved. He has a lot of articulation problems still but he didn't regress while cutting back. He made another huge improvement on high dose Vitamin E. Actually that time they had also diagnosed him as high functioning autism/asbergers and nearly all of his sensory issues and many autistic behaviors disappeared completely on the vitamin E. That was unexpected. We were really only trying to boost his speech.
Try joining the childrensapraxia Yahoo group. They have TONS of info on the success of EFA's on speech.

 

[newmothermary]

Thanks for all your feedback. I would love to know what is the difference (?) bet. NN Omega Complete, Pro-EFA and Pro-EPA.

: I also hear of others who are on Cod liver oil???

: Just wondering how you folks decided on the type you went with.

 

[chann96]

Quote:

Originally Posted by newmothermary Thanks for all your feedback. I would love to know what is the difference (?) bet. NN Omega Complete, Pro-EFA and Pro-EPA. : I also hear of others who are on Cod liver oil??? : Just wondering how you folks decided on the type you went with.

http://www.nordicnaturals.com/direct/Retailproducts.asp

This page gives information on each product. If you click on a product it will give you a separate page, but just scrolling over a product will show you what it contains in general.

The Omega Complete and Pro-EFA are the exact same thing. They are just sold under different names for different clients. The Pro-EPA actually isn't sold as that name anymore. I THINK it's now just "EPA". It doesn't contain the GLA that the Omega Complete has and has different amounts of EPA and DHA. Cod liver oil differs in the same ways. Cod liver oil also differs obviously because it in liquid.

I went with the Omega Complete because that is what is highly recommended on the apraxia boards. It seems to be something about the ratio of DHA and EPA that is effective. Coromega's 3-6-9 is also supposed to be effective. One point to note is that the "Jr" form is the exact same thing, but in a lower dose so you end up paying more for it. People on the boards will often start with the Omega Complete and then after a few months add EPA to it and that seems to really work for some people.

I know it can all be very dizzying. I second the recommendation of the Yahoo group. They have lots of great info.

 

[newmothermary]

Thanks Ann for detailing this.
Since the Omega Complete is really formulated for adults, how did you figured the dosage.

:
I will def. check out the Yahoo board for more fish oil info. I am on the hypotonia board there as well.

 

[pamama]

We figured the dosage by what was recommended on the apraxia board at yahoo. Those moms have tried through trial and error and found that a higher epa to dha ratio worked the best in helping the kids produce speech. I started with 2 Pro-EFA when ds was almost 3. That's the adult dosage. And he was a small 3 year old. I think he was on that for several months before we added in the EPA. We had a huge surge once we added in the extra EPA. We then did that dose twice a day and saw another surge. Some people are actually giving their kids the dose we did up to 3 times a day. Weight and age don't seem to be an issue. I think a lot of people on the apraxia board don't do cod liver oil because it doesn't have the right ratio of omegas.

 

[chann96]

Quote:

Originally Posted by newmothermary Thanks Ann for detailing this. Since the Omega Complete is really formulated for adults, how did you figured the dosage. : I will def. check out the Yahoo board for more fish oil info. I am on the hypotonia board there as well.

As Pamama said I just followed what people tried on the apraxia board. We started with one Complete Omega once a day when she was 3 and upped it to 2 pills (the liquid therein) once a day about 2 months later. About 4 months later we added Vitamin E although we haven't seen a big change that I've noticed with the Vitamin E. She's not on a really high dose of that though.

 

[cchrissyy]

We give fish oil and haven't noticed any changes. but we haven't had the benefit of the Apraxia group's wisdom either

what we give is this: 500mg each morning of http://www.evitamins.com/product.asp?pid=1146

 

[CB73]

On DS1 3rd birthday (6 months ago) he spoke literally 5 words. (also knew and used 200+ ASL signs)

We started with just ONE Omega Complete (Nordic Naturals) per day and within 3 days I heard 3 words from DH that we never EVER heard before: BUBBLE, POP and APPLE. You should have heard me weep with joy!

Just after that sucess w/Omega Complete, we found a SLP and she comes to our home, 2x/wk for 1 hr each session. (her speciality is verbal dyspraxia)

Approx. 2 months ago, I also added Vitamin E 1x per day (400 i.u) based on apraxia site info.

Now, just 4 months has past and DS1 speaks in 8-12 word sentences daily. This morning I overheard him creatively adjusting the words and SINGING, "The Itsy Bitsy Digger went up the water spout" to himself. We had been told he would likely never sing melodically.

DS1's SLP says that he will be her record breaker and she cannot promise, but now thinks it will be impossible to point him out as a kid who has a speech delay, by the time he is 5 YO.

Did fish oil help?
I cannot prove it, but wouldn't stop his dosage to find out either!

HTH.

 

[chann96]

CB73 Isn't that change amazing! We just got Charlotte's 6 month eval from her SLP and both the SLP and I were commenting on how different it is from the one six months ago. She says she wouldn't even diagnose her with apraxia really anymore although we can still see it coming out in some small ways. We have a ways to go on articulation issues too, but it just amazes me to think where she was a year ago. She is so different now.

 

[CB73]

Ann - It indeed is incredible, absolutely incredible! And as I have said publically before, my family 'owes' you so much....the source of information alone was priceless. (It's true, so don't feel shy!)

Our biggest challenges right now are some 'choppiness' in his speech pattern, and the more typical issues of /S/ blend words (like, snow or sleep or snap) and /L/ as a sound altogether. Yet most people, STRANGERS EVEN, understand what he says! (and he seriously only said 5-6 words at the beginning of last September)

It is a dream come true.

 

[newmothermary]

CB73, That is INCREDIBLE!

Wow. Devon has been on the fish oil (NN Complete Omega) for 1 week. We have noticed more sounds coming from her.

I guess we will stick with it. She will be 1! on the 30th!

Question. Do you know of any side-effects with the fish oil?

Thanks, Mary

 

[chann96]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CB73 Ann - It indeed is incredible, absolutely incredible! And as I have said publically before, my family 'owes' you so much....the source of information alone was priceless. (It's true, so don't feel shy!) Our biggest challenges right now are some 'choppiness' in his speech pattern, and the more typical issues of /S/ blend words (like, snow or sleep or snap) and /L/ as a sound altogether. Yet most people, STRANGERS EVEN, understand what he says! (and he seriously only said 5-6 words at the beginning of last September) It is a dream come true.

Thank you. You are very sweet to say that. I'm just so happy to hear when it's able to help another child. It just makes my day.

newmothermary: The only side effect I heard about with the fish oil is possibly an issue with blood clotting. I've never heard of it being an issue unless your child is taking at least 5 or 6 pills a day and even then it's rare. IF your child is going to have any surgery though I figure it's best to err on the side of caution and advise the doctor about taking the fish oil. I'm glad to hear you are hearing more sounds from her. Very exciting.

 

[CB73]

Quote:

Question. Do you know of any side-effects with the fish oil?

As Ann said, if giving more than 5, you'd want to consider vitamin K -but we didn't have to go above 1 pill every 12 hours to see such a marked difference with DS1, so it was never a real issue.

I have also read of the following: loose or more frequent BM's, increased irritability/behavioral issues which could include sensory issues. (We saw a little bit more sensory seeking activities when I tried 2 pills in the AM, but after 10 days determined that there was no significant improvement, so we backed down to 1 at 7AM and 1 at 7PM)

I'm curious...your DC is just turning ONE year old?
What is going on to give you concern?

At the age of 1YO, I had no idea our son is dyspraxic.

 

[newmothermary]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CB73 I'm curious...your DC is just turning ONE year old? What is going on to give you concern? At the age of 1YO, I had no idea our son is dyspraxic.

Devon is not dx w/ dyspraxia, but she has hypotonia (low tone) and is delayed, this includes babbling. She does not officially "babble" yet. She makes a lot of "ehh" "yeah" "eee" "aah" sounds and the occasional "guh", the almost "goo".

I did notice that she is more "sensitive" when she is on the oil. She has always hated loud noises, but I did notice that she is extra sensitive to it and I wonder if I should worry about this. She has a tendency to startle still so, I am watching this like a hawk. I wonder if the fish oil is heightening up her senses, all across the board. Anyway, that is the reason I am interested in the fish oil treatment.

Mary

 

[CB73]

Mary,
There is something else, another brand or something that helped some other parents of kids who seemed sensitive to the Nordic Naturals. I will try to get the name and info for you.
You might also just try to lower the dose -use the Junior if you need to go below a single gel cap of the adult version.

Best to you & your daughter!
Cheryl