All posts tagged: speaking of apraxia

Apraxia Monday: Stimulating your Kids’ Vestibular System

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By Leslie Lindsay Last week’s “Apraxia Monday” was all about bouncing and boinging on a giant (supervised) trampoline.  Not only is it great fun, but also a superb cardiovasular exercise and a method to activate that vestibular system.  But just what exactly is the vestibular system?  Well, according to an article at http://connectability.ca/2011/03/24/vestibular-stimulation-tip-sheet/, “vestibular stimulation is the input that your body receives when you experience movement or gravity. It can be mild; nodding your head or climbing stairs or it can be intense; skydiving or a rollercoaster.” In SPEAKING OF APRAXIA (okay, okay…shameless plug), I mention how the vestibular system is useful in generating speech sounds.  You can find a good sampling onhttp://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/child-myths/200910/dizzy-delightful-or-irrelevant-how-did-vestibular-stimulation-get-so-much-at pages 164-69. Does all of this Sound fishy to you, too?  (see also this Psychology Today article, ).  I was in the same boat (pun intended) a few years ago.  Our evaluating SLP in Minnesota had encourged us to get our daughter on a swing “as often as possible.”  I looked out of the small window of her office.  There was snow …

Apraxia Monday: Honoring your SLP this Month–Gift-giving Ideas

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By Leslie Lindsay (image source: http://www.damselsinsuccess.com) You may be super-organized and well ahead of me–and that’s great! But in case you are scratching your head as to how to honor your child’s SLP this holiday season, look no further! Here’s how my search began about 5 years ago:  a crowded suburban mall.  Two kids under three.  Sticky, pudgy fingers caked in candy cane residue from having just seen Santa.  A weary mommy and an impatient daddy.  I thought all of our gift purchasing was done.  Until I remembered we had a very special person to buy for  this year: Miss Jen, my daughter’s then speech-language pathologist (SLP).  I bit my lower lip and looked out at the sea of mall kiosks.  Flat-irons, scarves and mittens, hand lotion, and ornaments clouded my view.  I wheeled the double strolled to the personalized ornament stand.  My eyes glazed over as I scanned the kiosk covered with every imaginable ornament:  nurses, doctors, police officers, teachers, pets (a groomer!) video gamers…even hair dressers stared back at me.  I cleared my voice and approached the cashier, “Um, excuse me…do …

Apraxia Monday: Practicing Pirate Poems

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By Leslie Lindsay She shuffles her feet and looks up at me, a smirk growing across her face.  I nod and prompt her to continue.  “I’m Captian Kid…my treasure is hid.” Her voice is strikingly loud and clear.  My heart speeds up a little.  You can do it, kiddo!  It reminds me a lot of the time I sat (hugely pregnant with #2) in a cramped speech-pathologist’s office when this same little girl was being evaluated for a “speech delay.”  You can do it, kiddo!  I chanted in my mind.  Only back then it was simple imitation tasks like, “can you say, ‘moo?’ ” Fastforward, nearly 6 years and this little girl–the one who couldn’t say ‘mama’ at  2 years old–is now reciting poems in 2nd grade.  She has childhood apraxia of speech (CAS).  Chances are, if you are reading this then you care deeply about a child with delayed speech or CAS.  It’s hard.  It’s baffling.  It’s discouraging.  But, I tell you…with proper interention (frequent, intense, and continuous) speech therapy with a qualified SLP, your child will …

Say That Again: Imagine Being a Parent of a Child with Apraxia of Speech (CAS)

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By Leslie Lindsay [This was  previous post over the summer.  Here it is again if you missed it–or are just now joining us].  (image source: http://speechtherapyweb.com/ 10.15.12) At two years old, Kate was a beautiful, energetic, and happy toddler. With the exception of one word—hi—Kate was as quiet as a mouse. We wondered if something was wrong. Even as a baby, Kate rarely babbled and cried; she was beautiful and unique with red hair and bright blue eyes.  She was, in a word, “perfect.” So why were we worried? After all, she could understand everything we said, even the big words.  And what was so wrong with having a quiet, happy toddler?  But there were times my heart would sink. Gaggles of women who had all been in the same childbirth class a year or so earlier met up for our summer book discussion.  They were chattering about how their children were saying new words every day.  One mother proudly shared, “Oh, Maddie said elephant yesterday at daycare.  I hate that I missed it.”  I pulled …

Apraxia Monday: Welcome to IEP-land

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By Leslie Lindsay (image retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/learning/iep.html 9.10.12) You may have just gotten your kids settled in school, and already you are beginning to think about the dreaded IEP.  Is it up to date?  Is is “good-enough?”  Is it helping your child tackle the things she or he really needs to tackle?  Are the teachers reading it?  Hummm…I feel your pain.  Here are some ideas to get you back into IEPland…. Remember, an IEP is a legally binding contract between the school and your family. It lays out: What your child’s qualifying disability is (in this case, a speech-language disorder called Childhood Apraxia of Speech, though there may be other diagnoses you child is also struggling with).  Your child’s present level of functioning (this is where assessment results are reported—are her receptive language skills at the level of a six-year- old, while her expressive language skills are at the level of a four-year- old?) What goals the IEP team thinks she should work on, over and above what is covered in the regular school curriculum (does …

Apraxia Monday: Preparing Your Child for the First Day of School

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By Leslie Lindsay Hard to believe that back-to-school is amongst us–how is it even possible that it’s already August 6th?!  Here are some more tips and ideas to help you and your child ease your way into the school scene.  Preparing Your Child for the First Day Where your child is concerned, start early, but not too early, in prepping him for school. Be sure to drive by the school ahead of time. Point it out and get excited about the place where your child will be learning and playing. Then, a week or so later, pack a picnic and head over for lunch and some time on the playground. Your child will remember that you were there with her, so when she is playing with classmates, it won’t seem so unfamiliar. Teach her how to ask others to join her in play (see bullet points below). The building may be big and potentially confusing.Either way, go to orientation and show your child around. Remind her that she will never be walking around the school …

Apraxia Monday: “Apraxia…You Just Gotta Practice!”

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By Leslie Lindsay I wanted to share with you a personal moment–and one that I think will touch you, whether you have a child with CAS, or not.  [Portions of this post originally appeared as a guest blog on Say What Y’all, hosted by Haley Villines.  Thanks, Haley for allowing me to be a guest on your blog]. You won’t soon forget her.  The red hair and blue eyes the size of saucers will linger in your memory.  So, too will the fact that she is as fire-y and energetic as that copper hair that cascades down her back, framing her freckled face with possibility.  And when you hear her speak, you may have an inkling that she once suffered from moderate to severe childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), or you may be none the wiser. Although Kate is a bright, creative, and eager soon-to-be 2nd grader, she has overcome a road block most of us never have to deal with: a struggle to communicate expressively.  I won’t bore you with the early days of …

Apraxia Monday: Reading and Writing Go Hand-in-Hand, Part 1

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By Leslie Lindsay My youngest daughter is complaining that she can’t go to kindergarten just yet.  Why, you wonder?  Well, she seems to be worried that she can’t write (well).  I smile because I know she can (age-appropriately) and I smile because I know she is a perfectionist…much like me.  Learning to write is a complicated process.  First, one needs a basic understanding of the alphabet…and then one must have the knowledge that letters represent sounds and sounds make words.  Of course, forming all of those words is another task–one needs to know the correct order in which to put all of those letters in to make a word.  Argh!!  If you feel discouraged, bear with me.  I will give you some tips and ideas for helping your child–apraxia, or no–develop some skills for handwriting. First, though a quick run-down of why it’s so hard to learn to write: Lots of reflexes must come together  to control a pencil/pen and the rate and rhythm of writing Your child will need to be able to cross the midline of …

Apraxia Monday: Part 2 of Reading with CAS

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By Leslie Lindsay Last week, we chatted about why it may be more difficult for our kiddos with CAS to learn to read and write.  Today, we will talk about things you can do to help your child with those skills at home; specifically reading (writing with CAS with be another two-part post beginning next week).  You want to know how to help break the code to reading?!  Sure, we all do…it’s not so clear-cut as it may sound, but I will help decipher some of the weirdness for you.  According to Joy Stackhouse, Persisting Speech Difficulties in Children:  Children’s Speech & Literacy Difficulties, one should teach phononlogical awareness skills + strong reading strategies (literacy skills) to have a kiddo who is ready to learn to read.  For phonological awareness,  some suggested repetitive books you can start with:   Anything from Sandra Boynton to Dr. Seuss (the goofier the better…it sticks with kids and gets them engaged early on) Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown…repetitive and predictable Going on A Bear Hunt (or any of the variations, such …

Apraxia Monday: Excerpt from Chapter 8: What you Can do At Home

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By Leslie Lindsay This may very well be the chapter/excerpt you have been waiting for!  Get ready to be inspired to help your child with some fun, and practical speech-inducing exercises at home.  It may be the most fun “homework” session yet.  This comes from Chapter 8 of “Speaking of Apraxia” (Woodbine House, March 2012). This chapter is about learning how to help your child overcome apraxia of speech in a natural environment: your home and community.  Here are a few ideas to get you started:  Have a family game night. Traditional  favorites will do the trick. The speech payoffs here: turn-taking, counting, requesting, being a good sport, and other communication opportunities. Visit your public library. Let your child find some books of interest and then read them to her. Speech payoff: child-directed learning, introduction to new vocabulary, 1:1 time with you in which you are modeling pronunciation and articulation. You might even hear some sounds or word approximations from your child! Experience and connect with nature.  Speech payoff: identify and describe what you see, hear, and smell. Think holistically—this is more than just a walk in the park. …