I have been telling myself that I would be getting this particular topic up, if only for the sake of clarity. Being so close to it, I feel like I have already exhausted the subject forwards, backwards, upside down and inside out, but I will try to be brief and to the point.
Not always my strong point, but I will try.
Okay, so the deal is this: I've known for sure since last October that my youngest (who turned three in March) has a speech delay. Specifically, last October, he was determined to be at a 13 month development level for his verbal output, while his receptive language (how well he can understand what's spoken to him) was and continues to be right on par. Yada, yada, yada, he's been doing the speech therapy thing for the last several months, and in the mean time, got diagnosed with apraxia. Meaning, he understands everything (he can follow basic, and even slightly complicated directions--- as in 'get your shoes Ben' or 'pick up the red block Ben'), but something between the processing sounds and getting them to come out in actual words is a little stuck. Basically, he's come to depend on a lot of pointing, grunting, signing, inflection, etc. Anything but actual intelligible words. I can tell he's saying no because he'll make his angry face, for example. Sad when he covers his eyes.
Anyway, because it's more than a speech delay and an actual speech disorder, it's affecting other faucets of his development. I have him enlisted for the free developmental preschool offered through the school district, which he will, all willing, be attending come September. Meantime, his speech therapist is switching tactics from getting him to say actual words to concentrating on basic vowel sounds first. Which will be followed by consonant sounds. Which will be followed by combination of vowel and consonant sounds.
This is where the 'in the long haul' starts taking on a little more meaning. Basically, Ben has to learn speech from the ground up, because he can't simply mimic what he hears and understands. Typically, these kids (with apraxia) experience a lot of frustration and will stop trying to communicate at all. Thankfully, Ben hasn't reached that point yet. He definitely got the talking bug from his mom. I really can't wait for the day when he'll be able to tell me with more than a screech or a pull on my shirt what exactly he's trying to say.
All that being said, Ben does have a handful of words he's learned and held onto. Why these words, heaven only knows, although I have my own ideas. They are: up, bye-bye, yah, ow, granpa, and spon-bob.
Would it kill the kid to add a mom in there? I'd be thrilled with a mmm even.
Oh well. I'll just have to do with the cheek kisses and neck hugs for now.
One last note: ear tubes are totally overrated.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Been through some of this myself. Gabe started getting speech therapy at 14 months around the same time he got ear tubes. His speech was delayed as well as other things. He wasn't pointing, grunting, signing or doing any of those things to get what he needed. After tubes the therapist was sure he would take off in his speech. We went to an audiologist to get his hearing tested. Nothing. By the time he was two he had a diagnosis of Autism. He said his first word at age 2 1/2. It was a form of the word "cracker." Mommy probably came around 3 1/2...FINALLY :) He is now 7 1/2 and his speech is pretty limited still. It has been such a long and sloooow road. But he has learned (after much painstaking work) to say "I want____ and then he fills in the blank with a word. This past year he has also learned to answer yes and no to questions.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of Apraxia before until you mentioned it. I had to look it up. In a way it reminds me of Gabe because Gabe does understand much of what we ask him to do, but getting answers from his brain to his mouth is very tough for him.
-Kelli