Speech issues/Apraxia

I understand exactly what you are going through. My son, who was 3 in novemeber also has apraxia. He talks on about a 19 month old level. He has a ton of apraximations, but very few real words. I understand him better then anyone but most people have no clue what he is saying.
I worry all the time about him making friends and the struggles he has ahead. He has a ton of therapy which makes having play dates tough, I think you said it best...it is heart breaking to watch your child have to struggle with anything let alone something that comes so naturally to all his peers. I cry when I hear my friends complain about how their kids talk all the time and are never quite. My son has yet to really say MaMa and very few people truly get how that feels.

There is hope. With prompt speech therapy most of these kids will talk and catch up with their peers. hang in there!!! there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I have started support groups for children with special needs in my son's school. It is so helpful to be around other moms who get the struggles and are there to listen to my fears., All the kids have different issues but we are all there for each other. Try starting the same thing at your child's school.

Hi C.,

To start off I wanted to say to give yourself a pat on the back for recognizing your son speech delay early on! The fact that he has had services is great! I am also stuggling with my daughter. She has been in early intervention since 11 months. She just started walking just shy of her 2 year old birthday! We are now focusing on speech. Like your son she has speech delays. She has not said any words yet and my husband and I continuously worry about her. She hasn't formally been diagnosed with anything, other than she may possibly be on the Autism spectrum. So I definitely understand where you are coming from. It's nice to hear that your son excels in other areas. Are you seeing a speech therapist?? He is also getting to be older and you should be able to get services through the state once he's 3. It is hard to see other child progress and you feel like your child is not. Even worse it's harder not to compare! I try not to do it but I think it's just human nature. My daughter's main issue with speech is , she doesn't have the attention to look at someone for long periods of time to imitate. She just started a program called ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) My daughter is in 13 hours of therapy a week! It has helped her a lot with her skills in speech and over all. She is still not saying words , but she is signing , and babbling a lot. C., you are doing what you can to help your son.... don't beat yourself up over it! I know it's hard to see your son struggle , but you are doing everything you should be doing. Just think positive and good luck with everything! If you want to write to me , feel free! I think it easier to relate to someone when they are going through something similar!

M. :)

Hi, C.! Yes, I understand your worries and frustrations. My 3 year old has a dyspraxic speech delay-very similar to Apraxia. He was in speech therapy from January 2009 to October 2009, going once a week at the local children's hospital. Now, he attends preschool (an early intervention classroom) that has 12 children (4 typical and 8 that require speech and/or occupational therapy). He receives speech once a week and OT once a week to improve his fine motor skill development. He has come a LONG way since he started, but he is still very hard to understand by others. He can talk now in phrases and in short sentences, but you can only really make out a few words clearly to kind of "piece" it all together. Some words are pronounced perfectly, others not so much.

I TOTALLY know how you feel. Things could be so much worse, but I feel terrible that he has to struggle so much to communicate with other people. It breaks my heart to see him get so frustrated to say the things that other children can say so easily.

He has made so much progress over the last year and we are currently in the process of getting him into an additional day of speech therapy through another organization. Then when summer comes, we will enroll him in a special summer program that is offered through the school district to bridge the gap until next school year.

I, too, worry all the time. I was told by his previous speech therapist that he should be caught up by the time he reaches kindergarten, as long as we stay on top of it and keep him active in therapy. That is promising and I will never give up on my baby!!

If you ever need to chat, feel free to send me a private message. It is always nice to hear from other moms that have been "through it". Take care!

Congratulations to you for recognizing and getting him the early intervention.
That was the best thing. The younger they are the better. Just hang on
and I think you will see significant improvement. A dear friend of mine
went thru the same thing. Started early intervention and by the time
he went to school, he was doing extremely well. It is very difficult to
see your child struggle, but with the right support and love, he will do
fine. I was told my 5 yo would never read or speak coherently and
never attend a reg. school. Fast forward 22 years later: she is an
EMT (who saved a Moms life on Mothers Day 2007), a volunteer
firefighter and a surgical technician who works in the Operating Room.
She worked hard from day one and it paid off. Just love him. Good
luck.
PS Music videos opened a whole world for my daughter. We used to
sing and dance all over the house every day.

A mother will always worry about their child and struggles - with or without hinderances. So, in that respect you are definately not alone. Having said that, I feel like I am reinforcing this attitude when talking to parents of children that progress in a normal fashion and those that have children facing greater obstacles. That is, when I express worries over how my son with disabilities will "make it" in the big world, people always say he will be just fine. Part of me wants to hear that, but part of me wants to scream that they don't understand. I am the one that sees how hard everything is for him and how unforgiving the world is to those that are not "normal". What I have come to realize is that it is ok to feel bummed once in a while. And the advice I give is to be true to your feelings, especially with your husband. Talk with him about how you really feel otherwise, if you try to give the strong and confident appearance all the time, you will start to feel alone and it cand drive a wedge between you and him. Lastly, kids are so amazing. You will be surprised with how much he can do without a full toolbox. If you ever see kids playing together, there is actually very little talking that occurs. If you make him feel confident with who he is then he will find other children that see the same lovely boy that you do. I hope that helps - I feel your pain.
C.

Hi C.,
I just wanted to encourage you in not giving up or feel that this is the end of both your worlds. My oldest son had speech problems when he was small, only my mother and I could understand him, not even my husband would understand what he was saying. He was not diagnosed Apraxia, but he did have a speech problem. The good thing here is that you had him tested and that now you know what the problem is. Try if you can, to get him a speech therapist that can work with him preferably 3 or more days a week. I'm not familiar with CT, but here in Jersey at Kean University they have an awesome Speech Clinic. They are so good that they have a waiting list, I was fortunate to be able to get in without any problems because I work here. You know it wouldn't be a bad idea for both of you to learn some sign language in order to enhance your communication.
Don't give up and don't get frustrated. As you go to speech therapy and to learn sign language you will meet other people that are in your same shoes. He will be able to meet other kids that he can relate to better in the mean while he gets better.
Lastly, I would suggest that you pray for him. We did, we pray for our son, we pray for favor getting him the help he need it. We got him in speech therapy at his school three times a week for 1/2hr, (he was in kinder) and at my job twice a week for an hour. He was discharged when he was in 2nd grade.
Pray for you and your husband to have the grace and patience to deal with this and that he grows into a fine young boy :)
I will keep you all in my prayers.
God bless you,
I.