First therapy session – Ms. J

We had our first session with Ms. J this weekend. To remind you, this is the speech-pathologist who is our local expert in apraxia who I almost missed the opportunity to work with. The session went very well. It is amazing how cooperative (comparatively) Ava can be in order to get to play with new toys. Well, except these:

I believe these are a relatively popular toy. Ava did not like them at all. Let me interpret her urgent gestures and grunting for you…. “Please put those away….no really. Now. Please. Now. I mean it. Get those away from me. Far away. Out of sight. Right this minute!” So, after the failure to use sing-a-ma-jigs as a fun new toy we moved on to better new toys to play with.

It was an introductory meeting. Everyone was getting to know each other. It wasn’t an instant miracle therapy session where I heard things I had never heard before. I wasn’t expecting that. What did impress me was how quickly Ms. J was able to figure out exactly:

• what Ava is currently capable of
• what Ava is not capable of
• what we should start to work on first.

Then she was able to give me some great ideas on how to start working on those things.

I came home with a lot of information and was able to sit down and reflect on what I learned. I sat down and listed about nine things off the top of my head to focus on over the next two weeks that I wouldn’t have been working on if I hadn’t met with her. I’m very happy. I think she was the missing piece in our equation. I have the skills to work with Ava myself, but not the expertise and experience to know what is most important to work on first. With the guidance of an expert, I expect to be 10 times more effective and that is very exciting.

On a completely different note, one thing she didn’t do is confirm a diagnosis. I want one, of course. Which sounds bad, when I think about it. Why on earth would I actually -want- my baby to have a diagnosis? It just makes things concrete. It gives me something specific to fight. Anyway, she didn’t give a firm diagnosis for the same reasons no one else will. It’s too early to tell for sure. She noted some specific characteristics of Ava’s speech that are consistent with apraxia (speech and language history, limited vowel repertoire, etc), and some that are not consistent (Ava actually has decent prosody). We’re going to approach therapy from a motor planning perspective, so what we call the problem is not important.

To confirm the “it’s a small world” phenomenon, Ms. J actually knows the First Steps therapist we’ve been assigned to and thinks well of her. Our First Steps therapist, Ms. A, is actually a former student of Ms. J and they work together as colleagues now. Nice to know Ava will soon be surrounded with excellent therapists.

Macaroni Fun

So a few weeks ago our Parents as Teachers educator came by for our home visit. She brought an activity where she had a small bin filled with macaroni and measuring cups and the kids could dig and pour. She also brought small wooden animals to bury in the macaroni for them to find. They loved it!

I decided to make one for us on a grander scale. I bought a big bin and 30 pounds of pasta in bulk. The kids played with it for over an hour along with a visiting guest. It’s like an indoor sand table, but with less mess. Even when the macaroni gets scattered it is easy to scoop back up and put back in. If you do the activity on a large blanket it is even easier.

It would be easy to incorporate some speech practice too if you’re doing it one-on-one. You can target in, out, up, down, more, big, little, etc. You could also use (bury them and then dig them back out) small dolls or lego figures for mama, dada, baby, and other family members. You could use small animal figures for animal sounds like moo, baa, neigh, etc. If you’re working on colors you can incorporate different color cups and practice your color words. If you’re working on two word phrases it’s even better because you can do mama in, daddy out, uh oh baby, moo up, baa down, etc. Fun and speech all at the same time.

Another Mom Tells a Funny Story / "The Look"

So here's a funny story from a mom who's daughter has CAS. This particular post is about her son though. To be honest, I haven't read enough of her blog yet to know if her son also has apraxia, but he must have some speech issues because he's working on some sounds and that led to a funny (although not at the time for her), very public exchange in a store. Check it out.

She also refers to "the look" - that look your child gives you when they know you aren't getting what they are trying to say. I'm just now being introduced to that look, but I know it already. It makes me sad. It is terrible enough that I know other people will struggle to understand her. I want to be able to understand her all the time. I feel like it's my job as her mama and the least I can do. But I can't.

Instead I will try hard to let her know that it's all right when people don't understand. She always has options. She can always try another way. I guess my real job is to equip her with the tools she will need to communicate successfully in any way that she can and the persistence to always keep trying. That's my goal at least.