Special-Needs Adoption
Childhood Apraxia of Speech
Recently my little foster son, who will be two the end of this month, has been sort of diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) by his speech therapist. I say sort of because she wasn’t 100% on the suggested diagnosis but it was her educated guess. I’ve begun researching to better understand the diagnosis and also to learn how to help in his treatment. He has been living with me since he is 3 days old and I’ve worked with him on learning to talk since before he was a year old. Back then it seemed like he was going to be a wiz because he would imitate sounds readily and loved watching our mouths form words. His older biological sister, who is now 5, has an extensive vocabulary and even at 3, when she moved in with me, she was very articulate for her age. Alas, the little guy now struggles to pronounce words and seems to lose words he once used nearly proficiently. This is part of the CAS diagnosis. So, my question is, are there any other families out there who have raised a child with this diagnosis? I know he won’t grow out of it, but from what I understand his speech can improve with therapy. Has anyone used any successful techniques with CAS? Am I too paranoid and pushing my little guy too hard on this? I think he’s smart and he certainly understands when someone is speaking to him or asks him to do a simple task. Please, share your stories here or send me a PM. Thank you in advance!
Ashley~
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Replies
i’m a bit familiar with this, but haven’t actually raised a child with it.i don’t know much about it, but my understanding is that the more practice/therapy the kids get, the better they will do, so your’e probably not pushing too hard. sorry I don’t have more to offer, it has to be very frustrating for both you and him
In the meantime you might want to learn/teach him some sign language so he can communicate and be less frustrated. I worked with such a boy one time (I am a social worker) and he did get better but it took 2 years of speech therapy. I am not a speech therapist and am sure all cases are different.
Is his hearing ok?
oh I forgot. Maybe you want a second opinion since she is unsure. If he qualifies be sure your subsidy reflects his special need. Even if covered by Medicaid there are expenses such as driving, food parking when therapy gets intense.
Thanks Regina and rn4kidz - yes, his hearing was tested by an audiologist and he hears fine. He does speak, but is not always able to communicate what he wants, which is where the frustration lies, since he wants to be understood. He’s doing better, mostly because I’ve learned what certain sounds mean to him. He does know a few signs, but I’m working on teaching him a few more. I will speak with my social worker about his subsidy, since this is a new update. If needed, at that point we could get a second opinion on his specific diagnosis. He is still working with the speech therapist and an occupational therapist as well. I just want to be doing all I can with him at home. He’s a smart little boy, so I know if I’m applying the right techniques, he will improve. Right now, the speech therapist has me trying to initiate more feeling in his cheeks and on his tongue by stroking the inside of his cheeks and his tongue with his toothbrush. I just didn’t know if there were more things I could be doing to help him along….
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