Category: Apraxia Stories

Then and Now

December 2, 2011 Posted by Laura under Apraxia Awareness, Apraxia Stories, Celebrations, E
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December 2008 (18 months)

  • E could say “mamamamama” and “dadadadadada”

February 2009 (20 months)

  • E began traditional speech therapy with little to no progress

July 2009 (25 months)

  • E was correctly diagnosed with severe Childhood Apraxia of Speech

September 2009 (27 months)

  • E began appropriate speech therapy for CAS
  • E learned the word “more” at her first session.  E’s previous speech therapists had been trying to get her to say “more” since February.

May 2010 (35 months)

  • E has had appropriate speech therapy for CAS for nine months
  • E speaks in 3-6 word utterances

February 2011 (44 months)

  • E has had appropriate speech therapy for CAS for 18 months
  • E is able to say “Mommy” and “Daddy” for the first time

March 2011 (45 months)

  • E is able to pucker and give us a kiss for the first time

October 2011 (52 months)

  • E is reevaluated by a CAS expert and her diagnosis is now moderate CAS

December 2011 (54 months)

  • E was first diagnosed with CAS 27 months ago.  She has officially been treated for CAS for half of her life and has been in speech therapy for more than half of her life.

Here are some of the spontaneous, beautiful sentences I have heard E say in the last few days (still missing some sounds of course):

  • “I really miss Daddy.”
  • “Mommy, you’re my best friend.”
  • “What Christmas song (carol) do you like best?”
  • “Mommy, there’s an envelope for you in my cubby.”
  • “Can I have a piece of cake?”  [When I told her no, she continued:] “Can I have a crumb?”
  • “It’s spooky down here.”
  • “Mommy, it hurts really badly!”

Don’t ever lose hope!

A Year’s Progress

September 22, 2011 Posted by Laura under Apraxia Stories
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I’m still here! I’ve just been very busy being a mom, a wife, a taxi driver for my kids, and working.  I have so much to share but that will have to wait until another day.  I shot a video of E singing Happy Birthday with S today.  I was just amazed at how far she has come over the last year.  Then I remembered that I had a video of them singing the same song just about a year ago.  E started of trying to sing and then stopped when she couldn’t keep up.  The progress she has made is amazing!

I want to share the videos with you but can’t figure out how to upload the old one here because it is only on Facebook and not my computer.  So . . . I shared both videos on Apraxia Adventures Facebook page.  Come like the page and see E’s progress over the last year.

As an aside, if I had all of this to do over again, one of the things I would do differently is take more videos of E talking.  It’s so much fun to look back at the progress she has made.  At the time, I would have never used the word “fun” to describe what we were going through, but things continue to get better and it’s not as painful to see anymore.  If you’re in the same position, even though it’s hard, record your child talking or trying to talk.  It will really help you appreciate how far you’ve come!

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