So, in May, James got tubes in his ears to provide an outlet for the fluid build-up and hopefully restore his hearing. In June, he tested "normal" for hearing ability. Yay!
I was particularly excited that he got his tubes in because now maybe he would being talking- hoping to hear "mama" within a month. As most of you know, this didn't exactly happen. He is enrolled in Early Intervention play group and has a Speech Therapist. We recently met with his ST and this is what she said:
James has a neurological disorder called Developmental Apraxia of Speech (DAS). Big words. All it means is that the motor center in his brain doesn't know AUTOMATICALLY to put lip movement, breath control, tongue placement, and palate manipulation all together to work in concert to produce a word. DAS is Genetic AND can sometimes be situational... like when he had his seizure. Think of when an older person has a stroke and has to re-learn how to speak. Its not that they don't KNOW what the words mean, its that they have to re-train their brains to form particular combinations to produce certain sounds. Thats pretty much what we're working on right now.
Now for the good news: this is TOTALLY workable. James will be a little slower to speak, but he will speak eventually. And that is good news to us, indeed.
2 comments:
Hi. I read your blog about James and thought you may like to know here is hope and promise for children with apraxia. Are you aware of the ongoing research with nutritional interventions utilizing omega 3 and vitamin E together to reduce inflammation and oxidation? Fish oil helps but doesn’t work for all kids. See www.SpeechTrial.com All the best on your journey. Be well.
Hang in there babe! You've had a rough go with James, but your loving home environment and your determination to keep him growing is what will help him the most. Love you and call ANYTIME!
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