Ashlynn has been saying things lately that are really showing higher level thinking. You’d think this would be glaringly apparent to me, but it really IS crazy how much language gives us an idea of what is going on in their brain. She’s been VERY interested in her schedule, and where she is going the next day. I still haven’t made our visual schedule, but it’s on my to do
When a child starts school, a range of emotions can be present in BOTH the parent and the child. When Ashlynn started preschool at three years old, she had only ever been watched by family. This was fortunate for us because since she was essentially nonverbal for her first three years of life, my husband and I knew we wouldn’t know if someone hurt her or abused her. Conversely, we
Ashlynn said her first “trick or treat” on command at the age of four. At three…she had an approximation, but then she froze when we went trick or treating. Many people were polite and kind, not demanding she say something for her candy. Others though, sat indignantly at the door waiting for “the magic words.” Because Ashlynn’s strengths lie in social skills, she was always able to charmingly muster up
Today I am honored to introduce Ruth Stoeckel, nationally recognized expert and published researcher on Childhood Apraxia of Speech. I first saw Ruth Stoeckel speak back in 2005 when she presented in Colorado. The packet she handed out during that talk helped me greatly in those early years when I was first learning about how therapy for apraxia is very different than therapy I had been doing for other speech
It’s been two years since Ashlynn was first identified as having CAS. She is now almost 5. At her first IEP meeting, I remember praying that she would talk. If she would just talk, everything would be okay. Last year, she was talking, but they explained she had a hard time fitting in with her peer group. She would tend to just repeat what others said, but she was at
To continue my September Specialty series, I want to introduce Merry. Merry is an amazing mom, and I wanted to feature a mother because in my opinion, parents are the experts on their child. I think it’s important professionals keep this in mind, so I’ll say it again. Parents are the experts on their child. Her daughter is using an AAC (Assistive & Augmentative Communication) device at the age of
