1612, 2014

What exactly is CAS?

What is Childhood Apraxia of Speech? Definition and characteristics Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a speech disorder that results from difficulty with programming, planning and sequencing the precise movements needed for clear speech. The American Speech/Language Hearing Association (ASHA), denotes three main characteristics that must be present for a diagnosis of CAS. Inconsistent production on consonant and/or vowels in repeated productions of syllables and words. An example of the word

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What exactly DO I want to hear at parent teacher conference?
2111, 2014

What exactly DO I want to hear at parent teacher conference?

I had Ashlynn’s Fall parent-teacher conference for this, her last year of Pre-K.   The teacher gave me a HUGE packet for Pre-school standards for my review, and said she didn’t need to go through all of it. Um…okay.   She showed me a picture Ashlynn had drawn the first day of school of a person with her name on the paper, and then another current picture of a person

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“Oh my goodness!!” Ashlynn turns 5!
2010, 2014

“Oh my goodness!!” Ashlynn turns 5!

The day started long before the AM. Preparations were in place to decorate the house after Ashlynn went to bed. This year was different though.  When I left to leave while Cody was putting her to bed, she asked me where I was going. “Mama?  Where you going?” Though I tried my best to cover, she asked, “You going for my birthday?” Freeze time. My daughter has ALWAYS been astute

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Kids say the darndest things….unless of course they don’t because they have apraxia.
1510, 2014

Kids say the darndest things….unless of course they don’t because they have apraxia.

What was it that Bill Cosby always said?  Kids say the darndest things or something like that.  Unless of course, you know, they don’t because they have apraxia of speech and can’t even say the most basic things.  Or this that I just ran across: Unless of course, they don’t because they have Apraxia  When Ashlynn was born, I wondered what her personality would be, the funny things she would

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Working our way out of the apraxia tunnel
1010, 2014

Working our way out of the apraxia tunnel

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

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What to do when you can’t say “Trick or Treat”
0610, 2014

What to do when you can’t say “Trick or Treat”

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

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