So yesterday we had Ashlynn’s initial eligibility meeting. I am so used to be the one running the meeting and telling parents the results of testing, that it was a little surreal to be on the other side of the table. I have to say that the entire process was underwhelming and I left less than impressed. You would think that knowing I am an SLP for a neighboring school
Looking back, there were SO many signs that told me Ashlynn had apraxia. Before she even spoke, there were things she couldn’t do that I knew wasn’t normal. However, my family, my husband’s family, and even my husband told me she would do it on her own time, or all kids develop differently, or to stop being so critical of her. Despite my training and perhaps wanting to believe them,
I’ve decided I have to turn this unique situation as an SLP and a mother to a child with apraxia into a positive experience. I can’t keep sitting around feeling depressed and worried. I”m a believer in signs from God, and I believe this a big one that has the potential to positively impact others’ lives. I’ve decided to make videos of Ashlynn for two purposes: one is for me
When I held my baby, and even when she was in utero, I had visions and dreams of her being this incredibly verbose child with a large vocabulary. In fact, I dreamed she would be like me. The first few months brought all the regular milestones: tracking with her eyes, smiles, giggles, and even rolling over. However, she did have a case of very pointy toes. So pointy in fact,
On my Spring Break, my daughter was 2 1/2. Before that week I was home full time she had about 5-10 core words; however, she was just labeling things like mama, dada, and doggie. By the end of Spring Break she was requesting juice, water, and milk with one prompt! My mom and mother in law immediately noticed and told me how great it was she was talking more. I
Apraxia has been a topic of intense interest to me, ever since I was a speech/language pathology assistant. Apraxia is misunderstood even among the SLP community. Many SLP’s learned about apraxia, but may not have the skills or experience to correctly diagnose and/or treat it. I was fortunate to have a mentor who was familiar with the disorder and who took me to a professional development workshop given by Ruth