Need advice on how best to proceed on suspected apraxia in my 21-22 mo old son

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You could try a Children's Hospital in Austin.

OP, if you're already doing ST and there aren't any glaring red flags (sorry for the hackneyed phrase), another evaluation probably won't be necessary at this point, e.g., things that fall under the "Act Early" category:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-18mo.html

Thanks. I'd like a second opinion on whether it looks like apraxia or not. I know some have suggested to not focus on the diagnosis, but it's important for me to have a sense of what we're dealing with. He doesn't have any other red flags according to this list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again. Thanks so much for this wealth of information and advice. Currently we are just planning on going to Texas for our October visit (that's where family resides), though I am wondering whether we should add a trip to DC to meet with some specialists there. It doesn't look like there are CASANA-trained SLPs in Austin, though I did find some that were PROMPT trained (so I'm assuming they have more specialization in apraxia). Thanks for the DC suggestions. They will be helpful to me in the future for sure, if not now.

Post on the Apraxia Kids Facebook page and tell them you're looking for experienced apraxia SLPs in Austin. Someone will have suggestions and may be able to provide feedback on the PROMPT-trained folks you've found.https://www.facebook.com/groups/apraxia.kids.group/

Great suggestion! Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Did you test his hearing?

[Anonymous]

Whisper "um, chocolate" from far away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you test his hearing?

We haven't. We looked into this but ENTs don't seem to do it here, I'm not sure why. Or at least the one we have worked with...I need to check into this more. And our SLP didn't think it would be necessary or effective at this point (she doesn't think he'd comply with the test as a toddler). His hearing seems very good, but I do want to have this taken care of just to rule it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you test his hearing?

We haven't. We looked into this but ENTs don't seem to do it here, I'm not sure why. Or at least the one we have worked with...I need to check into this more. And our SLP didn't think it would be necessary or effective at this point (she doesn't think he'd comply with the test as a toddler). His hearing seems very good, but I do want to have this taken care of just to rule it out.

You need an audiologist. Ask your SLP for names. Not much to cooperate with bathe your headphones on child and ask them to nod or something when they hear a noise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you test his hearing?

We haven't. We looked into this but ENTs don't seem to do it here, I'm not sure why. Or at least the one we have worked with...I need to check into this more. And our SLP didn't think it would be necessary or effective at this point (she doesn't think he'd comply with the test as a toddler). His hearing seems very good, but I do want to have this taken care of just to rule it out.

You need an audiologist. Ask your SLP for names. Not much to cooperate with bathe your headphones on child and ask them to nod or something when they hear a noise.

I have to seriously question the competency of your SLP! Has she never heard of a 'sound booth'? My DS was 2 when he had his first hearing test (he's now 12 so it's been a while). We worked with him at home a little bit on the headphones and got him used to them. He had a lot of ear sensitivity but he got used to them. Between those and the sound booth, we got excellent assessments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you test his hearing?

We haven't. We looked into this but ENTs don't seem to do it here, I'm not sure why. Or at least the one we have worked with...I need to check into this more. And our SLP didn't think it would be necessary or effective at this point (she doesn't think he'd comply with the test as a toddler). His hearing seems very good, but I do want to have this taken care of just to rule it out.

You need an audiologist. Ask your SLP for names. Not much to cooperate with bathe your headphones on child and ask them to nod or something when they hear a noise.

I have to seriously question the competency of your SLP! Has she never heard of a 'sound booth'? My DS was 2 when he had his first hearing test (he's now 12 so it's been a while). We worked with him at home a little bit on the headphones and got him used to them. He had a lot of ear sensitivity but he got used to them. Between those and the sound booth, we got excellent assessments.

Give her a break, OP is living in Brazil and don't presume to know the medical and educational standards and testing available there. Americans are so egocentric that we believe our system and standards are ubiquitous.

OP I am the person who commented that it may be related to dual language acquisition. To echo I would definitely get a hearing test and a second opinion.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the comments. Really, I'm finding them all helpful.

I just received a recommendation for an audiologist who has worked with toddlers through an expat group. His hearing seems really good, but I understand that there are some tones and inflections that might be missed. I definitely want to rule that out anyway.

Incidentally, our LO has been babbling a lot differently in the last few days (new sounds) and has revived some of his old (but small) vocabulary again. No doubt we have our work cut out for us but let's just say that I'm feeling a little more hopeful today.