Verbal dyspraxia

[momma2lilboys]

Hello,

New poster to this board and in need of some advice. My youngest ds (3y11mth) has severe speech delay, he mainly uses sounds, gestures, pointing to get his point across. Finds it difficult to use his mouth to even try saying some sounds. He tries really hard & we understand him at home & nursery do to some extent but we are relocating in 1 wk, so new nursery, friends etc... Hes been in SALT for over a yr, tried for a referral before this but was too, young, all kids develop at different rates blah blah blah.....
I knew there was something not right as my eldest ds 5yr had similar problem including poor muscle tone in lower lip (couldnt kiss properly, dribbled ++++++, still does when excited concentrating).
I started reading up about things we could be doing until youngest ds is accepted by SALT in the new area, paperwork already in!!!! And came across verbal dyspraxia and it sounds just like them. Oldest ds has improved after lots of work / strengthening muscle tone & grommets but none of the peads/SALT have mentioned this before and it seems obvious to me now.
Youngest ds had a specialist SALT assessment to get him into SALT unit but there isnt a unit where we are going to be moving to. Do I demand a statement???? Heard it really difficult if it's just sp&lg problems. Understanding, following instructions, makIng friends (amazing without words too :-)) all fine and normal. Sitting here worrying, can't believe I stumbled over thus at the weekend when I can't contact one!

Thanks for reading my rant, could keep going....

Wondering whether I should request another specialist speech assessment in new area or referral to child development unit? He is under ENT here & just had grommets lots of thick glue but only slight improvement to hearing when tested again nearly 2mth later. Feel so frustrated don't want ds to start getting frustrated cause he can't communicate. Already does a little at home but not so much school. In some ways that might be worse though cause he just shuts off, trying to say words / use gestures if they don't get him straight away.

Bump

my ds age 4 also has verbal dyspraxia/apraxia. our sch senco said it would be hard to get a statement, but his salt said its actually very clear cut. I wish i had had more faith in the salt, I kept questioning and repeating that its ment to be hard. But she was right. we applied at the end of feb, and it goes to panel on this thur (bites nail and rocks gently) to see if he can go to a unit, which we want as one is just a few miles away, or stays at the mainstream he has been allocated to start in sep. The ed psyc was very good, saying it will have a huge impact on accessing the curriculum, and she felt as other children got older it would impact on his esteem and social skills. What I am trying to say, is apply for a statement as your ds will need support in mainstream, he will need a visual environment and the curriculum will need to be modified for him aswell as having daily iep target work set by your salt.

Thank you for replying mummyto5, I can't believe all the different doctors we've seen for both boys not to mention SALT & they have never mentioned this to us. The specialist SALT report was quite hard to read as it was very blunt, "unintelligible speech sound" "would require 1:1 support & would benefit from a SRB unit." We tried so hard to get a house in the right part of the county but it was impossible. I'm glad we have found this school though as it's much smaller and if he can get 1:1 support even if it's just for part of the day I think he will be better in a class of 22 rather than 30+. The SRB was only until yr 1 anyway & not fulltime so hopefully it's worked out for the better...

I will definatley be on a mission to get the statement as soon as we have moved, SALT here were very pro statement too but his nursery made it sound like he wouldn't be a priority & other children have more needs to get a statement. Fingers crossed I'll let u low how it goes.

The websites I've been on suggest different facial exercises to try strengthen the muscles, to make speech sounds easier to achieve. Is this what your SALT suggested too? Ds1 had them to help with dribbling but not had any with ds2 (off to dig out ds1 old reports & worksheets!!!! & SALT here getting a call on Monday morning too....)

my ds also dribbles madly, and chokes easily on food, this is an associated problem with apraxia and as the disorder improves then hopefully will his control of saliva and where the food is in his mouth, my youngest ds also has huge speech problems, thou has 'perplexed' the salt as what is wrong, but has no problems with dribbling. thou the 4yr old also has hypermobility and i think that doesnt help. he wears a sweat band at all times and i tap my chin with my finger and then he wipes his chin with the band, this took time for him to click, 1st I used to tap my chin and say 'x, wipe your chin' I am hopeing that when he is at school the teacher will just do the visual prompt on the carpet and he wont stop the class lesson and it wont draw attention.
my ds follows the nuffield worksheets with his therapist, we are lucky that both boys get an hour a week, every week, with the same therapist and she works in a speech unit 3 days a week. she was very supportive and warned me the report will be hard to read. he was graded on the 1st percentile line for his verbal. But the ed psyc did a non-verbal test and he was graded on the +90 percentile line. as soon as you can show a clear discrepancy between verbal and non-verbal, the statement was clearly supported. Incidentally, the salt told me and the school when she went in to apply for a non-verbal assesment by the ed psyc, this was before I applied for a statement. I think it was called a single service request (ssr) it might be worth asking for this whilst you move. my ds was under a child dev centre and that dr suggested he would need a speech unit, he was barely 2 at the time but the salt hadnt suggested it. when i asked her, relief spread across her face as our county has a policy for the proffesionals not being able to advice you to try and get a place.. how frustrating, so when i asked if he should go, she would say 'children like x excell in units' but moreso with a main stream school, your ds will need a statement to make sure he gets a high level of support, and it will also make sure that his salt continues and that the school and therapist work together. hope that makes sense!

Thats great to know, I feel much more informed after all the websites Ive been on and thanks for your advice. I also feel more positive about ds future which can only be a good thing. All this stress has made me focus and now I know what to ask for...