Update on SLP Testing

It had been a long while since Zach's old SLP ran the Kaufman Speech Praxis Test For Children (KSPT) on Zachary. She kept saying that she felt his Verbal Dyspraxia was getting better.

Well....the new SLP, Ms. Andrea did not feel the same way. She kept saying that it seems like it is still there with other components as well -- the dyspraxia, the VPD, the major articulation issues, the selective mutisim. So last week she decided it was time to run the KSPT again. Zach did great, he sat threw the whole test like a champion! -- That was Tuesday.

On Wednesday the test was scored and we were able to go over it. HUMPH!!! Ms. Andrea was right his verbal dyspraxia is still there (not like I didn't know it -- but honestly you get your hopes up when someone says it is going away) Not only is it not going away and just becoming an articulation issue BUT it is still very prevalent and as she said "in some areas - yes it is getting better, almost what I would call a mild case but in other areas I can't call it mild - it truly is still a moderate to sever case of verbal apraxia" :( His scores were not good and placed him at about the 14% for children with apraxia and 2% for children without it - giving him and age range of slightly over 2 years old --- this means he is still a year behind on his speech (as far as the apraxia is concerned)

This whole apraxia issue has always been rough to deal with but as he is getting older I'm learning there is so much more to it then the times he cannot speak....the articulation issues are awful and we are starting to believe that is why the selective mutisim is coming out. I've been told this is common - the child is aware of what they can and cannot say and so they just stop talking. We also know the VPD doesn't help with the articulation - in fact it makes it worse and harder to overcome because he can't use the muscle properly. The positive is if/when he feels safe and comfortable, he can and will talk, just not clearly.

Please help support The Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association Of North America (CASANA)
I started this page a while ago in Zach's honor.....there is not enough known about Apraxia and so many children looking for help to find their voice while others around them simple have no idea this exists. http://www.apraxia-kids.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=112756&supid=238562629 Zach is just one of the many faces of dyspraxia.