• I have had excellent success with the Kaufman program. This program is aimed at children who can copy some sounds correctly. http://www.kidspeech.com/

• The Nuffield program: http://www.ndp3.org/ is excellent for helping children increase and develop the number of sounds that they can copy correctly. This would be a better place to start if your child has true apraxia (which literally means no speech sounds)

• Ask around at your local play groups and preschools to hear about local SLPs who have a good reputation for treating apraxia. They may use one of the above programs or a program of their own that has worked well for them.

• The Apraxia-kids website recommends the following software in the resources section of their website: http://www.apraxia-kids.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=chKMI0PIIsE&b=788467&ct=464321

• There is some evidence that using another form of communication, such as sign language, picture communication or a voice output computer system might help to improve children’s articulation skills. However, more research is needed. In the meantime, it can reduce stress if the child is able to use these methods to communicate in the short term, until his speech improves.

• The Speech-EZ program has been recommended by some therapists. http://www.speech-ez.com/

Related Reading about Apraxia:

• Can You Cure My Child’s Apraxia of Speech?
• My Child Has Been Diagnosed With Apraxia. How Can I Improve My Child’s Success? I Want Him To Learn To Speak Clearly.
• I Want To Find a Cure For My Child’s Apraxia Of Speech. What Programs Do You Recommend?

There are many things that you can do to optimize your child’s chances of improving. After more than a decade of treating clients with apraxia and dyspraxia, I have noticed that some types of parents have children who improve quickly, even if the delay is quite severe. If possible, do the following:

• Notice the apraxia early and get it treated early (preferably by three years of age) by a qualified Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP).

• Get involved in your child’s therapy program. Ask your SLP if you can sit at the table with your child and try to play the games the way the SLP does. Ask for home programs and practice worksheets.

• Invest in some games that your child loves (like Pop Up Pirate). Put the game in the cupboard and only pull it out for speech practice.

• Read to your child and foster a love of reading. Let him sign out books from the library on topics that he is interested in.

In addition, I noticed that there are certain children with apraxia who improve more quickly than others. The characteristics of a child whose speech improves quickly include:

• An outgoing child with good self esteem, who is willing to try and make mistakes and try again. Make sure to find some interests and activities that your child can succeed at. Praise him for attempts, not just perfection.

• A child with good receptive language (understanding) has better outcomes for articulation as well. If your child has low receptive language scores, ask your Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) how you can support his receptive language improvement as well.

• A healthy child. Of course, you can’t always control the child’s health. But you can provide good nutrition, rest and medical care.

• Typical attention span. If this is a concern, ask your SLP or Occupational therapist (OT) for ideas to improve attention span.

• Imitation skills. Even if your child cannot yet copy sounds or words, you can improve imitation skills by working on actions, signs, gestures and fun noises like animal sounds or vehicle sounds.

  Related Reading about Apraxia:

  • Can You Cure My Child’s Apraxia of Speech?
  • My Child Has Been Diagnosed With Apraxia. How Can I Improve My Child’s Success? I Want Him To Learn To Speak Clearly.
  • I Want To Find a Cure For My Child’s Apraxia Of Speech. What Programs Do You Recommend?

Every child is different, and no one can predict whether or not the speech difficulties associated with apraxia (also called dyspraxia) will be cured in one year or several years. What we do know is that most children with apraxia, with speech therapy appropriate to their needs, will eventually learn to speak clearly and be understood. It may be a long and challenging process, but there is hope.

Related Reading about Apraxia:

• My Child Has Been Diagnosed With Apraxia. How Can I Improve My Child’s Success? I Want Him To Learn To Speak Clearly.
• I Want To Find a Cure For My Child’s Apraxia Of Speech. What Programs Do You Recommend?

Ask a Speech Language Pathologist:  Is it true that your baby can learn to read?

Yes, a bright baby can learn to sight read (memorize words by how they look) and perhaps even to sound out new words, but it is rare. Most likely the baby would be memorizing words by their shape.

Speech therapy materials for Children with Apraxia

Before purchasing Speech therapy games or materials or to help your child with apraxia, please have him or her assessed by a Speech Language Pathologist to make sure that you are working on the correct goals.

Once your child is assessed you should have a list of goals to work on. Generally, Speech therapy for a child with apraxia (also called Childhood Apraxia of Speech or Dyspraxia) consists of practicing sounds starting at a simple level and then moving to more complex mouth movements and eventually to words and phrases. For some children, your Speech Language Pathologist may recommend starting at an earlier stage with muscle strengthening games and activities (called Oral Motor exercises) or simple mouth movements. Many children with apraxia find sign language helps them communicate their thoughts when they cannot make themselves understood.

Early vocabulary and imitation goals: The Baby Babble DVD (http://www.talkingchild.com/shop_BabyBabbleDVD.aspx) includes Oral motor exercises and some early sign language, so it is ideal for toddlers and younger preschoolers with speech and language delays.

Articulation Goals: Check out this link for Kaufman cards: http://www.superduperinc.com/products/view.aspx?pid=NS1002&stid=

These cards, although pricey, are great materials for working at home with children with apraxia. For children whose goals are at the single word level, the back of the card has approximations from simple to complex. For example a picture may show BROTHER, and on the back of the card it shows that the child may say only the “b” sound at first but eventually progress to “budder” and then to the correct pronunciation.

Parents will find that using the cards to play speech therapy games with kids will work better than just asking the child to name the cards. One example of a speech therapy game is to hide the cards around the room and find them with a flashlight. Children are asked to name the picture on one card before they can search for another card.

Again, please check with your Speech Language Pathologist to find out what the best goals are for your child.

Question: My 4 1/2 year old has speech delays and he has been improving a lot in speech therapy. however he has been stuttering for a few weeks now. Should i tell him to slow down, or just ignore it?

Answer: If it has just started then the best thing to do is ignore it & treat it like it’s no big deal. but be very positive about his speech. Say encouraging things like, “You are so good at your new sounds” etc. Let him know with actions and body language that you will give him as much time as he needs to say what he needs to say.

it is normal for kids to stutter any time in the preschool years, it’s just how long it goes and how severe it is that determines whether they need speech therapy for it.

Just a funny: My DD stuttered off and on for over a year and it cleared up on its own. the funny thing is that she “backwards stuttered” for lack of a better term. Instead of repeating first sounds I l-l-l-like cookies she repeated the end part of the word “I like-ike-ike-ike cookies”. I’m a pediatric speech therapist and in 11 years i’ve never seen another child do this!

Pronunciation Q&A: I have always believed that children develop at their own pace. Why should I be concerned when my child has a speech delay?

Question:

I have always believed that children develop at their own pace. Why should I be concerned when my child has a speech delay?

Answer:

While it is true that children develop at their own pace, they do so within a normal range. For example, a child will learn to say his first word sometime between 9 months and 18 months. This is a wide range. Children who talk much earlier might end up being gifted, and children who talk much later might end up having learning disabilities.

Late to talk: For any child who is late to talk, there is a chance that this lateness is a sign of another problem. Most learning difficulties are much easier to treat if they are diagnosed earlier. For example, a 2 year old child might not be talking because she is a little shy, and she will learn to talk a bit later than her peers and catch up. Her parents may learn some skills to get her talking a bit sooner than she might have, and therefore avoid some behavior problems.

However, other 2 year olds might not be talking because they have autism, or severe oral motor dyspraxia, or learning disabilities, or a hearing loss, or other difficulties. For each case, it is better to get an early diagnosis and treatment.

Pronunciation delays: For children who have delayed pronunciation, social interaction is a challenge. Improving pronunciation through speech therapy can help them interact successfully with their peers. Children who start school with pronunciation delays often have difficulty learning to read and write compared to their peers – especially if they try to write based on how they say the sounds. Early identification and intervention can prevent reading problems and the social and self esteem problems that are associated with school failure

Pronunciation Q&A: My four year old has a lisp. Should I be concerned?

Question:

My four year old has a lisp. Should I be concerned?

Answer:

Lisps can be complicated. If her speech delay makes it difficult to understand her, then you should have her evaluated by a SLP.

More information about lisps:

• Frontal lisp – some sounds are pronounced like a “th” sound.
• Lateral lisp – some sounds are pronounced in a “slushy” way. For example, there might be a “hissing” sound when the child says, “Chair” instead of a “Ch”. This type of lisp is rare and usually requires speech therapy to overcome.
• If a four year old can pronounce most of her sounds correctly, but her /s/ and /z/ sounds are pronounced as “th” (For example, sun sounds like “Thun”), this is probably normal.
• If the “th” sound is affecting her “Sh” and “Ch” sounds, she may need speech therapy.

Question:

My 12 month old daughter is not talking at all, only babbling. But some of her friends are only a few months older and they have dozens of words. Should I be concerned?

I don’t work outside the home, but I’m wondering if should put my baby daycare to help her speech development?

What about educational TV?

Answer:

She sounds fine! There aren’t many milestones for 12 month olds for speech, except they should be babbling, demonstrating that they can hear speech, and at least interested in communicating with other people.

Babies do not need daycare to help their speech and language development. Instead of daycare, she should be exposed to other kids at events like birthday parties and church so they can watch them. But the important goals for this age are bonding and playing with parents.

And she definitely doesn’t need TV. Research shows that those baby Einstein movies decrease children’s language and intelligence scores instead of increasing as advertised. Kids don’t gain any language or cognitive skills from educational TV until their language skills are at or above a FOUR year old level. TV or computers are not needed until age four, even then books and interaction with people are more beneficial.

If you do want to encourage faster speech development with your baby, I suggest using Baby Sign. I recommend Joseph Garcia’s Sign with your Baby book and DVD.

Early Language Q&A: My two year old child is not speaking yet

Question:

My two year old child is not speaking yet. Should I be concerned? My mother in law says that she knows many children who didn’t speak at all until they were three years old, and then they spoke in complete sentences. Does this mean that I should just wait and see if my child will talk on his own? Or should I get help?

Answer:

You should try to get him evaluated by a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP). Children usually have at least 50 words in their vocabulary by 24 months of age. Those who don’t are at risk for further language delays, pronunciation problems and even learning problems. Your SLP can let you know if your child has any other risk factors that might make him at higher risk for language related delays. For example, if his father was late to talk, and went on to need speech therapy or learning assistance, then the child is at higher risk for language and learning problems than a child whose father was a late talker who went on to do very well in school.

As for the children who don’t talk until three years – in my experience it is rare that a child can make it to three without talking and have no ongoing effects (But it does happen). If you dig deeper you often find that there are social, self esteem and learning problems associated with these late talkers. Also, many SLPs in our province have long waitlists so it is best to get your child’s name on the list early if possible.