House of Krause

This question seems to come up from time to time. I’ve certainly questioned if this is a possibility myself.  Oh, wouldn’t it be great if tomorrow this was suddenly resolved. Unfortunately, this is not the case. True Apraxia of speech is lifelong and does not disappear on it’s own. The good news is with appropriate help and treatment most children with CAS can learn to speak clearly.

When Luke was initially diagnosed some one explained things to me in a way that really made a lot of sense.  They said to think of the brain as a spider web, connections running in all different directions. If one part of the web is broken or disconnected, there is usually another pathway that can be used to get to the same place. It may take longer. It will take help, but you can get there.  That was a great way for me to visualize the situation. It still really bothered me though to think that forever Luke will have to think about that secondary pathway to speak.  This was inaccurate thinking on my part because if Luke learns to speak using a secondary pathway, isn’t that a first pathway for him?  He would never know any difference.  Does this make any sense? Anyhow, I’ve been doing some research on the toddler brain, it is an AMAZING thing. I have a better understanding of why early intervention is so important.

Seventy-five percent of the total brain growth occurs between one to three years. By the age of three, a toddler’s brain has formed about 1,000 trillion (not a million or even a billion, a TRILLION) pathways or synapses ­ about twice as many as we have. The toddler’s brain is super dense and primed for learning. When a pathway is used repeatedly, it becomes permanent; a pathway used infrequently is lost. This goes along with the old saying, use it or lose it! This is actually true.

You can see in this picture the density at age seven compared to age fifteen. At fifteen many connections have already  diminished. Of course we can continue to learn throughout life. It is just not as easy as in those early formidable years. Especially when it comes to speaking. It is very difficult to correct patterns that have been set in and repeated year after year.

Some people thought I was over reacting when Luke was very young and I was really starting to worry and question things. Even the doctor brushed me off.  I am so glad I moved ahead with my intuition. He is now a year and a half into therapy and still has a long way to go. When I look at some of his early videos I think, my gosh, he’s just a baby! And he was. This has given him the greatest chance of success with language. If you think something is wrong what do you have to lose by pursuing evaluations and seeking help?

About this time a year ago I attended the most valuable seminar in regards to Apraxia. Nancy Kaufman has been treating children with CAS for over 25 years. The seminar is designed for speech therapist but is also open to parents. Her methods are the reason my son has a voice today.  Nancy Kaufman is once again lecturing through out the country. If  you have the opportunity to attend her workshop you will have a wealth of practical ways to really help your child! I’m encouraging you to GO, GO, GO! LOCATIONS

One of my sweet friends Jacqui (I actually met through this blog) were talking about what Luke’s language looks like at this point. How is he at home?? This is a little excerpt from that conversation.

Luke is saying a lot of words but now comes the hard part, connecting them on his own. This is very hard. Right now impossible. It seems he is making an attempt at almost anything I say to him. He can connect two to three word little combos on his own. But much after that is me scripting each sentence for him one word at a time. Some words are very clear, some are not. Some little things he is catching on that people say around here. Like today it was, “Oh my gosh” Luke hears big brother say it then he repeats it. It is like having a one year old maybe one and a half (language wise) in the house. The kids go Luke say this, say that, and try to teach him things to say, sometimes naughty. That stage when kids will just say whatever they are told to say and everyone thinks it’s cute even if it’s a bad word. It is still so hard!!! I feel very bad for him because he has so much on his mind and I just can’t wait for him to be able to express himself. Some times two word phrases are not enough. I can never really hear the whole story. Just one little word to describe the hundreds he is thinking about. I see it in his eyes sometimes. It breaks my heart. But one day at a time my friend, that is all we can do. I am trying my best. I will script all day and all night for him, he’ll get it.