“My son Tanner had severe oral apraxia -so we had to work on drinking from a straw too. Even though there are other methods -here are the key things I found to be awesome for tricking his body into drinking from a straw.” MY CHILD CAN’T DRINK FROM A STRAW- ANY TIPS?! There are therapies…
Parenting Special Needs
Study Finds Lack Of Eye Contact While Speaking May Be Natural
In watching YouTube videos of children with apraxia for example many times you’ll see their gaze glance up or down while speaking. I had been pointing this out for over a decade, but now there is research that explains why this is a natural behavior in anyone. Your child is a late talker, or maybe has…
Study: Children Learn Who’s “Naughty or Nice” Through Nonverbal Signals
My son Tanner was diagnosed with verbal as well as oral apraxia. Most don’t know what apraxia is, but even fewer understand the difference between oral and verbal apraxia. With oral apraxia my son didn’t even have the ability to make facial expressions on command. Being essentially nonverbal is difficult enough, but not having the…
Scientists explore how nutrition may feed mental health
Good nutrition has long been viewed as a cornerstone of physical health, but research is increasingly showing diet’s effect on as well A special section in Clinical Psychological Science highlights the different approaches that psychology researchers are taking to understand the many ways in which nutrition and mental health intersect. Clinical Psychological Science is a…
Don’t Let The Turkeys Get You Down This Holiday Season
“At about 16 mos. I called for an evaluation for Oliver and boy did all hell break loose! My husband came home shortly after the evaluators left to find me sitting in the middle of the dining room floor holding Oliver and crying” Having a special needs child can put stress on your marriage. If can affect…
Apraxia First And Now Stuttering Too
If your child has apraxia, sometime after speech starts to comes in, perhaps around the age of 4 to 6 years old, there are a percentage that go through a developmental stuttering stage. This is a stage that can happen in neurotypical children and it’s not the same thing as true stuttering. My son Tanner…
The Benefits Of Ride Therapy For Apraxia
It was kind of by accident that I noticed that Tanner’s Mr. Bumpy must of been scared by the rides! Ride Therapy There is no official therapy called ride therapy yet. I just call it that because without a doubt everyone including his SLP noticed a surge in Tanner’s speech a day after he went on…
School At The Museum Improves Confidence, Communication, Social Skills
What if there was a way to fix this through co-location? Instead of day or night at the museum, what about school at the museum? How many of you recall how fun it was when you were in school to have a field trip? And what an amazing experience when students have the opportunity to…
Einstein Said “Yes, But Where Are Its Wheels?” At 2
When the 2.5 -year-old-was told of the arrival of a little sister with whom he could play, he imagined a kind of toy, for at the sight of this new creature he asked, with great disappointment, “Yes, but where are its wheels?” As a parent of a late talker you’ve probably heard about the Einstein…
I Am Learning To Speak, Trick Or Treat
Not everyone will understand what it’s like to go trick or treating with a child who is still learning to talk, but if you are prepared the day may go better than you expected and your child will have a lot of fun! If you can, go with a group so it’s not obvious your…