Apraxia Archives - Page 4 of 7 - Marshalla Speech & Language

Tag: Apraxia

Don’t Let the Issue of Evidence-Based Practice Get You Down!

By Pam Marshalla

Q: I have been reading your book Becoming Verbal with Childhood Apraxia. The ideas sound great and very interesting, but I did not see a complete reference list. Are there specific research studies that support the techniques that you were describing in your book? The examples included were helpful. I need some more support because of the emphasis on the evidence-based practice. There is no reference list at the end of the book because these are all my original thoughts…

Verbal, Augmentative, and Cognition

By Pam Marshalla

Q: My four-year-old client is essentially non-verbal. He can say “momma.” He also babbles a little and says a few vowels. I am a first-year therapist and don’t really know how far he can go. And I don’t know what to tell the parents. We all start out as you are by making guesses from the seat of our pants. There is no way to know where this client will go at this point. What I know and what I…

Differentiating Between Apraxia and Severe Phonological Deficit

By Pam Marshalla

Q: I work at a clinic where my supervisor does not believe in apraxia. She says that all of these children have phonological deficit. What are your thoughts on this? I sympathize with your supervisor in that I too struggled for many years with questions of apraxia–– What is it? How is it diagnosed? How is apraxia different from a severe phonological disorder? The problem we are having is that we have taken the term “apraxia” from the adult neurological…

Pop-Out Words

By Pam Marshalla

Q: I recently heard the term “pop out words” accredited to you and used to describe words a child may say once but then not repeat. Can you explain this phenomenon to me, why it happens, and why I should be concerned about it. I use the term “pop-out words” to refer to the way children produce a clear word occasionally but who cannot say the word on demand. For example, one essentially non-verbal child called out “Turkey” on Thanksgiving…

Not Teaching Reading!

By Pam Marshalla

Q: I was appalled by your comments that speech-language pathologists should not teach reading! Reading is a part of language! Why not teach reading? In my opinion, reading teachers teach reading, and speech-language pathologists teach speech and language. This is my opinion and I am sticking to it. You may have a different opinion if you would like. Your opinion will not appall me, and I would suggest that mine not appall you. Sounds like a big waste of energy…

Reading Programs for Apraxia and Dysarthria

By Pam Marshalla

Q: What reading programs do you use with children who have apraxia or dysarthria? I do not teach reading. It is my opinion that the SLP has no business teaching kids to read. We are speech-language pathologists, not reading specialists. I’m sorry to disappoint. I do not go along with things just because they are popular points of view. In my opinion it is unethical for SLP’s to be teaching reading. Therefore I do not keep up with reading programs….

References and Advice for Apraxia and Dysarthria

By Pam Marshalla

Q: Do you have any advice on working on reading with a six-year-old child with severe apraxia and dysarthria? This child is having many difficulties with phonological and phonemic awareness and is struggling in all academic areas. Are there any reading programs that you know of that would help? I am already working on phonological awareness skills with her. First, if he is struggling in “all academic areas” there is more wrong than just apraxia and dysarthria. Apraxia and dysarthria…

Handling Oral Hypersensitivity the Easy Way

By Pam Marshalla

Q: I have a six-year-old male client with severe apraxia who lacks many phonemes. I am trying to cue him for place and manner at the mouth, but he is very resistant to my touch. For example, I want to hold his nose to teach him how to make his sounds come out his mouth, but he won’t let me. Any suggestions? Let me answer this in terms of what is the easiest ways to handle oral-tactile hypersensitivity: The easiest…

Apraxia: Classroom Placement and Amount of Therapy

By Pam Marshalla

Q: My beautiful nearly four-year-old son was diagnosed with verbal apraxia around the age of two. There does not seem to be any other developmental issues of concern. Have you found that an alternative schooling program is better for the preschool aged children with apraxia? If so what type of schooling would you suggest? He currently is enrolled in the public school system and only receives one half-hour of speech therapy three days per week there. We also go to…

Message to a Panicked Parent With Apraxic Child

By Pam Marshalla

Q: I have a 5-year-old boy suffering with a bad case of verbal apraxia coupled with an SI disorder. I am desperate for intensive PROMPT and oral motor treatment for my boy. Its heart breaking to watch him try so hard and fail to speak. Please help us. You sound like you are panicking — DON’T. You sound like you think that PROMPT and ORAL MOTOR are the only solutions — THEY AREN’T. There are as many ways of helping…