Heidi Crane

I'm glad I could help, Tracy

You could find out some mouth exercises for her. Katie's first speech
therapist had her doing "kitty cat exercises" where she had to wipe her lips
with her tongue, around and around. There were others, but that's the one
she liked the best. And exercising those muscles made more sense to me than
a lot of other stuff they had her doing. Using the muscles could only
strengthen the neuronal connections, which is what is needed. I bet there's
something online about mouth exercises.

I also think you're REALLY smart to video tape her, because looking back
will show how much improved her speech is.

Blessings, HeidiC

>
>Message: 5
> Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2005 11:40:22 -0000
> From: "Tracy" <scott.hutchins@...>
>Subject: Re: muscle<>brain nerve connections
>
>***the physiological connections will come. I
>think my daughter's years of speech therapy were...I hate to say
>wasted,
>but...wasted time and money, which also put her through a bit of
>sadness
>about herself, as young as four years of age, thinking she must be
>stupid to
>need lessons to talk. If I could do it again, I would not put her
>through
>that.***
>
>You see Heidi,...this is why I came *here* to discuss these things.
>THANK YOU. You write what my gut tells me every single day. I don't
>know if there are different degrees of Apraxia...I need to do some
>research on it - perhaps that is all that it is.
>
>I have felt all along that sending her to speech therapy would be
>inappropriate for her personality. I know this child and I know that
>she would feel horribly isolated going to a school or office, to a
>special room, to learn to talk "properly". I have suggested it to her
>a couple times and really wish that I could take it back. At first she
>thought it meant going to school (which she was all-for BTW...she is
>one child that thinks she's missing out on "something" not going to
>school...) until I explained that there would not be playmates there.
>Of course she changed her mind. But I think that even that suggestion
>(once or twice) may have impacted her to some degree.
>
>One time, when she was 3 1/2 I took her to the YMCA and let her stay
>in the babysitting room while I went swimming. When I picked her up
>she was irritable and bothered (much like she was after I would pick
>her up after preschool those 6 weeks that she attended). I aksed her
>what was wrong and she said that the kids kept asking her what her
>name was, "they wouldn't hear me!" she kept saying. I felt so bad
>because I knew it was that they couldn't understand her name
>("Jocelyn" isn't entirely common anyway). So we talked about it and I
>told her that she should just say that "people call me Joc" since it
>was easier to say. After that I became very aware of the whole, *whats
>your name* moments and she'd look to me for back up. I tried to always
>only respond if she wanted me to.
>
>We just watched home videos from that time period yesterday. In 2.5
>years she's come a very, very long way. So it will only get better.
>
>
>