Yes, I thought the progress was very good considering the short term duration, and is the one item that makes me wonder about the initial diagnosis.
Apraxia I feel is a tricky diagnosis. You saw in my PM, how we went years without a diagnosis. I even had one SLP via the school tell me there was no such thing as apraxia! There are many views of it and misconceptions. Yes, some say it shouldn't be diagnosed until 3, and some say 2. I think because there is SUCH a big change from 2-3, that many SLPs do go with 3. It is also something that can be overdiagnosed.
When we did get the diagnosis, it was via a place that dealt with apraxia. I did question the diagnosis, because there were aspects that just did not fit. (like the fact my child was talking). I think the best input I got was to think of Apraxia as a spectrum disorder. That really made sense to me.
I think at this phase, for your case, the apraxia diagnosis is a good thing.
I think that is far better to have that as the initial diagnosis, and then later have to back off of it if it is determined it isn't apraxia, than to be in the position we were, with a different diagnosis, only to find out much later that it was apraxia. That impacts early years of therapy.
Because apraxia is a neurological speech disorder and is not developmental, yes, it is something that insurance is more apt to cover than not.
This article is alright
http://www.associatedcontent.com/ar...signs_of_apraxia_in_children.html?cat=25I do like this quick definition of it.
To condense the lengthy medical definitions, apraxia basically is a neurological impairment that involves the planning, executing and sequencing motor movements. Verbal apraxia is a term borrowed from adult victims of accidents that have robbed them of some speech ability; when children are verbally apraxic, it is a neurological problem that affects the rapid sequence of muscle movements needed to make the sounds of speech. Oral apraxia is closely related to verbal apraxia, but includes impairment in non-speech functions, such as blowing, puckering, sucking, or licking lips. Verbal and oral apraxia tend to overlap in diagnosis. This list on the second page of the article...
Now, if you have a late talker, there isn't necessarily a reason to panic. But, if your two year old isn't talking and also has these symptoms:
*excessive drooling
*inability to lick peanut butter or other foods off lips or from around mouth
*inability to pucker to make a kiss sound
*inability to drink from a straw
*difficulty forming consonant sounds
*has limited facial expressions ("the serious child")
*seems to have difficulty with certain food textures My child hit 4/7. I think the thing with apraxia, is that there is probably more than just speech. The checklist above shows some of that... but there are things likes
Sensory, low tone, coordination (fine motor), oral apraxia...
