I visted my son's neuro today and he was diagnosed as having Apraxia. After doing hours of research I can't seem to find much of anything out there. He can't seem to remember more than one direction at a time and he can't write but doesn't realize he didn't copy the shape correctly.

Any help would greatly be appreciated.

I don't have any experience with apraxia / dyspraxia. But... I was curious if your son is on any medication? Lots of these meds have side effects and apraxia is sometimes one. My son was on two different seizure meds (started on one, then switched to another) with dizziness as a side effect. They affected his walking - he liked to push around a doll stroller for stability. Once off of those meds, he gave up the doll stroller. Anyway, I can see dizziness affecting writing skills - it can be a vision issue.

If you decide to look up side effects, make sure you find the fda pdf file on whatever med it is. From the meds I've looked up, apraxia tends to be a more rare side effect and it generally isn't listed on every website.

Apraxia mean having difficulty with movement and especially movement that is functional. Writing is an extremely complex activity, but children with apraxia can learn -sometimes with adaptations rather than doing typical handwriting. Your son's potential for writing depends on his age and if he has any other diagnoses - as well as medications - mentioned in the other reply. The experts for treating apraxia are occupational therapists (except if it is affecting his walking also, in which case a physical therapist should be consulted).

I found this site today.... my nephew (4yrs) was recently diagnosed with Apraxia.

http://www.apraxia-kids.org/


I wish you and your son all the best!!!

Abbie

When my son was 8 and 1/2 he was tested for ADHD and sensory problems. He was born prematuraly and we wonder how much of his problems are a result of his birth or not.

You might want to check out a broader diagnosis of learning disabilities. The inability to process more than a one step direction, or copy or draw a shape may indicate a learning disability of some sort.- Children with a diagnosis of learning disabilities have brains which process information differently than "typically" developing children. We are learning more about the different kinds of learning disabilities that kids can have, and how to deal with them effectively as parents and in the educational setting. Did your neuro recommend any specific services/therapies for your son? Typically, an Apraxia diagnosis indicates a problem with coordinating our small, fine motor muscles, like those around our mouth that control our lip and tongue movement, impacting speech production/output. Perhaps your neuro is using it as a diagnosis with regard to the ability your son has to control the muscles needed when writing.
You might check out some of the sites dedicated to learning for children who are autistic. I am not in any way suggesting your so is autistic, it's just that these sites are full of good information about the various forms of learning disabilities and their therapies or treatment.
Become a passionate advocate for your son, and learn as much as you can to make sure he receives the specialized therapy or education that he needs. Locate and use every resource that you can to make sure he receives all of these services necessary to learn and thrive in his life.
Also, know that you are not alone- there are many children who learn differently. It won't be easy, but you can do it!

I know this is an older thread, but thought I'd add this potentially pertintent info:

Scientists Characterizes New Syndrome Of Allergy, Apraxia, Malabsorption
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0714104002.htm
More Printer Friendly version:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releas...-cho071309.php
Quote:
In the study, Dr. Morris collected information from nearly 200 families with children who suffered from verbal apraxia in order to better characterize the symptoms and metabolic anomalies of a subset of children. The data clearly demonstrated a common cluster of allergy, apraxia and malabsorption, along with low muscle tone, poor coordination and sensory integration abnormalities. In addition, Dr. Morris was able to gather laboratory analyses in 26 of the children, which revealed low carnitine levels, abnormal celiac panels, gluten sensitivity, and vitamin D deficiency among others.

Quote:
All children genetically screened carried an HLA gene associated with gluten sensitivity and celiac disease. "The sample size is still small and should be interpreted with caution," says Dr. Morris. "However this is of particular interest given the recent publication by Eaton and colleagues in the July 6 online edition of Pediatrics demonstrating a greater than 3-fold risk of autism in children born to mothers diagnosed with celiac disease. This brings some credibility to the anecdotal reports of gastrointestinal and behavioral improvements in children with autism spectrum disorders and/or verbal apraxia when eliminating gluten from their diets. Although the implications of these observations remain to be determined, this association and the utility of dietary modifications warrant further investigation, particularly if we can identify a genetically vulnerable group".

Quote:
Most significantly, the data indicate that the neurologic dysfunction represented in the syndrome overlaps the symptoms of vitamin E deficiency. While low vitamin E bioavailability may occur due to a variety of different causes, neurological consequences are similar, regardless of the initiating trigger. The study suggests that vitamin E could be used as a safe nutritional intervention that may benefit some children. Growing evidence support the benefits of omega 3 fatty acid supplementation in a number of neurodevelopmental disorders. Anecdotally children with verbal apraxia will often demonstrate leaps in their speech production when taking high-quality fish oil. The addition of vitamin E to omega 3 fatty acid supplementation in this cohort of children induced benefits that exceeded those expected from just speech therapy alone, according to parental report
.

Quote:
She points out that it is equally important for children given an apraxia diagnosis to receive a more comprehensive metabolic evaluation than what is current practice. Many of the nutritional deficiencies like low carnitine, zinc and vitamin D are easily treated. By not addressing the nutritional deficiencies, the child will continue to suffer from significant medical consequences of those deficiencies. The first step is to identify and treat the deficiencies. The next step is to try to figure out why they have these deficiencies and a fat malabsorption syndrome in the first place. However, Dr. Morris does advise families to work closely with a physician rather than trying promising but unproven interventions on their own.

Children's Hospital & Research Center at Oakland (2009, July 15). Scientists Characterizes New Syndrome Of Allergy, Apraxia, Malabsorption. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 15, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/07/090714104002.htm


This on dyslexia:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...icle444290.ece

My son 2 1/2 yrs old diagnosed with apraxia several months ago and have been going to speech thereapist 3 times a week for 30 minutes sessions.

I am still suspection if this is all what is troubled with. He has a very small attention span. Does not respond well to what he is told ( like, stop, go simple things.)
My sons wasy saying his name when he was 16 months old, he was doing great but things changed!!! We were told there is unconfirmed connection between his condition and the scheduled shoths given to children.
This was said by 30 yrs practitioner.
Now there are articles stating there no connections or no side affects from shots.

Since his therapy started ( he also attends a social group 3 times a week for 3 hours every attendance ) we are told he is doing so much better.

Now, he knows the alphabet, counts to 10 ( skipping 3 and 4 even though he knows them ) and say several words.

I do understand that this is a very long process and we are trying to do all we can like any parent would do but I belive there is more to it.

One day when my wife took him to his speech therapy, I asked her to ask the therapist about gluten free diet since I have read what was posted above when he was diagnosed with apraxia, and my wife was told they are taking all things step by step. 1st step is therapy sessions.
Started as 2 times a week and therapist wanted to add 1 more which we are told he is getting better.
Waiting to see what next..

We will be meeting with his specialist at the end of summer for evaluation of over all condition and progress.

I realize this is an older post, yet, my youngest sons Speech and Language Pathologist brought this to the table as his diagnosis for my son. He's had Early Intervention Services, since 3. He's now 6. He has had four days a week of therapy, and it's now ramped up to five for speech, plus occupational therapy(which apraxia can cause fine motor troubles), and physical therapy , as modified physical education activities--sports he is ok with, just he is right side predominant. Can count to 100, knows his alphabet, but this is just what he has.

My second born/middle son, has developmental delay, with speech and language involvement, as well. These diagnosis' take time. He is the one, currently seeing a neurologist. And this doctor, does state, that the therapy that he is receiving in this school system, is what he needs.

Now, with this result from a group meeting with the team working with my youngest, I will take to his pediatrician, and I presume, he will now, also see the neurologist. My middle son, got in sooner, when he had some physical 'gait' fine motor issues, and it was just a different experience, getting there.

According to this site and the information about Apraxia, it's the most severe of speech disorders.

The town does have a group for parents, an advisory council, to be precise. So, I am not sure, if other children in this area have apraxia, but it was good to find this web-link.

My son was diagnosed with apraxia and dysarthria when he was about 2. I was extremely proactive in his treatment and we were fortunate to live in an area with lots of resources.

My son is now 22 and will be graduating from college shortly. I am posting because it is so difficult when you are in the moment with your "baby" to really remember that a learning disability is not a knock on your child's intelligence. Their circuitry works differently.

We did speech therapy, phonetic based reading programs, vision therapy to strengthen the muscles in his eyes because his tracking was poor. Then at about 4-5th grade he needed help writing papers. I had been told that he would have difficulty getting the information from his brain on to paper and into a clear format.

The last special tutoring he did was 6th grade.
His SAT scores were crazy high. His memory is outstanding.

A learning disability can just mean your child learns differently.
Find the right people to help you and don't despair.