roni, I did take Alex to an OT who specializes in sensory integration, but her response was puzzling. She had lots of great ideas, strategies, and explanations for what is happening to Alex, but she did not recommend seeing her for therapy because her motor skills were fine (?). I was so disappointed, because Alex loved going there and I think she had the most to offer us. She had lots of neat exercises and equipment for it as well as ideas for releasing stress. I need to go back and reread her report, as I can't exactly remember how she explained her reason of not taking Alex as a patient. She highly recommended having Alex tested for auditory processing, which we did today. Alex crashed after about an hour and a half, which the audiologist said was super for her age even though we have another half hour or so to finish up. She found some very interesting things, she said--areas of "brilliance" and areas of real struggle, things that affect her comprehension. Beginning next week, the audiologist, our counselor, and a child psychologist are going to be sharing a building (all their offices together with a shared reception area) and working as a team for situations like ours. When our counselor told us she was going to moving into the building, I hadn't realized what she meant! We got to see the picture they took of Alex the first time she went in for audiology when she was only 3, which was fun. We go back to finish up the testing on July 1, so we won't know any details until then. Anyway, I am now thinking the OT may have told us to first get the auditory processing testing done as she very much felt there was an issue there. Maybe she could join our "team"! Her office is right next door! But I do remember her telling us she couldn't really do much for Alex since her eye/hand and coordination difficulties do not stem from a motor skills problem. I don't understand what that means. If you have problems, why does it matter whether they are the result of a processing disorder or a motor skills (physical as opposed to neurological?) problem. I would think an OT would deal with both, particularly one who specializes in sensory integration therapy. I really appreciate what you wrote here: If her symptoms have some physical cause behind them, all the counseling in the world won't help. I think you're right on target! After today, though, I am hoping it might be a good component in a multi-faceted approach. Sheesh, that sounded hoity-toity! I mean, I like the idea of counseling much better when it's paired with the other specialties and the therapy is shared. Paige, how wonderful to have a fun summer ahead!! I'm very glad for you. After my first marriage broke up, I had a very great fear of men and swore I would never let anyone get close. I didn't, and although I can't be too sad since I got my wonderful dh by waiting (15 years), I still spent all the years of my older children's upbringing alone. In retrospect, I don't think it was very healthy for them as neither seems to be able to form close relationships with the opposite sex. I'm afraid my suspicion and fear is a legacy I've left them, sigh. They are 26 and 28 now so I guess there is still plenty of time, since it took me half my life :)

Is he is speech therapy with a licensed SLP? I know you said 'Early Childhood Speech program -- but the quality of those programs can vary widely, and an ineffective program or one that's geared toward a problem your son doesn't have won't do much (if any) good! My younger son had a great deal of difficulty with speech, but luckily for us, a good friend put me in touch with our city's best resource -- so my son's speech problem was diagnosed quickly and correctly (childhood apraxia of speech) and we began appropriate treatment right away. Within a few weeks, it was very clear that the treatment he was receiving was effective, and we began to see good results. But then we moved, and he was enrolled in our local school's Early Childhood Speech Program. It took me several months to ferret out that their "treatment program" was what is called a "language enrichment" model -- In a nutshell, they assumed that the child had been language-deprived at home, and that all he needed was lots of exposure to good language models, a little encouragement, and time to develop. WRONG! It took 3 meetings, finally bringing in the district's head SLP to get the school to provide appropriate treatment -- at which point, positive progress resumed. Ninos - I've seen your writing, and it's clear you're able to provide your son with good speech and language models, so just being around more good speech won't cure your son's speech problem. If the other kids his age are teasing him because of his speech, your son needs speech therapy. If it's just a few sounds that are problematic and he's speaking in complete sentences, then it's probably not as serious a problem as my son's, and just a few months of good therapy should be able to really help. I'm linking to a site called Apraxia-Kids.org. I'm not suggesting your son has Apraxia (unlikely) -- just that this site has the most incredible resources for early childhood speech problems. Here is a link that might be useful: Apraxia-Kids

Our daughter, now 25 yrs old, was diagnosed with apraxia when she was 18 months old. She attended a special pre-school for babies/toddlers with language/speech problems. She also learned sign language so she could communicate (and we took classes, also) and had private speech and language lessons with a speech pathologist who specialized in infant speech development. When she went onto elementary school, she had speech three times a week. It was very tough and a very emotional time. However, she's 25 now, speaks normally, and is a wonderful girl! She still has some slight problems with understanding directions and will probably also have some slight problems with understanding speech. However, she is able to work as an administrative assistant (she's a whiz in the computer!) and commands a high salary as her computer skills are outstanding. She didn't have to talk to a computer. :) It's a tough road, but use all the resourses your county has to offer including special pre-schools, etc. All of our daughter's pre- schooling, speech and language classes, sign language, etc, were paid for by our state and county.

Hi Lazygarden: Let's make this clear. I have a B.S. degree in Computer Science, minor in chemistry, graduated in 1986 from Grand Valley State University, MI. I also took Biochemistry, Organic chemistry, Pathophysiology, Child-development, and Abnormal Behavior Psychology. I'm also a Mom of a 12-year old who had speech-problem since she was 3. Lazygarden: What university did you graduate from, and are you a parent of a child with developmental problems? ReganMom, the poster of this thread, specifically asked "Has anyone had a similar situation, and how did you deal with it?" If you look at Amazon reviews on Carlson liquid fish oil, most recommended by M.D. to lower blood cholesterol and triglycerides, you'll see this review by a parent: http://www.amazon.com/Carlson-Finest-Liquid-Omega-3-Lemon/dp/B001LF39RO "our family has been using carlson's fish oil for many months now. i initially purchased it bc my son's speech therapist told me that a couple of her student's parents swore by the stuff. they say it's good for brain development. i was curious to try it out. i ended up giving it to the whole family (a spoonful in juice/milk/smoothie) every morning for health reasons." This is from livestrong.com: http://www.livestrong.com/article/353655-fish-oil-for-a-toddler-with-speech-developmental-delays/ Cognitive Benefits Omega-3 fatty acids are highly concentrated in the brain. They are important for brain function and may be effective for improving thinking skills. According to Special Kids Today, fish oil may improve language skills and eye contact in children with apraxia of speech, which is characterized by difficulty planning and producing the movements needed for speaking. Although there is no substitute for speech therapy, your child's doctor may recommend combining fish oil supplements with therapy. Below is another Mom who posted on CircleofMom, see link below: Michele - posted on 10/20/2012 "Hi we have had good luck with using Omega 3 supplements with our daughter. She was diagnosed at 2 with dyspraxia and SPD. She did not talk until she was 5. She is 15 now and talks your ear off. But we are still working on sentence lenght and clarity as her misarticulations are a result of a habit, We started using the Omega 3 about 3 years ago and we can tell when she is consistantly taking them and when she is not... She speaks clearer and with more words in a sentence. For those who are starting the road of therapy I offer that I would be happy to chat at anytime. Or answer any questions...we have done it all. I also offer that I have a website that tells more about Elizabeth and her journey for those interested. www,michelegianetti.com Here is a link that might be useful: Omega-3 helping with apraxia This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Fri, Oct 10, 14 at 16:55