Sweeby, I know this is so hard for you AND for your son. As a special ed teacher, I can throw out a couple ideas that have worked for me with some of my kiddoes. I have had everything from ID (the old MR), LD, ED, PDD, autism... One thing I would ask him if he says that he is not intelligent is what he thinks that means. Introduce him to Howard Gardner's "Seven Intelligences" and he will be able to see which kind of intelligence he has. He needs to know that just because he is not strong on linguistic intelligence or whatever, he may be "people smart" or "art smart" or "music smart" as we explain it to our elementary school kids. There are so many careers that he should be able to find something he loves. His teacher/case manager should already be focusing on vocational goals for/with him Next, I am assuming that he has an IEP, so I would be sure it is addressing not only his academic needs, but also his social, emotional, and transition to work needs. If you don't feel it is doing that, request a meeting. An IEP is a document that can be rewritten at any time if changes are needed. Once a student hits 14, transition planning is a required element of the IEP process. Special education operates under Federal mandates and those are very clear. Some districts do a great job, some...well, not even acceptable. He should be allowed accommodations such as extended time on tests. Our state tests are untimed, but for timed tests, most of my students get extra time-at least time and a half and sometimes more. Check with your state DOE to make sure the school is just not wanting to take the easy way out here. I am not saying they would, but it takes a lot more scheduling time to administer tests to our sped kiddoes since you need extra teachers to administer the tests when not everyone is receiving the same accommodations. For instance, if some get extra time and read-aloud, they need to be in a separate group from those who get only extended time. It is a nightmare for the test coordinator, but it is necessary to ensure that my students receive what has been agreed to on the IEP. Also, the school psychologist and/or counselor may run something like friendship groups during lunch or at other times that can offer specific, direct instruction in a social setting for kids who need help navigating the world of human interactions. Don't be afraid to push back if your son isn't getting what you believe he needs. Every district should have a monitoring and compliance division for parents and students whose concerns are not addressed at the school level. Knowing that he may have to work longer and harder than some others is a good lesson, but it can also be extremely frustrating and discouraging if he realizes his entire life may be one of always having to work longer and harder and never achieving as much. He needs to find his passion and then everyone can work together to see that he can incorporate that into his future in some way.

My DS was misdiagnosed with verbal apraxia for a while, but we finally found out that he really has sensory integration dysfunction (SID). I remember reading TONS of info on the Web about apraxia - I just did a google search. Good luck to you, with kids who have these types of problems it can get very tiring, but just keep trying for his sake. Email me if you'd like to "talk".

Well, he's hardly a toddler! My son is now 15, but was diagnosed as a toddler with apraxia (global) and later, with PDD-NOS and misc. other issues. But Apraxia was his first diagnosis, and, IMO, the one that is most relevent and meaningful. He's a WONDERFUL kid, and therapy (Speech and later OT) helped him immensely. We went to daily 1:1 speech therapy for years, and now he speaks quite well. As you will no doubt learn, *the right* therapy is essential, and will become an all-day, every-day thing for your family for the next few years. The Apraxia-Kids web site and listserv is a LIFE-SAVER! If you haven't found it already, stop reading this and go there NOW ;-) And if you get the chance, tell Sharon and Donna how wonderful they you've heard they are.

Guess I'll introduce myself over here, though many of you already 'know' me or will recognize my screen name since I'm pretty vocal on many other forums! I'm Susan and I live in Houston, TX with my wonderful husband Jason and younger son John (14, with high functioning autism and apraxia). Older son is off at college. I have my own little company designing software for the hospitality industry, and Jason is a professional remodeler who is 'semi-retired' now and working on our house -- a complete rebuild. I first found GW through the Kitchen forum when we re-did our kitchen about five years ago, and I've become progressively more addicted aver since. My zodiac sign is Gemini, and I'm a Gemini in the kitchen as well. Some days, I just want something quick and easy (but still fresh and from scratch please!); other times I love to putter and spend hours making homemade soups and inventing dishes of one sort or another. Recipes? Not so much... They're good for inspiration, but when I'm in the mood to cook, don't tell me what to do! The toughest part of cooking for me? Figuring out what to cook! What a PITA... I need to come over here for inspiration more often.