Life, Interrupted: And then there was Two, the reaction to having a second child

What do these words mean?

Apraxia of speech is a neurogenic speech disorder characterized by sensorimotor problems in positioning and sequencing the correct sounds of a word. Apraxia is not caused by muscle weakness of neuromuscular slowness. Individuals with apraxia of speech may have difficulty saying what they would like to say.

Augmentative and Alternative Communitcation (AAC) is any device, system or method that improves the ability of a child with communication impairment to communicate effectively. Although AAC is often used to refer to formal communication devices and systems such as sign language, communication boards or voice output communication aids (VOCAs), it can include less sophisticated means of communication such as facial expressions, non-speech vocalizations, idiosyncratic gestures, etc. AAC is used when a child does not develop communication in the normal fashion, or experiences a significant delay in its development. AAC is not merely a substitute for how the child is currently communicating. It is used to augment that communication, replacing only elements that are unintelligible, socially unacceptable, or harmful to the child or others. Ideally, an AAC system includes more than one mode of communication, with the child using whichever is the most efficient given the persons, setting and activity at hand. Very often one of the modes of communication in an AAC program is natural speech.

Central Auditory Processing Disorder is the impaired ability to attend, discriminate, recognize or comprehend auditory information even though hearing and intelligence are within normal limits. Symptoms of Central Auditory Processing Disorder include but are not limited to:1. Individual easily distracted or bothered by loud noises.2. Individual is upset in noisy environments.3. Individual’s performance improves in quieter enviornments.4. Individual has difficulty following simple and complex commands.5. Individual has difficulties with reading, spelling and writing.6. Individual is disorganized.7. Individual has difficulty following conversations.

Phonological processes are techniques used by children to simplify speech when attempting to produce adult words. The phonological processes include:

Deletion of Final ConsonantsExample: cup becomes cu Syllable ReductionExample: telephone becomes telphoneStoppingExample: soup becomes doupGlidingExample: blue becomes bueExample:chair becomes tairVoicingExample: cup becomes gupExample: fishing becomes bishingDeaffricationExample: chair becomes thairExample: orange becomes orandDevoicingExample: frog becomes frokExample: bathtub becomes bathtupFrontingExample: car becomes tarExample: wagon becomes wadon

Phonological Awareness refers to the awareness of the sound structure of language. It is the ability to manipulate and think about the structure of language. Phonological awareness is the knowledge that words are made from sounds. This can affect the following:

1. Syllabification and rhyming as discussed above are the first skills2. Blending sounds into words such as “f--i---sh” is “fish”3. Isolating the beginning or ending sounds in a word i.e. “fish” starts with “f” “boat” ends with “t” 4. Segmenting words into sounds i.e. “what sounds are in the word ‘dish’-d—i—sh”5. Deleting the beginning or ending sound and telling what word remains i.e. “say ‘beat’ now say it again without the ‘b’---eat

Language is used for talking to and with others, to signal needs, intentions, feelings, and thoughts. Language is also used for self-talking (thinking), and for controlling and directing one's own behavior as well as for controlling and directing the behavior of others. It involves the understanding and use of words and word combinations.

Children with autism and related disorders exhibit deficits in social-communication skills such as language, imitation, emotion sharing, play, and social interaction skills. In addition, they also may have some associated behavioral difficulties such as aggression, severe tantrums, difficulty with transitions, self-stimulatory behavior and may exhibit delayed cognitive or self-help skills. When a child has a confirmed or possible diagnosis of autism, the family plays an especially key role in their child's treatment program. We work together with families to support their child's social-communication, behavioral and emotional growth.

Oral motor skills refers to how articulators such as the tongue, lips and muscles of the face work together to produce effective movements. Oral motor skills affect controlling saliva secretions, eating, drinking and speaking.

A language disorder is the impairment in the ability to understand and/or use words in context, both verbally and nonverbally. Some characteristics of language disorders include improper use of words and their meanings, inability to express ideas, inappropriate grammatical patterns, reduced vocabulary and inability to follow directions. One or a combination of these characteristics may occur in children who are affected by language learning disabilities or developmental language delay. Children may hear or see a word but not be able to understand its meaning. They may have trouble getting others to understand what they are trying to communicate. An evaluation will identify your child's difficulty understanding and/or using language. Therapy will help your child learn to use language appropriately and accurately.

In the beginning

It started with a perfect pregnancy, labor was slow, and finally they gave enough petocin to birth a horse. 18 hours after my water broke, they used forceps and my son was born. 41 1/2 weeks. My son was in fetal distress for a long long time and nobody did anything about it until it was too late. He had neonatal seizures and had a 10 day stay in the NICU. He was referred straight into the Birth to 3 program and was in Physical Therapy at age 5 weeks. Now he has severe brain damage but is doing phenomenally well all things considered as a direct result of the Early Intervention Program.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

And then there was Two, the reaction to having a second child

I had a traumatic birthing process with my son. As part of my"recovery" my OB gave strict instructions to get back to business as soon as possible to help with healing. Armed with protection, we complied. Well, apparently the only fire sure 100% protection is abstinence. 357 days later,baby #2 was born. The first 3 months I didn't really know I was pregnant,and the next month I was in denial. The following months were characterizedin SEVERE anxiety attacks, panic attacks, and just plain old severe clinical depression. I made sure the new OB was on board with a planned C Section no later than the start of week 38. I did not want to go into labor at night,to meet up with another doctor at the hospital who would make me delivernaturally again. After that, I didn't stress about a traumatic birth, only about the C Section. And did I stress. I did not want the child at all but Iwas in a marriage, a good marriage with a white collar professional, so I couldn't give up for adoption or abort. I did not form any sort ofattachment to the child when it was in utero. Didn't have any excitement about much. As I was being rolled into the Surgical room for the C Section,I said outloud, "I don't want to do this." The OB just calmly said " well, it is a bit too late now, it is being done and you are going to be ok." My poor husband was just as freightened as I was, so he wasn't much help. LOL. Once my #2 son was cleaned up and brought back to me (I was still in the operating room) I had that instantaneously overwhelming flood of emotional Love at first sight. I hadn't had that with my first son because as soon ashe came out, the flood gates of doctors stormed the room and took over whilemy OB tended to my injuries. This time around for you, you will be more aware to your body and your pregnancy and can react accordingly. I will tell you that shortly after my#2 son was born, their pediatrician said "I know you don't realize this now,but this is the biggest blessing for your #1 son. He will be more of a motivator than all of the therapists combined. That has been VERY true. My #2 son helps "teach my #1 son how to play". The downside, , is that #2 son wants another sibling now. He wants a brother he can play with normally. But he is only 5. He loves his brother tremendously, keeps an eye out for him and has taken over the big brother role.

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In the beginning

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Thursday, May 15, 2008

And then there was Two, the reaction to having a second child

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