While we are not giving up on Stacia being able to talk our goal has always been communication. I have always said I don't care if Stacia uses ASL, uses PECS, Uses her AAC, or if she talks I just want her to communicate.
Tonight we had the normal get ready for bed routine though she did communicate that she wanted a bath by taking off just about all her clothes. Her shirt was a little tight in the neck so she needed some help there. If that hadn't been the case it would have been off. After she was almost naked she proceeded to sit in the tub and wait just looking at me. The look that said, "Come on Mama get a clue already I want a bath."
After her bath and she was all ready to be tucked into bed she voiced Puz which means Puzzles. I have a set of puzzles for kids on my phone that I allow her to play. Ones that are way too easy for her now so I need some other ones to down load the app too. Any of my readers have any suggestions please comment below. I decided to try and find a few for on the lap top. One of Stacia's IEP goals for Occupational Therapy is to be able to operate a computer mouse. What better way to motivate her than with a puzzle she loves. I found a few and we had fun doing them together.
Stacia used her AAC tonight to tell her sister and me good night, to ask for hugs, to ask for kisses. She even used it to tell me that she was scared of the dark and could the light be left on.
Now if I could only get her to ask for the milk instead of trying to be Miss Independent and trying to get it herself. All right I would settle for her just asking to have the milk as I want to encourage her to do things independently as much as possible. Just as long as I don't need the last of the jug for something and that she doesn't try to pour a full gallon and spill.
I am very pleased and extremely happy with Stacia's strong attempts to communicate with me and her sister earlier this evening. Here's praying that I can be reporting more and more of her strides in communication in the very near future.
Stacia and Goliath
taken Jan 2010 age 27.5 months
Showing posts with label AAC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AAC. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Miracles Happen
Before everyone starts getting really excited No Stacia is not talking on her own yet.
We got the news sometime on Wednesday (28th) that our insurance was going to cover Stacia's Dynavox Maestro and that we needed to give the funding coordinator a call. Larry got this message when he checked his voice mail on his way home from work early Thursday morning. I got to listen to the message when he got home since I was still up.
Thursday morning we called the coordinator back and found out that our insurance was covering 80% of the costs which means we only had to pay the remaining 20% this is getting better because we had figured at best they would cover 70% of the costs if they even covered it at all. From what I am finding out it is unheard of for private insurance to pay anything towards an AAC. We worked out what the monthly payment amount would be and got the paperwork faxed back.
I received a call at 4 pm that the device was being shipped and we should receive it the next day. 9:15 am Friday morning here comes UPS driving in, I went out on the steps without shoes and signed for her package. It was here.
Currently we are in the process of getting things set up and helping Stacia review how to use it. I say review because she did get some use on the trial one in therapy last summer.
We are all excited about her being able to talk more and have a voice.
We got the news sometime on Wednesday (28th) that our insurance was going to cover Stacia's Dynavox Maestro and that we needed to give the funding coordinator a call. Larry got this message when he checked his voice mail on his way home from work early Thursday morning. I got to listen to the message when he got home since I was still up.
Thursday morning we called the coordinator back and found out that our insurance was covering 80% of the costs which means we only had to pay the remaining 20% this is getting better because we had figured at best they would cover 70% of the costs if they even covered it at all. From what I am finding out it is unheard of for private insurance to pay anything towards an AAC. We worked out what the monthly payment amount would be and got the paperwork faxed back.
I received a call at 4 pm that the device was being shipped and we should receive it the next day. 9:15 am Friday morning here comes UPS driving in, I went out on the steps without shoes and signed for her package. It was here.
Currently we are in the process of getting things set up and helping Stacia review how to use it. I say review because she did get some use on the trial one in therapy last summer.
We are all excited about her being able to talk more and have a voice.
Monday, November 28, 2011
New Therapist and Mom's thoughts on Communication
Stacia has added another therapist to the list of ones she is seeing. She started seeing Beth at PTC where she goes for private therapy. She will continue to see JoAnna as well for speech along with Polly for OT. Since I (mama) had my times mixed up thinking I had to leave home at the time we needed to be there she ended up only going for 30 minutes instead of 45 minutes. In some ways it worked out good since it gave her a chance to ease in a bit with Beth.
Stacia made several sounds including the z sound though we only got it once and we could not get her to repeat it. This is not something unusual for children with childhood apraxia of speech to make a sound when playing or doing something else where they are not concentrating on making a sound to make a sound and than when they have to concentrate on that sound not being able to make that sound.
Stacia is starting to reach the point where she is realizing that other people can express themselves with their mouths and that she has a hard time doing that. She is getting to the point where she does not even want to try to talk. Which would explain why she has regressed some from what she was doing last spring.
Right now we are giving her lots of praise for any sound that she makes with the exception of screaming or crying. If we want her to made a b sound and she makes the m sound we are going to be praising her for making a sound.
She did go to preschool this week after missing last week due to being sick though since it was only 2 days scheduled it was a review week. They ended up having only 1 day with so many out sick or having vehicles broken down. She has 3 classmates 2 girls and a boy in her class though there is supposed to be another girl starting soon.
Her teacher is very supportive of the fact that we are planning on homeschooling her once she reaches kindergarten. Half her class are those that are going to go to be home educated and that other half will be going to public school.
Her teacher says she is doing great at school and appears to know as much and in some areas even more than the other children the only problem is she has no way of communicating to let the world know how much she knows. One advantage to having her in such a small private preschool is she gets a lot more 1 on 1 attention and her teacher is use other ways of finding out what she knows. Today they worked on colors:Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Black, and Brown and I was told the only one she struggled with was Orange. She can't say the names but she can point to the different ones as you ask for them or she can hand you an object of that color.
We are working on getting her an Alternative and Assitive Communication Device (AAC) though while we are waiting to hear from the insurance on rather they are going to cover the cost or not we are getting her some training in using a Picture Exchange Card System (PECS) so that between that and using American Sign Language she can communicate what she wants and needs at least to a simple degree that is more than using ASL for those who know it and can sign with her or pointing for those that don't.
While Stacia is not able to say much with her mouth she says so much with her hands, her body and her eyes. Now if the world would just learn to read and listen to children like Stacia who don't communicate with their voices. Listen not with your ears but listen with your heart to children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech because children like Stacia have so much to share and tell us if only we listen. Sometimes it is hard I know because I walk this road everyday.
Stacia made several sounds including the z sound though we only got it once and we could not get her to repeat it. This is not something unusual for children with childhood apraxia of speech to make a sound when playing or doing something else where they are not concentrating on making a sound to make a sound and than when they have to concentrate on that sound not being able to make that sound.
Stacia is starting to reach the point where she is realizing that other people can express themselves with their mouths and that she has a hard time doing that. She is getting to the point where she does not even want to try to talk. Which would explain why she has regressed some from what she was doing last spring.
Right now we are giving her lots of praise for any sound that she makes with the exception of screaming or crying. If we want her to made a b sound and she makes the m sound we are going to be praising her for making a sound.
She did go to preschool this week after missing last week due to being sick though since it was only 2 days scheduled it was a review week. They ended up having only 1 day with so many out sick or having vehicles broken down. She has 3 classmates 2 girls and a boy in her class though there is supposed to be another girl starting soon.
Her teacher is very supportive of the fact that we are planning on homeschooling her once she reaches kindergarten. Half her class are those that are going to go to be home educated and that other half will be going to public school.
Her teacher says she is doing great at school and appears to know as much and in some areas even more than the other children the only problem is she has no way of communicating to let the world know how much she knows. One advantage to having her in such a small private preschool is she gets a lot more 1 on 1 attention and her teacher is use other ways of finding out what she knows. Today they worked on colors:Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Black, and Brown and I was told the only one she struggled with was Orange. She can't say the names but she can point to the different ones as you ask for them or she can hand you an object of that color.
We are working on getting her an Alternative and Assitive Communication Device (AAC) though while we are waiting to hear from the insurance on rather they are going to cover the cost or not we are getting her some training in using a Picture Exchange Card System (PECS) so that between that and using American Sign Language she can communicate what she wants and needs at least to a simple degree that is more than using ASL for those who know it and can sign with her or pointing for those that don't.
While Stacia is not able to say much with her mouth she says so much with her hands, her body and her eyes. Now if the world would just learn to read and listen to children like Stacia who don't communicate with their voices. Listen not with your ears but listen with your heart to children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech because children like Stacia have so much to share and tell us if only we listen. Sometimes it is hard I know because I walk this road everyday.
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