How Bobo Became Diego
A Mother and Child Illustrate Their Journey Through Childhood Apraxia of Speech
Natasha Ogryzlo, CCC-SLP, shares a special book she received from a mother and son after helping them cope with childhood apraxia of speech.
Click on image to open book
Background
When D. was 28 months old, his mother brought him to our speech and language program with concerns regarding his spoken language skills. At that time, he was using only a few idiosyncratic words and his intelligibility to unfamiliar listeners was poor. His initial assessment indicated a severe delay in his expressive language skills, age-appropriate comprehension and social skills. He attended therapy regularly from the time he was 30 months until he was five years old. Over time it became apparent that his functioning was consistent with childhood apraxia of speech.
D. was discharged from public health when he entered kindergarten. At that time, he continued to present with a moderate-severe articulation delay/disorder. His expressive language skills were mildly delayed. His expressive vocabulary was age-appropriate, but his length of utterance was shorter than expected and his grammatical skills were mildly delayed. So, we continued to hold at-home therapy sessions twice a week with D. for two more years. His articulation skills increased and by the age of seven, he had a mild articulation delay and his conversational skills were essentially age-appropriate. However, D. continued to struggle academically with reading, writing and mathematics. He was also diagnosed with ADHD and a learning disability.
His mother made this book for me when we ended therapy. Working with D. and his mother was a pleasure; I learned about the importance of family buy-in. This family found ways to incorporate therapy into all kinds of activities and showed me the importance of having fun throughout the process. D. is now 11 and, according to his mother, he never stops talking!
Natasha Ogryzlo, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Natasha.Ogryzlo@vch.ca
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