Speak Up

I have been thinking about Aulton's speech issues for awhile now. His lack of speaking ability was the main reason I had concluded he had Autism. As I have been mulling this theory around, I finally got up the courage to ask his speech therapist, Miss Marisa, what she thought. I had dreaded talking to her about this particular issue because I thought she might have reached the same conclusion. I already feel like I'm drowning half the time. I just wasn't sure I could deal with another diagnosis, just as I was getting a really good handle on the Muscular Dystrophy diagnosis. I don't freak out when people ask me questions or stare at us all the time, anymore. I didn't even over-react when an unusually rude woman asked why I was "allowed" to have a handicap sticker, after I had already put Aulton in the car. I thought the "I love someone with Muscular Dystrophy" bumper sticker warded off those kinds of questions. Anyway, Marisa was surprised that I had reached the conclusion that Aulton had Autism. We talked, at length, about some of the other characteristics that Aulton displays that fit within the Autism spectrum. Besides his lack of speech, I was concerned about his communication with other kids. He does not interact much with other children, but that is common, she said, for kids who have difficulty communicating. He knows, at least subconciously, that he is different and I'm guessing he is quite intimidated by peers' speech and movements that are quicker and more advanced than his own. He does interact with his sister, who is much smaller than him and with a classmate he sees nearly everyday and who we have playdates with. This particular child is less ambulatory than Aulton and is also non-verbal. Aulton also does well with adults, probably because they were his earliest friends due to various therapies he has been receiving since he was 4 months old. Other than those two things, Aulton gives good eye contact, is VERY affectionate and doesn't display many other common Autistic signs.

Aulton is unusually intuitive and will interact with only those who have a genuine interest in and love for him. I think that is one of the precious gifts that God gave him to help me determine who I can trust with him. He is so very close to the veil and I have had some very tender experiences recently that have touched my heart and strengthened my testimony about God's love for him and how very precious Aulton is to Him.

Marisa told me that Aulton probably has speech apraxia. This is good news to me. It's the other thing I had been considering, although I didn't have a name for it. Children (or adults) with apraxia have a hard time combining sounds to make words, although they have the vocabulary. Their minds have difficulty processing the individual sounds to make the words they already know. Aulton knows A LOT. I'm not saying he doesn't have cognitive delays, because he does. I just wish I would give him more credit for the things he knows. He is verbal, it just doesn't make much sense and he is making new sounds all the time. If he has apraxia, it's not that he doesn't have the ability to say words, it's just going to take him a lot longer to get them out because his mind needs more time to process how to fit the sounds together.

The positive things about apraxia are that I'm doing most of the "treatments" already. Children with apraxia are supposed to see a speech therapist at least once a week. We go twice a week. The parents need to follow a very consistent home routine. I do speech therapy exercises with Aulton everyday, after lunch right before he naps. He will benefit from an augmentative device, which we are in the process of getting. He chose a SpringBoard Lite and I'm sooo excited about it! His speech will also be improved by his parents' consistent urging for him to repeat sounds that we make during our daily activities. That is something I have done with him and with Lyla since their births. Lyla's vocabulary is quite extensive for a 14 month old. She says; Lyla, Aulton, Mike, dad, mama, cat, dog, rabbit, Dora, done, bubble, pop, bye, good-bye, hello, hi, yeah, yes, no, uh-oh, oh, outside, go, car, wow, whoa, and probably some other words I'm forgetting. So, since all three us are best buddies and hang out together all the time, he must be processing the same information as she is, he just can't say the same things. Lyla also identifies a lot of objects that she hasn't been able to say yet. Aulton can do this, as well. I know from Aulton's therapy that he knows how to answer where, what and who questions, knows colors, body parts, foods and can identify opposites, among other things.

So, it looks like my theory about Autism has been shot out of the water. Hooray. If it comes up in a few years, hopefully I will be in a better place to deal with it. Right now, I'm encouraged by the apraxia theory and am going to continue treating Aulton as if that is what is going on.

To see a quick video from the Telethon, for those of you who aren't on Facebook, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPkRUiWElTE
(I couldn't get it to load directly onto the blog.)
You will note my hopeful attitude about Aulton's eventual speech. I'm so madly in love with him! He is the one of the three most important people to me on this Earth and I would walk through fire for him, but the things I'm doing on a daily basis mean much more than that, I think.