Apraxia

[ksl5f123]

Hi everyone!

My 2yo son was recently diagnosed with Apraxia of Speech (yes, I know that is young). We get by at home with a combination of pointing and baby signs (because I don't know ASL). At this time, his only spoken words are "mama" and "uh-oh".

I was wondering if there were any words/signs that you found necessary at WDW that you might not use day-to-day at home. For example, we are travelling in March when the weather can go from quite cool in the morning to very warm in the afternoon. I was planning to teach him some signs for "hot" and "cold" so he could let me know if he needed a jacket on or off.

He already knows signs for "more", "done", "eat", and "drink" (as well as a bunch of animals, but those aren't very useful )

Also, any tips for interacting with characters? I have 3 other children. Should I just let them do the talking? Translate his signs? This is all very new to us, so any help is appreciated.

 

[lovedonald]

Did you have an Ipad.? If so there are lots of apps that are for augmentative communication that could help him. There is pogo boards AAC. Proloquo2go, my first AAC and many others. If you search the App Store and type in AAC a lot will come up.

Also you can always make pictures and put them on a book ring with the things he would want to say.

Does your son see a Speech Therapist? If he has apraxia that should be the first thing you do. His therapist could also help you put signs or books together using picture symbols.

I hope you have a great trip!

 

[ladyjubilee]

My son is non-verbal. School uses PECS, at home we use verbal and sign, but we all know basic sign so were comfortable signing.

When my son was very young, he had a 'bracelet' that was basically a soft piece of Velcro chord strap-double sided. We put on miniature pictures for bathroom, hungry, thirsty, ride, and occasionally other words as the situation dictated. Plus 'help'. I made it for about $.10 and it was much to customize than ones I seen on the market.... and way cheaper.

I may be breaking a rule giving specific products, but I guess the mods can delete as necessary.

We also work on those signs and verbalizations. Though school pushes PECS, given a choice my son verbalized and signs. However, I have added pictures of the attractions to his tablet, the families tablets and our phones-making sure it is the 'vehicle' so that he can pick what he wants to ride. The pictures are broken down by park, then by land. We use Posco, as it available on iPhone, android and windows. Not only is it available on all devices, but I like the interface.

Signing savvy is a free resource for ASL. I find their videos very clear and helpful... plus free, though you have to register to see more than a specified number per day.

Something else we do when we go out is practicing getting help. We have my son approach first responders (police, fire, EMS) and staff, sign help and point to his safety tat that says he is nonverbal and has my phone number.

 

[ttintagel]

A lot of kids like to hug the characters, so that might be a sign or picture that could come in handy. Maybe one for taking a picture?

 

[ksl5f123]

Thanks everyone! He does have both a SLP and a speech therapist. He has been in speech therapy for 4 months, but progress is slow.

We have been working on "help". I will make sure we get that one down.

I am the uber-park planner in the family and nobody else gets much say in the touring plan. We will repeat any rides he likes if he signs "more".

I was thinking maybe I needed signs for "in" and "out" of the stroller, but he makes that pretty clear just by climbing in or out.

"hug" and "picture" are good ideas!