Are there any SLP's familiar with apraxia of speech

My ds has a severe speech delay. I know his current s/p therapist has mentioned that they haven't ruled out apraxia just yet, but still thinks he needs more time before they can make a definite diagnosis. (He started school in September and had EI services since last March). Everything I'm reading says the earlier it is diagnosised the better in the long run. He is receiving speech 2 x for 30 mins. Do you think I should get him tested somewhere outside the school district on my own? If so, can you recommend someone in Nassau that works with CAS children? Thanks.

Re: Are there any SLP's familiar with apraxia of speech

I'm an slp that has some experience with apraxia. First I understand your current slp's lets wait and see approach b/c often times children with langauge delay will appear apraxic and then they get there language burst and obviously they were not, so often times and slp will provide treatment and an official diagnosis won't be made until the child is after three. However there are certain red flags for apraxia that are often present:
1. the child will appear to have a word one day and then have lost it the next.
2. comprehension is considerably better than their expressive language skills
3. decreased or no babbling as a baby
4. cannot consistently reproduce the same word multiple times
5. Poor verbal imitation skills
If your child is three years old what I would do is go and see a neurologist through your health insurance, although it is in scope of practice for an slp to diagnose apraxia the neurologist may back your slp's dx and rule out other possible learning difficulties, and help you to provide a solid argument for the school district to increase services. If an apraxia diagnosis is confirmed research suggests that apraxic children do best with short frequent speech therapy sessions versus longer speech sessions, so increasing from 2x30 to 4x30 would be warranted in this situation. I would also consider trying to find a PROMPT trained or certified therapist, depending on your insurance you may be able to get a portion of this paid for. HTH