Ava’s Journey with Apraxia Speech Therapy
“I did my research on apraxia”
Lindsay Thomas is the mother of two young children. Lately she has been spending lots of time in the car seeking help for her younger child, Ava, who is three-and-a-half. Ava has been diagnosed with apraxia of speech, a very rare disorder.
“Childhood apraxia of speech is different from some other children’s speech disorders,” explains Lindsay. “It’s not a problem with muscles in the face or mouth but a neurological disorder. Children know what they want to say but have a problem getting the words out.”
When Ava was diagnosed, Lindsay did her research on Jacksonville-area speech pathologists. When she visited the website of Jacksonville Speech and Hearing Center and read all the positive reviews, she knew that she had found help.
“Ava is shy but immediately loved her teacher, Katy,” said Lindsay. “Katy makes it fun and Ava loves coming here. Katy even knows that Ava loves the Disney Princesses and has used that in the treatment.”
“Ava will work hard for Katy.” Lindsay adds. “She makes it so fun and is so patient with her.”
The treatment involves starting with consonant sounds and then connecting that to the different vowels. There is a lot of repetition and Ava is likely to be in long-term treatment for up to five years.
“When we started here she was only saying about 20 words,” Lindsay explained. “This treatment has boosted her confidence to where she is starting to put sentences together and adding words to her vocabulary. It is great progress.”
Ava’s story was also featured on Jacksonville.com.
