Jake's Journey with Apraxia

I finally got my apraxia & food allergy information packet ready for Jake’s new Pre-K 4 teacher. He is so excited to start school and while I am a little nervous, I also know how good this is going to be for both of us. The moment has finally come and we are ready to enter this next phase of our journey.

What resources did I use to gather my information for apraxia?

• CASANA – Apraxia Kids News – Special Back to School Resources Issue: I chose to do the first two documents listed on this page:

1. “My child has apraxia: Letter to a teacher” – I liked this concept, but only used the first paragraph. I gave a brief summary of our situation.
2. “Letter to teachers of young children” – One-page resume type document with lots of colors and sections. I loved this layout because it was easy to read and a lot of information was all in one place. My document ended up being one page, but I had to use front and back. My sections were written in first person as if Jake was explaining it to is teacher. Sections are as follows:

• A few things about me
• Food allergies
• Food intolerances
• I excel at …
• I struggle with …
• I do things a little differently from everyone else
• What is apraxia of speech?
• I may need a little extra help in class with my speech
• In speech therapy we are working on …
• Self-correcting feedback techniques (how to handle speech errors)

• The blog, “Speaking of Apraxia“ – Leslie Lindsay has done several back to school posts that were very helpful.

• The book, “Speaking of Apraxia,” by Leslie Lindsay. I re-read Chapter 11: “Off to School: Preparing Your Child (and Yourself!)” and I really got a lot out of it. One of my favorite things she mentioned was creating a parent/teacher communication sheet, which is something the parent types up and gives the teacher to fill out daily. This is such a great idea and a great at-home speech tool! Leslie listed things such as how verbal her child was (scale 1-10), what she struggled with, who she played with, etc. Many of these options can be “circle me” options to make it quick and easy for the teacher.

• Our Intensive Summary Report by Lynn Carahaly at Foundations Developmental House.

What about food allergy resources?

Keeley Mcguire, my favorite food allergy mama blogger, provided an amazing back to school post that is slam-packed full of resources. Because of her, I have peace of mind and feel prepared in case of an emergency. Click here to read “Back to School Must Haves for Kids with Food Allergies.”