I was inspired to seek out alternative medical treatment for Jake in 2012 when I stumbled across the research study “Syndrome of Allergy, Apraxia, and Malabsorption: Characterization of a Neurodevelopmental Phenotype that Responds to Omega 3 and Vitamin E Supplementation” by Claudia Morris, MD and Marilyn Agin.
The results of the experiment suggest that children with apraxia are sensitive to gluten coupled with other nutritional deficiencies caused by malabsorption. Essentially, the body is not absorbing the nutrients that it takes in and the result is a faulty system that doesn’t operate as it should. The stats impressed me – 97% of the 187 children showed some level of improvement with supplementation – and I set off on my quest to discover the root cause of Jake’s apraxia.
A little over a year after starting our diet/supplement program, Jake tested out of apraxia and a few months after that, he was dismissed from speech therapy. I believe our formula for success was: clean diet + supplements for deficiencies + speech therapy + hand cues + acupuncture (energy medicine). Once Jake began the diet/supplement program, speech therapy started to click, and his voice took off.
Disclaimer: All data and information on this site are for informational purposes only. This is not medical advice; I am not a medical doctor. This is my personal experience and what worked and didn’t work for my son. Always consult with a doctor before beginning any diet or supplement program.
This blog documented Tori Starling’s journey with her son’s apraxia from 2012-2016. She is now a holistic health practitioner & coach providing holistic education & support to moms of children with apraxia of speech. Ways to learn more:
- Follow on Instagram @tori_simplyholistic
- Check out the book — “Voice of Truth: A Mother’s Journey to Help Her Son Heal from Apraxia of Speech”
- Subscribe to the new blog at Simply Holistic Solutions
To access the posts, click on the following links:
- Syndrome of Allergy, Apraxia and Malabsorption … The Root Cause?
- The Story of Us: Birth to Age Four
- The Gut-Brain Connection
- First Appointment with Integrative MD: August 2012 – Age 3 Years, 11 Months
- Running on Empty: Getting Our ALCAT Test Results Back
- Three Weeks Into Our Diet and Supplement Plan
- What My Child Ate When First Starting the GFCF Diet
- Primary Supplements
- Other Supplements We Tried
- The Beginner’s Guide to Nutritional Testing, Diet, and Supplements
- Apraxia, GFCF Diet, and What Happened When I Added Casein Back
- Eat More Chocolate
- Gimme Some Sugar
- Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil
- Allergy Friendly Holiday Treats
Jake's Journey with Apraxia 
Tori – For so long I have wanted to write you to thank you ! But I couldn’t seem to put aside time to write down a few brainstorming notes of all the things I’ve wanted to tell you and thank you for ! Not that I didn’t want to just that sometimes it was so painful to look back on everything my husband and I and our little guy has gone through! I first found you on Pinterest when I finally built up the courage to enter the word apraxia in the search box . Once I found jakes journey I was hooked 😍😭 I spent many nights reading your blogs and researching everything you talked about . My hubby would leave for work at 5 am and I would wake up and say guess what I read on jakes journey last night !!!!!!!!!! I would sob many nights reading your blog because we were no longer alone ! We had answers ,we had hope , we had you ! My son Gabriel is now five and talking and doing fantastic ! My husband and I are a great team and my little guy is such a stud he never stops trying !!! With so much of your helpful tips and info and sharing all the great things you did for jake it really helped us put our foot in a direction when we really needed it. We took our son to a naturalist (homeopathic dr) changed his diet and really worked on healing his gut before we knew it the words started to come 😭😭 we talked our SLP into getting PROMPT trained and worked a ton at home on our homemade kofman cards 🙂 and in two weeks my little boy will go to kindergarten 😩 But it will good ! God bless you Tori 🙂 your family is lucky to have you – we were lucky to have you ! Thank god for you and sharing jakes journey ! If it wasn’t for you I don’t know …. well.. I don’t like to think negative anymore. It was on my bucket list to tell you that you have changed lives with your blog( you changed ours ) guess now I can mark it off . From the bottom of our hearts THANK YOU forever❤️❤️❤️❤️
Stephanie, Thank you so much for sharing your story with me. Wow, this really made my heart happy … made me teary to hear what an impact the blog has made on you and Gabriel’s journey with apraxia. I am so glad he is doing well and is about to begin kindergarten! That’s a huge milestone for us apraxia mamas since in the beginning we don’t know what the future holds for our children. It’s a victorious moment for sure so enjoy embracing it! I still have a heart for apraxia – the passion for these kids has never left me – and I hope one day I can do more to serve this community like with a non-profit or diet/supplement research. Words like yours water that seed that’s planted in my heart. Thank you again for opening up and GOOOOO Gabriel and you for kicking some apraxia butt!!! 🙂
Did you cut out gluten? Or is it enough to supplement with the oils?
Yes, I also cut out gluten and dairy. I added them back slowly when he was about 10 with the help of a nutrition response practitioner and digestive enzymes, homeopathics, and Reiki to calm his nervous system. I have a book coming out at the end of February — Voice of Truth — that is a compilation of my blog posts cleaned up to flow in story format that may be a good resource for you. I’m also a holistic health practitioner now and launching my new business Simply Holistic Solutions in March if you need further assistance. http://www.simplyholisticsolutions.com