Post for Newbie-Cynthia
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| Thu, 06-28-2007 - 9:04pm |
Note to all: Since this post wasn't going to directly relate to Evelyn's son and his feeding issues, I thought I'd start a new thread to respond to Cynthia's last post on that thread.
Boy Cynthia, your last post said a MOUTHFUL!
I think most of us around here have, at one time or another, experienced that *cultish* mindframe. That's why we're all here, because we're each dealing with something totally different, and all of kids are unique in their spectrum behaviors, struggles, triumphs, etc. Here, everybody can share their experiences in a non-threatenting, non-judgemental atmosphere. With this group of ladies, it doesn't matter if your child is "high" or "low" all that matters is that you're doing the best you can- which is really all that any of us can do.
I, personally, have one child who's higher functioning, my aspie, and one who's lower functioning, my autie. It's a confusing world we live in around here...but we're navigating to the best of our abilities!
Unfortunately in our case, insurance won't cover any therapy outside of the school, now that our kids are "of age" for school services. Our district is so behind the times and so financially messed up, we have exactly one OT and one PT on staff...all other services are provided by COTAs and PTAs. (My DH is a PT and he's constantly scratching his head at how a school district as large as ours can get a way with this...we're in a city of over 100,000 residents!) Several schools have SLPs on staff part-time, but they only address basic speech issues (lisps, etc.). Gawd forbid you try to get them to address language skills...let alone feeding issues! I spent a good month trying to explain to our SLP that our daughter's echolalic responses to her questions did not represent an increase in language skills- all it represented was the fact that we bought another children's movie for her to memorize!!! LOL But, as usual, I digress...again!
Amy


Thanks for the welcome!
Cynthia
Hi Cynthia, I read Evelyns thread and saw your post. I just want to ask your opinion, as its driving me crazy, but my son shows signs of "Cluttering" in his language. He's 11, and actually has always done this, but I never noticed the signs. I thought well maybe he stutters, but not really in the typical way.
I know Cluttering is a pretty new term from reading the internet.... What do you think about this?
Lainie
I had never heard the term cluttering before, so I looked it up a bit, WOW! That is what Wesley does! How come nobody told me there was a name for it and it was pretty common? This is so frustrating. He has done this his whole life! When we go places and people ask him questions, I quite often have to tell them what he said. I am so used to it I almost always know what he is trying to say, but it confuses other people. It is just another piece of the puzzle and another reason why I sit back and think, oh my god, this child is nine years old and nobody caught this earlier. I learn so much here everyday. Thank you!
Carey
Cluttering is one of the characteristics of dysfluency- I learned about it when I took Dysfluency (i.e., "Stuttering") in graduate school . . . and that was the last I have dealt with it! It is a common dysfluent characteristic but I just haven't come across many dysfluent children while I was practicing! I think you might find some decent to good information on the internet, and there are a few locations in the country that specialize in dysfluency so you might get some good info from them. My guess is cluttering can be addressed the same way all dysfluent characteristics are (and this is going to sound so obvious)- by modeling. The standard, basic method for addressing stuttering, cluttering, secondary stuttering characteristics (like eye blinking, grimacing, etc) is to overaccentuate your model of fluent speech. It works better with younger children because it can look so goofy, but the idea is to direct without verbal direction in order to keep any anxiety over communicating to a minimum. Modeling deep breaths by taking a deep breath yourself before speaking, speaking "over" slowly, and not saying things like "slow down" or "say that again", etc., are all standard methods. Beyond that, and for older kids, there are many biofeedback methods that I believe have good data behind them. But can this stuff work with a child with autism? I really don't know. I hope any of this is helpful.
Cynthia
Very helpful Cynthia! In fact it sounds like you helped two of us lol. The only thing about the cluttering with Chris, is he doesn't talk fast, he talks kinda slow and still does it. He doesn't clutter in short sentences, only when he's really describing something, or has to pull alot of info out of his head to talk about it.
Carey, from what I understand, this is a fairly new word for speech therapists, but thats only what I got off the internet, so I could be wrong lol.
Lainie