A possible answer for Daniel

The other day Daniel speech and special ed. therapist were up here going over his therapy plan for this fall. I was talking to the speech therapist about Daniel and just asking her if she could think of anything that could possibly be the matter why he understands so much, yet he can't really talk. She threw out the word "Dyspraxia" and said that it is a possibility that may be what he is dealing with. She mentioned something about the connections between the brain and muscles and telling certain area what to do. So like any good American who has the Internet i went and looked it up, and i am relating to a lot of what i am reading about dyspraxia.. or in Daniel's case "childhood apraxia of speech" ... this is kinda the difference between apraxia and a "speech delay"

How Is CAS Different Than A Speech Delay?
A true developmental delay of speech is when the child is following the "typical" path of childhood speech development, although at a rate slower than normal. Usually this rate is in pace with the child’s cognitive skills. In typical speech/language development, the child's receptive and expressive skills increase together to a large extent. What is often seen in a child with apraxia of speech is a wide gap between their receptive language abilities and expressive abilities. In other words, the child's ability to understand language (receptive ability) is broadly within normal limits, but his or her expressive speech is seriously deficient, absent, or severely unclear. This is an important factor and one indicator that the child may be experiencing more than "delayed" speech. In the case of such a mismatch in skills, the child should be evaluated for the presence of a specific speech disorder such as apraxia. However, certain language disorders may also cause a similar pattern in a child. A gap between a child's expressive and receptive language ability is insufficient to diagnose apraxia.
-taken from the apraxia-kids.org website..


on another website (which i can't remember from) it was talking about the signs that children with the problem will have...

Children with dyspraxia may demonstrate some of these types of behaviour:

Very high levels of motor activity, including feet swinging and tapping when seated, hand-clapping or twisting. Unable to stay still
High levels of excitability, with a loud/shrill voice
May be easily distressed and prone to temper tantrums
May constantly bump into objects and fall over
Hands flap when running
Persistent language difficulties
Sensitive to sensory stimulation, including high levels of noise, tactile defensiveness, wearing new clothes

anyway... the more i look into it I'm thinking this is maybe what Daniel has... one website was saying that it can look a lot like autism except the child is social and seems more intelligent. I'm excited to finally nail down what it is that he struggles with. On the flip side though he has been doing so well.. I'm so proud of my little man for trying to hard!
Anyway.. i just thought i would update you with the latest on him. Sorry my posts have been so far apart, times are crazy here, and a lot of days recently it takes energy just to do the normal tasks.

life today

Things have been crazy, as you might have noticed from my absence. So here's a few updates.

-Marty, my stepdad, is currently in the hospital and not doing so great. Things are spiraling downhill and not looking good. I don't have time or energy to go into it, but PLEASE pray for him and my mom. Times are tough over there and they could use God's strong arms wrapped around them.

-My little sister is having a little boy! It's exciting to know what she is having so i can pray even better for the little guy.

-Daniel has started talking! Not consistently, but definitely he is saying words and even phrases. Between the jabbering he has been saying different appropriate words for the sitation he is in. PRAISE THE LORD! my little boy is finding his voice!!!!

anyway.. we just got back from a long trip that was a blessing, but very tiring and there is a lot to clean up, more on that later... but before i go i want to share a verse...

The Lord will fight for you: you need only to be still. -Exodus 14:14

Results

Results are back for my stepdad. It is colon cancer that has metastasized to his bones. The doctors are saying that it is terminal and they are giving him 6-8 months without doing chemo.
Crazy emotions flying everywhere. The thing that i cling to is the my God is greater, my God is stronger, and my God knows and holds all of this in His hands and He is mighty to save and heal.
Please keep my family in your prayers...