Ben started talking at the normal age, but he was hard to understand. His doctor referred him to Early Intervention at his two-year appointment. He didn’t qualify because he was talking. He was reevaluated at three years old. He qualified because of the large space between what he understood and what he could say. He started speech therapy.  Around this time Nick was born. Nick had trouble with breast feeding and bottle feeding. He had a tongue tie and torticollis.

Not long after Ben started therapy his therapist felt that it was more than a delay. She mentioned apraxia. He was referred for testing to figure out if it was apraxia, and it was. Ben qualified for special preschool through Early Intervention. Around 15 months of age, Nick was also referred to Early Intervention by his doctor. It was due to his delays in a few areas and, also, because of Ben being diagnosed with apraxia.  Their doctor felt that something similar was going on with Nick.

Looking back Nick didn’t babble as an infant. He had trouble with motor planning to get back down after standing up. He was at the late to reach some of his milestones like sitting, standing, and walking. Nick also wasn’t talking, and he had trouble with eating due to his oral motor issues. He qualified for in home therapy. They couldn’t diagnose apraxia until he was three, but they used therapies geared towards apraxia. Nick didn’t talk until he was around three years old.

Nick qualified for special preschool at three years old through Early Intervention. Both boys struggled in elementary school with bullying, reading, writing, etc. We were able to get them one on one support through different parts of their days in the first few years of school. At some points they were over a year behind in multiple subjects.

We were able to get them privately evaluated through the years when they were younger. They both were evaluated at the Boston Children’s Hospital as well as by specialists in our state. Multiple specialists called them unique. Both boys qualified for communication devices. As a family we also attended a few years of summer camp focused on learning about their communication devices.

One of the times we had Ben reevaluated was around fourth grade. Ben had an awful school year. We were considering placing him in a specialized school. I hate to speak bad about people, but he did not have a good fit with his teacher. We almost had him moved to a different classroom, but we knew that throughout his life he would have to deal with people that were difficult, so we made the tough decision to keep him in the class while we supported him and got the reevaluation set up. We also apologized to him at the end of the school year for having to put up with so much.

This new test results showed he tested the way that only 1% of the population tested. He had multiple above average strengths and multiple below average weaknesses. Due to his unique testing, I asked the specialist if they could attend his next IEP. They were kind enough to do it on their own time. After that, things started getting better for Ben.

Nick struggled through middle school but especially during covid. His triennial evaluation was done by someone who was kind enough to take as much time as they needed to help figure out what was going on with Nick. It was discovered that something that normally takes a person fifteen minutes took Nick forty-five minutes. So, like we had learned about Ben, we learned that Nick had a slow processing speed.

All the information that we learned about the boys helped set up the correct supports for them.

My husband and I were fortunate to attend the Apraxia Kids National Conference in Danvers, Massachusetts. I was able to attend a two-day workshop with an apraxia expert after being invited by the amazing speech therapist that my boys had when they were younger. The apraxia expert was willing to talk with my boys and I and give us some guidance on what to work on.

During the multiple IEPs that my husband and I have attended, our biggest worry has always been their ability to make friends and function well with their surroundings. Thankfully they have a great group of friends! They both decided to get jobs at fourteen years old. This past year they both worked at the same place.

Ben has graduated magna cum laude from high school. He earned Eagle Scout Rank. He took multiple AP courses and a couple independent studies. He earned multiple scholarships and was accepted to multiple colleges. A week after graduation he headed over to Europe for a fifty-three-day trip through seven countries.  Nick is on his school soccer team. He has signed up for honor level classes for next school year.

During my sons’ journeys with apraxia, we met and have been helped by some amazing people. I have been working in the special needs community since I have learned so much from being my boys’ voice until they could speak for themselves.  My boys are still a bit difficult to understand. They sound like they have thick accents.

While my boys have gone through a lot due to their apraxia and other diagnoses, they have amazed my husband and I with how strong and resilient they are. They are amazing young men!

One poem that has always helped put things in perspective for me is “Welcome to Holland”.  Click here to read it.

Be inspired by more stories today and learn about how you can Give Hope!

Visit, FIND HOPE, GIVE HOPE