Imagine not being able to understand a word your child says, and all that comes out of his/her mouth is jumbled sounds and gibberish. This is what children and parents with Apraxia of Speech experience.
My students are children of military families receiving exceptional student education services of speech/language therapy who have apraxia of speech or an articulation disorder.
Apraxia of speech is a speech disorder in which a person has trouble saying what he or she wants to say correctly and consistently. The cause or causes of apraxia are not yet known. Some scientists believe that it is a disorder related to a child’s overall language development or a neurological disorder that affects the brain’s ability to send the proper signals to move the muscles involved in speech. Children with apraxia of speech generally can understand language much better than they are able to use language to express themselves. Some children with apraxia may also have other problems other than speech. They can have language problems (i.e., poor vocabulary, incorrect grammar, and difficulty in clearly organizing spoken information)and problems with reading, writing, spelling, or math.
My Project
I have requested a treatment kit which contains a step-by-step approach to teach the acquisition of speech sounds. It breaks words down to the simplest form to each child's ability of sound production and helps teach them the effective transitions so their speech is able to be understood. Not only is this program great for children with apraxia, but it can be used for any child with a speech sound disorder. This program is broken down to each speech sound, as well as the syllable level.
It is a program created by a renowned Speech-Language Pathologist who offers trainings all over the country on how to utilize this program. I have taken this training but have not had the funds to buy the materials to implement it. This treatment kit will enable me to fully implement this systematic treatment approach I have been trained in.
This resource can change students' lives because it slowly teaches them the ability to speak!
The gift of speech is something we all take for granted. This program will allow me to improve students' lives and help teach them the skills to speak and have a voice that is understood.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Shafii and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.