When my son, Noah, was 2 years old, his speech therapist suspected he might have apraxia of speech. Noah had no intelligible language, almost no approximations and very poor oral motor skills. He did not have the motor coordination necessary to blow a bubble or produce any sound on a horn. He had weakened muscles throughout his mouth. His therapist gave us a horn (horn #1 from the TalkTools horn hierarchy) and told us to practice with Noah every day. She also referred us to TalkTools to purchase the rest of the horn hierarchy and the chewy tube set. We practiced horn #1 every single day for three months before Noah was able to produce his first sound. The amount of pride we felt at this tangible accomplishment was indescribable! After master horn #1, he quickly mastered the others in less than a year. He found great success with the horn hierarchy. Some were harder than others (specifically horn #7), but he worked so hard to master each of them. He loved the different noises the horns made- especially the train and airplane! Each horn taught him specific ways to move his mouth to produce noises and increased his oral motor coordination. We are still using chewy tubes- he still struggles with his left side.
After we graduated from the horn hierarchy, his speech therapist began using the bilabial shapes and tactile tubes to help teach him perfect his sounds. He is a very visual and tactile learner, so having these physical prompts really helped him find success. The bilabial shapes actually helped teach him his second and third words when he was 3 – “momma” and “more.” Noah is now 4.5. He is still affected by his apraxia every day. But now, he has so many words. He has sentences! He is able to communicate his needs and wants. We are so grateful to TalkTools for creating these amazing products so kids like Noah can find their words. Thank you so much!
-Mary
Noah’s family is active in the Tampa Bay area and is busy every year fundraising for Apraxia Walks benefiting CASANA (Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America).