Wanting more information on omega 3 helping with apraxia

Keara - posted on 12/22/2012

Hello all! My 3 year old son was diagnosed with Apraxia about 6 months ago and started speech therapy and now is in pre school getting therapy 2x a week. Before he would only say five words, "mama baba, nana, papa," he's finally trying to put two words together like "bye mama" which sounds like "ba mama" he does a lot of approximating but no real words yet other than what he's been saying. He's learning sign language which really hepls with his and my frustration. I'm definitely interested in these omegas and if they will really help him. He knows every letter of the alphabet and the beginning sound of most, it's so frustrating that he can't say them. I wanna do everything I can to help him!!

Liz - posted on 10/21/2012

Thanks for the info Michele~

Michele - posted on 10/20/2012

Hi we have had good luck with using Omega 3 supplements with our daughter. She was diagnosed at 2 with dyspraxia and SPD. She did not talk until she was 5. She is 15 now and talks your ear off. But we are still working on sentence lenght and clarity as her misarticulations are a result of a habit,

We started using the Omega 3 about 3 years ago and we can tell when she is consistantly taking them and when she is not...

She speaks clearer and with more words in a sentence.

For those who are starting the road of therapy I offer that I would be happy to chat at anytime. Or answer any questions...we have done it all

I also offer that I have a website that tells more about Elizabeth and her journey for those interested. www,michelegianetti.com

Liz - posted on 10/16/2012

My daughter has just been diagnosed with Apraxia also. We haven't yet set up her therapy as of yet. It was very frustrating to hear she's the second child or she's just being lazy. Everyone right on down to my own Mom and MIL. Had her evaluated with Birth through 3 and they even told me that. She had excelled in too many other areas that we not taking the fact she knew all the stuff she couldn't physically say it. I moved out state (husband work) and now being 3, had her evaluated through Early Intervention. Then another evaluation with the Speech Therapist today. I myself have never even heard of Apraxia, so I was checking it out online. Most was very encouraging, others not so much.

Anyways if you don't mind if you get any info about the Omega 3 please share. Would be very interested if you have any results.

BTW, how is your little doing with his therapy?

Oh, I am just seeing your post is 4 yrs old. Sorry

Sherah - posted on 08/15/2012

My daughter is on the Coromega Kids Omega 3s and a Gluten Free diet (in one year we've seen a extremely dramatic change in just one year from practically non-verbal and lots of echolalia, babbling, repetition to her speaking well enough that some of her peers don't even realize she even has a speech issue. (to me it's still a bit 'immature' speech but I'm elated with the progress and am hopeful of future improvements.) The only time we see any recurrence of these symptoms now is when she's accidentally been exposed to alot of gluten or goes multiple days without her supplements.) another thing that may be helpful too is liquid colloidal gold, (reported to help with brain/verbal function, although we saw minimal results personally, i believe perhaps it might help some people. It's tasteless so it mixes into anything well)

Jennifer - posted on 01/21/2012

My 4 year old son also has apraxia and is on Dr. Sears fish oil and it does help I think.. Feel free to message me

Kathy - posted on 10/27/2011

Read the following article from prevention magazine: http://www.prevention.com/health/nutriti...

While we did not use the supplements specifically designed for kids with apraxia, I did give my kid omega-3 supplements and took him off low fat dairy and went to organic whole diary products. We saw a huge improvement within 2-3 months. I cannot find the article, but there was one in the Journal of Clinical Nutritionists that asked the American Academy of Pediatrics to go back to the 1980's standards for fat intake especially in children below the age of 5. The article specifically mentioned the dramatic increase in developmental delays in kids especially speech delays and apraxia. Their contentions in that the low fat foods reduce the essential nutritive fats and replace them with carbs and other empty calories. I think they are onto something. While we don't eliminate anything from our diet other than processed fats we do try to eat foods in their naturally state. It it cannot be eaten raw or cooked over the fire with a stick don't eat it. I have seen such dramatic improvement in my son's speech! Not only that but I feel healthier and my fibromyalgia is so much better.

Andrea - posted on 07/30/2011

You can buy the Nordic Naturals Professional line (ProEFA and ProEPA at http://shopinserviceinc2.goestores.com/. The dose that has shown most effective is 2 capsules of ProEFA to 1 capsule of ProEPA. There is not a "kid" dose. You want to use the higher doses for the most therapeutic benefit. The kid doses they list on the bottles are less than the DHA levels in formula and are just for general overall brain health, not a therapeutic level.

Andrea - posted on 07/30/2011

I did not read all the replies but it helps for alot of kids. You can read all about it in the book "The Late Talker". Also there are several support groups on FB with Moms using these supplements and also another one called Nutriiveda. I wouldn't say either one is a cure but they have helped. My son has been taking the fish oil for almost a year now. I see more improvement in his focus and attention in therapy and his behavior than with speech, but it is hard to know what the thing is that caused the most improvement when you are trying anything and everything that might help, kwim?



Also if you want more info, you can joint the childrensapraxianet listserv. It is run by Lisa Geng, she is one of the cowriters of the book above.

Marci - posted on 06/28/2011

I use the Nordic naturals complete omega 3-6-9 capsules and cut them open and pour into my daughters milk. It helps pally with eye contact and babbling so far. Also, I highly suggest the pusuitofresearch website by Lisa geng. She is very knowledgeable. We have also started my daughter on a supplement called nutriveda. Hope this helps.
Marci

Carla - posted on 01/28/2010

I do beleve omega 369 ProEFA from Nordic Natural has helped my son with his speech. It doesnt hurt to try it!!

Liz - posted on 01/22/2010

I have first hand experience in the Omegas and their benefits to children with apraxia. I was involved with this many years ago and started a blog/website to track progress or lack of them in my child who has apraxia. She is 12 years old now. Here is the website:
http://kidstalkback.tripod.com/kidstalkb...

Chantal - posted on 11/03/2009

My daughter is on several different suppliments, including omega 3's and I can say that it has REALLY made all the difference (she's been on them for a year now). She just turned 3 and the and is doing great (though does still have a ways to go).

Kelley - posted on 04/19/2009

I am a mother of four sons and a nurse ! I just recently joined circle of Moms, what agreat tool and blessing ! I sure wish 7 years ago I had this kind of support ! My son has apraxia of speech along with some other dissabilities too. I know of a company for supplements call EPIC you can google them, we order our coQ10 through them. IEP meeting all you parents need to be prepared and know FAPE and IDEA really well befor you go into that meeting ! Squeeky wheel gets the grease ! Many schools will try to cluster your child in therapy sessions to get more bang for thier buck and they'll tell you your child "feeds" off the other child and they "push " one another, well when they are only getting 90 min over a month and 20 mins of that are "transitioning" mins ( going from class to class to round up the group of 4 kids and again to return them ) I think it's hog wash ! Be an advocate for your child no one else is going to do it ! Stand up for what your son or daughter is entitled to. Good Luck to all of you who are about to enter the IEP world.

Sarah - posted on 04/16/2009

I have started spiking anything I can with flax meal. This past weekend I made a batch of blueberry muffins and put 1/2 cup of flax in the batter. I was worried because it was very apparent that it was there, but when I tasted one I really could not taste that it was there. I also added a good bit to my meatloaf too. My older son who is on the autism spectrum and has tics eats a muffin just about every day. He and my younger son ( who has apraxia) take chewable Omega daily too.

@ lauren...Omega is a type of fatty acid that aids in brain development. I have heard that it can help in all kinds of things including Autism, Apraxia, Anxiety, Tics. I think I have heard that it can hep with dementia and hot flashes too.

Laura - posted on 04/16/2009

Someone please explain to me what omega is ??? I have no idea -What does it do and what is it supposed to help????  Thank you all : )

User - posted on 04/15/2009

I've heard the 369 omega is the way to go. Is this different that just regular fish oil.. We've tried regular fish oil and have not seen much change. I was just wondering if the 369 is different??

Sarah - posted on 03/27/2009

I just started giving my 2 boys Omega 3 vitamins a few weeks ago. I found a gummy version at the grocery store that both kids like. I cannot do pills since neither boy can swallow them.





I told my 13 year old ( on the autism spectrum) that it is a vitamin that makes his meds work better. It would be great if it helped with his Tics that he has too! He does not have tourettes, but he does tic badly at times.



My 3 year old was diagnosed with verbal apraxia at 27 months old. At that time he had a 12 month delay. With therapy he is doing much better, but I decided he might benefit too.

Dana - posted on 03/26/2009

Hi, I am new to the group and so happy to have found this particular group! My son Matthew is 8 and was diagnosed when he was 2. It has been such a long and hard road for my son. At first we were also told to wait...that he would talk when he was ready. I sure am happy I listened to my mothering instinct and not to everyone (including the doctor) who told me to wait! His speech was so bad that I had to teach him basic sign language just to be able to understand his wants and needs. Now six years later he has improved a great deal but some things he says are still hard to understand. I was also told that he would eventually talk very normal, I just didn't realize it takes so long!

I had never heard of Omega 3 for apraxia. Our son has been on Omega 3 for about 6 months now. He takes it because he also has Tourette's Syndrome. It did help his tics from the TS but I didn't notice any improvement in his speech.

Jenna - posted on 03/19/2009

I buy most of our supplements from www.vitacost.com

Way cheeper than most natural food stores or vitamin shops.

Jennifer - posted on 03/11/2009

do you have to go to a health food store for these vitamins,? Is their a kid formula?

Jenna - posted on 03/09/2009

Hi! If you haven't read "The Late Talker", please do so!  It has been a great reference for me. Also the yahoo message board  "childrensapraxianet" is really informative. My son has been on high doses of Omega 3-6-9 for a year now, plus Vit E, probiotics, M-B12, and some other supplements. He takes Nordic Naturals adult Omega 3-6-9 (4 pills) + Nordic Naturals Pro EPA (2 Pills). He has SEVERE verbal apraxia, sensory processing disorder, hypotonia and dyspraxia (clumsy child). His eye contact, verbal attempts and sensory issues improved with the Omegas. Some children have great surges of speech on the Omegas. It wouldn't hurt to try!

Jessica - posted on 02/22/2009

Hi all!  My son, 2 years 7 months has just now been diagnosed with Apraxia.  Although he does say a ton of words, he just can't get out the ending of the words.  And the more sounds a word has the harder for him.  I have recently been reading on digestive enzymes helping children with autism and other types of disorders.  Anyone tried it for Apraxia?  I am going to schedule an appt. with my neurologist for my son tomorrow.  He is big into vitamins and natural healing.  I am going to ask him every type of anything that could possibly help him and the correct dosages.

Becky - posted on 02/17/2009

I thought  I would add something about younger siblings copying their older apraxic siblings.  My almost 6 year old son was diagnosed with apraxia 3 years ago.  He has speech therapy 4 days a week through the school and is doing well although we still have a long way to go.  I have noticed my almost 3 year old daughter copying her brothers speech pattern even though she can say the words correctly.  She has now qualifies for speech therapy herself.  She is not apraxic, but she does need some extra help to sort out the correct sounds.  She has only been in therapy for a month or so, but she is doing well.  It is definately something I would watch for in younger siblings.

Lena - posted on 02/09/2009

My 3 year old is taking CoreOmega fish oil (adult dose) and just started on vitamin E (800 per day). He's been taking the fish oil for about a month now and he's been on vitamin E for about a week... we think it is making a difference. He also gets an hour of speech tx a week (at home, he's just about to graduate from Early Intervention to the IU where they'll give him an hour of tx at daycare)... But I think what's as important is that he's working with a pediatric nutritionist who specializes in treating kids with special needs. She's helping us with figuring out the supplement regime to assist with his language development. Let me know if you like to learn more about this nutritionist. She treats kids from all over US.

Kelley - posted on 01/27/2009

MY son uses fish oil every day.  He will be 10 next month and wasn't diagonised with speech apraxia till he was 5 years old.  I used to tell him that the fish pills will help him talk better and he took them without complaining.   He goes to speech therapy in school and is doing very well.  I understand him about 97% of the time.  He has gone a long way.   I can't say for sure that the pills have helped but we believed they did and his speech is clear to people that don't even know him.  He still has problems with the r   sound but is working hard. I can't say that the pills have made a difference or not but we believed in them.  I would recommend using the fish pills. 

Kristy - posted on 01/21/2009

My child was diagnosed at the age three. He is  now 4 and a hafl five months ago he was saying about five words. We decided to try omegas and purchased ProEfa through Nordic Naturals (Adult formula-cut in half) within four days of starting it he was saying about three new words  day and is noe putting three to four words together.

Shannon - posted on 01/21/2009

About the Omega-3.  After I read The Late Talker (A great book if you have not read) I looked into the Omega-3, though I found nothing concrete I started my Son on it.  I asked my pediatricain and he didn't know if it would work, but it wouldn't hurt!  The first one I tried was the Cormega brand.  It comes in a pudding like form and comes in orange and lime flavors.  He did not like it at all!!!  We then decided to try the regular Omega in capsule form and put it in his Soy Milk at night, He didn't even notice that it was there.  I noticed a difference after a couple days!!  I wouldn't say it made him have a speech break-through, but he took more time to think about what he was trying to say.  We still give it to him and I don't plan to stop it anytime soon.  It is great for the Brain!!! 

Jenny - posted on 01/20/2009

Quoting Yvette:

Hi! I just found this community. My son (almost 4) has been in speech therapy since a couple of months after he turned 2. He was just recently diagnosed with apraxia (due to a new therapist that we pay for ourselves). I am at a loss. He is our oldest child and his younger sister (2) is picking up some of his speech patterns. I have an IEP meeting next week and am always so intimidated. I am totally worried now about my daughter having problems, too. Monkey see, monkey do (and say)! Any advice is always welcome. My son currently receives speech 3 times a week for a half hour. Twice through the school system and once that we pay out of pockey. Everytime I contact my husband's insurance about speech therapy, I get a different answer and a different set of requirements. I gave up. Any advice to boost my confidence to help my son?

Hi Yvette,

I just wanted to encourage you about the IEP.  I have been through it many times.  Thankfully, I was blessed with caring and helpful teachers.  Yes, you will be hearing some information that is hard to hear, but I also found the goals helpful.  The teachers were generally encouraging as well.  My first daughter had huge speech delays.  She is 6, and we are finally beginning to understand most of what she says.

I have a four year old as well.  While she doesn't have apraxia, her speech wasn't quite right as well.  She did pick up on some of her sister's habits.  Thankfully, we had her tested at the public school, and she did speech twice a week last year.  (She only had to work on a few sounds.)  This year she only goes once a month to work on her grammer.  (She mixes up her and she and him and he.)

Now my baby.  She is more like the oldest.  The only words she spontaneously says are mama and dada.  She imitates alot which is encouraging, but she is also far behind.  She is currently in our state's birht - 3 program getting speech once every other week for an hour.

My advice to you is if you feel that there is something not quite right, look into it.  You always hear about the benefits of early intervention. 

We also had trouble with our insurance company dealing with a different set of therapies.  Don't give up!  Keep asking to speak to a supervisor.  Work your way up the chain until you get answers.  Does your husband have a human resources person?  We are fortunate to have had ours help us.  We actually got the district H.R. person to help us.  She pushed the insurance company and we got results.  When the insurance company start goofing up again, she took it to my husband companies leaders.  She really went to bat for us!

This is what worked for us.  I know it's hard and frustrating, but please don't give up.  The results are so worth it!

Michelle - posted on 01/09/2009

Hi, I just read  your response to my comment. I really don't think that you should worry to much about your daughter picking up the patterns. She might want to imitate her brother at times, but as far as "monkey see monkey do (or say), I  really don't think it would stick. She will either have apraxia too or won't. If she doesn't, then she will learn her speech no matter what her brother is doing simply because she has the ability too and her brother doesn't so easily. If she picks up is patterns, she will learn the correct speech by you and everyone else.

As far as your son, I am still learning about Apraxia myself. He starts a new pediatric therapist this Tuesday. They are called Cornerstone and evidently wonderful.....I hope I  hope!!! But I will keep you updated as I hope you will also.

Thanks,

Michelle

Yvette - posted on 01/08/2009

Hi! I just found this community. My son (almost 4) has been in speech therapy since a couple of months after he turned 2. He was just recently diagnosed with apraxia (due to a new therapist that we pay for ourselves). I am at a loss. He is our oldest child and his younger sister (2) is picking up some of his speech patterns. I have an IEP meeting next week and am always so intimidated. I am totally worried now about my daughter having problems, too. Monkey see, monkey do (and say)! Any advice is always welcome. My son currently receives speech 3 times a week for a half hour. Twice through the school system and once that we pay out of pockey. Everytime I contact my husband's insurance about speech therapy, I get a different answer and a different set of requirements. I gave up. Any advice to boost my confidence to help my son?

Nancy - posted on 01/01/2009

I haven't read anything that applies the Omega-3 to apraxia, but (as you prob already know) does aid in brain function. I checked google for these phrases and only find a few things helpful. I tend to keep away from those "helpful" ads that are selling a brand of something. We here give our 3.5 yr old daughter (who babbles, and seems to be trying to say words at times) flax seed (whole and powdered) and fish -- real forms of omega-3s, rather than in pill form or processed in other ways. I think it must help them (it certainly doesn't hurt them), but I also suspect that apraxia of speech is something that does resolve itself individually, and to continue w/ home therapy and if your state offers a program through the school. Our daughter began a speech therapy program at the local elementary when she turned 3 in Oct, I will say that I've not yet seen the type of results we were getting when we had the home therapists, but am sure it does help, anything we do for our kids to move forward in their learning is certainly of some help. Good luck, and ifyou do see results quicker from using the Omega-3, please post! Happy New Year!

Teresa - posted on 12/10/2008

Hey, you are the reason why i started the group. I was looking for answers to questions that I do not have. My family all said that "we may be Italians, so we talk with our hands. her mouth will catch up to her." Audrey did not baby babble until after her 3 year old birthday. But, I was very lucky to have a pediatrician who pushed to get an evaluation just because she wanted to cover her hiney. After she qualified for speech, we did speech 2 times a week. We have since had to push it to intensive speech therapy 3 times a week because she was not progressing. Audrey was not autistic as well, but she was recently tested for Occupational therapy because she had some awkward movements. She did qualify because she is normal in most ranges. I have been where you are, my family thinks I am crazy for being pushy about my gut feelings, I had the right hunch that something was not right. About the Omega 3, i have had no luck with that because apraxia kids do have certain eating challenges. My 3 year old does, and it is simply a matter of her eating when she is hungry and can master that art of sitting in a chair for longer than 5 minutes. We have our challenges, but manage to get her to try a few new foods. It also helps that we had Audrey's tonsils out in June to help her fine motor/jaw movements. So, we are taking it as we go. My other advice, let the older siblings help with speech by playing games and having them follow through with the rules of talking clearly, and offering encouragement to your apraxia child. it has been a blessing that I have a 6 year old who corrects her little sister. And tells her what to say, and she repeats everything back. Yes, you do have a long way to go, but I am here to support you via this group. email me at treesrgrn@aol.com. Teresa