Occular Motor Apraxia

Kailey - posted on 09/19/2011

My son is 22 months old and has it... he doesnt see a therapist... I work with him here at home pushing his limits and he has finally began walking pretty well considering what all the condition entails... (he was round 17 monthsbefore he took his first step and 21 before he could really walk)

Jessica - posted on 05/23/2010

The doctors now seem to think Braylons apraxia is caused by leukodystrophy. They did bloodwork. We are now waiting on results ..a nyone else experience this ??

Bobbie - posted on 03/12/2010

My son has it as well. He still crawled and walked. At around two he started therepy. He quit having physical and O.T. therepy at around 7 years old. He still gets speech therepy (he is 10 years old). I was never told it was OMA, they all just told me he has apraxia.

Jessica - posted on 03/11/2010

My 1 year old son was diagnosed with OMA at 6 months. He is also near-sighted and has been wearing glasses since then. He has been seeing an opthamologist, pediatrician, and will be seeing a neurologist. He is currently doing physical therapy, vision therapy and working with an early learning teacher. He has made wonderful progress in the few months he has been in this program. In a 2 month time span he has started crawling, pulling up on furniture and babbling !! I cannot wait to see what the next few months will bring. I would love to talk to any Moms who has a child with OMA. God Bless to all of you !!!

Misty - posted on 02/10/2009

Hey Suzie, sorry I haven't been in here forever!  And tonight I'm exhausted and going to get to bed since we have a doctor's appt. tomorrow morning, but I didn't want you to think I forgot about you :)  Jake appeared blind for the first couple of months, and didn't seem to see our faces, but I think this was because of the cortical visual impairment.  Jake is 8 months old (adjusted for his prematurity) but he is nowhere near ready to sit on his own.  He still struggles with head support.  Jake had a severe brain hemorrhage at birth, so his brain is extremely small compared to most kids his age.  The stroke destroyed much of his brain.  However, the brain can rewire itself to some degree, so we can't say for sure what he will or won't be able to do.  One thing I do know is that the kid works his buns off!  Sounds like your little girl is getting more and more mobile all the time.  Good for her!  I will be truly excited if Jake is able to get anywhere on his own, however he needs to.  I don't have the time to talk to much about it now, but I will tell you that I am going to teach Jake to read.  It is possible, even with his severe brain injury to teach him to read at a very young age, and we don't have anything to lose by trying.  If I had more time, I would tell you about this program we are going to do, but if you want to hear more, you can just let me know.  Some people find it hard to believe that you can have a kid reading at a couple of years, but  the word is that you can if you get started as soon as possible.  Since Jake will likely have difficulty vocalizing what he wants, reading will be a huge help!  A gal here in town has a son whose stroke was so severe that he just had a small thin remnant of brain lining the outside of his skull.  He was able to read two words at a time at 2 1/2 and books at 4 1/2.  It's worth a shot!  Take care and feel free to tell me more about your little darling!  Misty

Rasheeda - posted on 02/01/2009

my son didnt walk until he was 18 or 19 months and he's 3 now talking on a 2 yo level.

Suzie - posted on 01/31/2009

Hi!  I am sorry it took so long to get back to you about our childeren. My Bailey has trouble with "smooth tracking".  That is where she cannot follow an object from one place to another without jerking her head a couple of times, to bring it into focus.  With Jake, did you notice that at 6 weeks when he should be smiling at you, he looked as if he was looking above you or right through you?  That is when we noticed something was wrong with Bailey's eyesight.  This has since really delayed her motor skills.  At 15 months she cannot roll over,push herself up on her hands, pull to stand, walk or talk..  At about 9-10 months she learned to sit on her own.  I cried.  She is trying to be independant, but when she cant tell you what she wants, or get to where she wants to be, it is very hard for her.  She has recently learned to "scoot" on her butt to get places.  But that is also very exhausting for her.  She attends physical theapy 2 times a week and Ocupational therapy once aweek.  I would love to chat with you about your Jake.  You are the only person I have found that has a child with this syndrome. When they did Bailey's last MRI they said that her brain is smaller than most babies at her age.  Has Jake had an MRI?  I am really interested in his progress.  Lets chat some time!

Misty - posted on 01/10/2009

Yes, my little Jake supposedly has ocular motor apraxia.  I say supposedly, because he also has a cortical visual impairment (CVI), and I'm not really convinced based on what I have read that the CVI isn't making things look like apraxia.  The one positive thing that the opthamologist said was that Jake may actually be seeing much better than we think, but can not track moving objects well because of the apraxia.  My main concern is how this will affect his ability to read.  Jake rolled over initially, but now, at 7 months adjusted, rolls only a few times a month.   He also has not pushed himself up on his hands, crawled, etc, although I see that your little girl is a little older.  Jake only has an occupational therapist one time a week, but will be getting another one soon.  Feel free to holler if you need someone to chat at!

Misty - posted on 01/09/2009

Yes, my little Jake supposedly has ocular motor apraxia.  I say supposedly, because he also has a cortical visual impairment (CVI), and I'm not really convinced based on what I have read that the CVI isn't making things look like apraxia.  The one positive thing that the opthamologist said was that Jake may actually be seeing much better than we think, but can not track moving objects well because of the apraxia.  My main concern is how this will affect his ability to read.  Jake rolled over initially, but now, at 7 months adjusted, rolls only a few times a month.   He also has not pushed himself up on his hands, crawled, etc, although I see that your little girl is a little older.  Jake only has an occupational therapist one time a week, but will be getting another one soon.  Feel free to holler if you need someone to chat at!