Nathalie and Alex

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“Alex wasn’t talking… at all. He understood what we were saying, but when it came to expressing himself or learning words, he would get frustrated. He had a hard time going from liquid to solid foods; he would choke a lot. Some were certain it was Autism, but I had my doubts. I asked a good friend of mine, Milaine, who works in Speech Therapy at The Moncton Hospital to see him.

 

After a couple months of working with Alex, we had a diagnosis: Verbal Dyspraxia, which is when children have difficulty making the precise movements needed to produce clear speech. Working with Milaine, we saw incredible progress – within a few weeks, at two-and-a-half years old, we heard “Maman” and “Papa” for the first time. It was wonderful.

 

We have appointments every week now, and everything is broken up into blocks. Currently, Alex is focusing on sounds, words will come in time. We’ve learned how important it is not to push him so hard he gets frustrated. We’ve made therapy a family activity. We have homework, like recognition exercise (like a cow says ‘moo’) to help him put into practice everything he’s learning. He still mixes up sounds sometimes, and it’s hard to know when he’ll speak normally, but we trust that our Speech Therapy Team at The Moncton Hospital will help us get there.” – Nathalie

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Right now, you can ensure everyone in our community receives the best care possible by giving to the Friends of The Moncton Hospital Foundation. 

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