Ideas & Strategies

Bean bag chairs are great to help challenge core muscles. You can:

1. Play in tall kneel (resting on both knees to play)

2. In 90-90-90 sitting position 3.side-lying

3. Having your child to play on their bellies using the bean bag chair

Use these positions to practice the homework or recommendations provided by your Speech Therapist.

If your child is sitting in a chair, make sitting on both sit bones. Apraxic children can avoid sitting on both sit bones. Observe your child, ensuring they are seated on both sit bones. You could see one hip very subtly off the chair or floor, avoiding bilateral (both sides)

weight-bearing through the hips. These asymmetrical patterns can be subtle but causing significant disruption in the emergence of the target goals. Apraxic children can lean towards the weak side or choose to ignore using one side to accomplish their goals.

The little guy above was the king of extension. We were glad to have him out of standing so he could work his core muscles.

Apraxic children need more time on their belly to increase core strength and to encourage increasing strength and elongation of the shoulder muscles supporting speech skills.

Books are great to use. This is a large book that can be prompted against the wall to encourage prone prone propping (playing while weight bearing through the arms. This will help to support increasing the abdominal and shoulder gridle strength.

You can also look for a large book at the dollar store. Again, this can be difficult for your child. Encourage and praise the play in prone or on the belly. Watch was rising hips for compensation. We need the body flat and elongated.