Many of you know that our middle child, Bennett, was diagnosed with Childhood Apraxia of Speech about a year ago. When he was about 18 months old, and was still non-verbal, I started to worry and look into speech therapy options. I had that mom instinct even though our pediatrician said there wasn’t something to worry about quite yet. When he turned two, and was still non-verbal, we finally got into a speech therapist for evaluation per the recommendation of our pediatrician. By non-verbal I mean that he didn’t say any “normal” words. He didn’t attempt to repeat any of the words that we were saying like our older daughter had. And, when he did attempt to talk, is was straight gibberish and just sounds, that to him made sense, as if he were speaking ‘real’ words. He would repeat the same gibberish over and over again, as if he were saying something clear and precise. There were also some sensory issues I had been noticing, but my journey started out trying to help the speech issue first thinking a speech therapist would pick on on some of these things and at least make a recommendation on what the next steps would be.

After meeting with two speech therapists who provided two separate evaluations, we were told he had Childhood Apraxia of Speech, and they both recommended doing speech therapy several times per week.  With no real end in sight, we started doing speech therapy three times per week. Neither speech therapist recommended dietary protocols, neither mentioned occupational therapy and there was no direction towards a support group. Luckily, facebook has online groups for both of these things, and I turned to them for guidance on anything I could possibly do to help our son.

Step 1. The first facebook group I reached out to was a Weston A. Price group that I have been in for years. Someone mentioned the Nemecheck Protocol so I immediately started there. This book, and the protocol, seemed simple enough to follow. Nemecheck protocol talks about how so many of these neurological disorders and childhood issues, like apraxia, autism, ADD/ADHD, developmental delays and mood disorders stem from similar origins – the overgrowth of intestinal bacteria which then leads to inflammation of the brain. There are a couple chapters in the book explaining how this happens scientifically if you want to learn more. The healing process and rebalancing of this bacteria overgrowth is achieved by consuming a prebiotic fiber called inulin, adding in deficient omega 3 fatty acids and eliminating the excess omega 6 fatty acids. Basically taking fish oil, olive oil and inulin fiber and eliminating any bad oils and probiotics from the diet. Dosages based on age are in the book. We take Rositas Cod Liver Oil in our family. After about two or three months of starting the nemecheck protocol, my husband and I both started to notice an improvement in his speech. Bennett was actually attempting to say words and imitate us. Although it was still gibberish, it was a start. He was making a connection and trying for once. A subtle light in the tunnel that these dietary protocols might actually be helping. What else could I, or should I, be doing?

Step 2. The second group I joined was an apraxia support group on facebook couple months later. This was recommended by a friend whose child had some similar diagnosis as Bennett. In this group, I learned about two dietary supplements that were being recommended since so many of these conditions are due to lack of nutrients or ability to absorb nutrients. One supplement we started was Power and Focus by Spectrum Awakening, an essential blend of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids for healthy brain function. The second was another supplement called Spectrum Needs by Neuro Needs containing vitamins, minerals, and activated cofactors used to optimize the nutritional status of children and adults with autism spectrum and other neurodevelopmental disorders (including ADD/ADHD). I ordered them both and integrated them into Bennett’s diet – adding the powders to either his morning and bedtime milk or smoothies. We noticed another big leap in his speech within a week or two of adding in these two supplements. He was finally saying words and they were “real” words that we could actually understand. It started slow, but few words per week really made such a difference in his communication. This was during May/June of 2019 and we had started this journey January of 2019 after Bennett turned 2.

Step 3. In addition to adding the supplements mentioned above, I started thinking about detoxing some of the toxins that he had encountered. We live in a very toxic world, and even though we eat healthy – mostly organic, gluten free foods and drink reverse osmosis water – there are so many additional ways we are exposed to toxins. The big one for children being vaccines. Even though we may have delayed, spaced and skipped some according to Dr Paul Thomas vaccine plan, Bennett still has received some vaccines, which contain so many questionable ingredients. In addition to vaccines, there are toxins in the food we eat, air we breath, plastics we use, water we drink, clothes we wear, furniture in our homes, medications we take, and the list goes on. It is impossible to avoid all these toxins, so we need to do the best we can to illuminate them safely and effectively. I started with easy things like epsom salt and baking soda baths, dry brushing, green juices, rebounding (aka jumping on a trampoline) and then someone told be about Bioray. They had an entire kids line that was created to counter the negative affects of pollution and other damaging toxins. These toxins block our children’s ability to absorb nutrients and affect their behavior, health and ability to learn. The organs that these toxins impact the most are the liver, the gastrointestinal tract, the adrenals, the brain (mind) and colon.

After using the kids calm, focus, happy and belly, we added in CytoFlora which balances intestinal dysbiosis, creating an environment for healthy intestinal flora to colonize and flourish while delivering an immune strengthening impact. All of the Bioray drops are super gentile and safe of kids. I use them on all three of my kiddos, not just Bennett, and also take some myself.

It has been a little over a year of doing these dietary protocols, and I can now say that Bennett no longer has the diagnosis of Apraxia of Speech. I am not saying that this is a cure for everyone with Apraxia of Speech, but a year of doing these dietary protocols, along with speech therapy, has made such a significant improvement for us. He still has some speech issues, but now these are more related to his tongue control and low oral muscle tone. The muscle tone and tongue control, along with sensory issues, are my next venture as far as healing.

We know he has enlarged tonsils, is a mouth breather, snores, has repetitive movements falling asleep (rocks his head back and forth for a few minutes) and has low muscle tone in his mouth, and luckily I am aware that all these things are connected with the other speech, sensory and behavioral things going on. We have started myofunctional therapy and were recommended a mouth guard by one of our doctors to help with his oral/tongue function. The  MyoMunchee mouth guard I have from my daughter when she was younger works even better since it is smaller and fits in his mouth better. But, basically they both do the same thing – It helps train the tongue how to swallow properly which in turn helps the tonsils, oral structure and sleeping. My daughter has the vivos appliance now that does something similar since she is also a mouth breather that snores (this is sleep apnea and can cause ADD/ADAH in children). Thats a whole other rabbit hole to go down, but it’s fascinating to see how everything is connected. I would recommend finding practitioners who understand the body as a whole, and how all these systems are integrated. to help

A more recent protocol we added is the Advanced TRS Spray to help detox heavy metals, as well as other toxins, from the body in a way that is gentil enough for children to use. I even started using it on my other two kiddos and myself. TRS is a Zeolite that facilitates your body’s ability to extract harmful toxins. As zeolite is inert in your body, your body does not recognize it as anything out of the ordinary. However, heavy metals, radioactive elements and other toxins are extremely attracted to the cages-like structure of the zeolite molecules. In addition, Zeolite will exchange its healthy negatively charged minerals for any positively charged toxins in your body. Because zeolite uses nanotechnology and is encapsulated in water clusters, it will go anywhere in your body water can.

Taken over a period of 90 days, Advanced TRS facilitates the body’s ability to extract toxic metals that it otherwise could not on its own. The graphic below demonstrates both the toxic metals extracted as well as when they are extracted after the first day of using Advanced TRS through 90 days of continuous use.

I know there is a lot of information in this post, and it can seem very overwhelming, especially if you a new to this journey. I just started one thing at a time, and took one day at a time, and over the course of a year, I have seen a true miracle in Bennett and his speech.