A 3-year-old girl from Grayling spent
four months in Detroit discovering
the gift of speech.
Ms. Bray smiles when ask-
ed how her husband reacted to
her decision to take 'Alicia to
West Bloomfield for such an
extended period of time. "I'm
kind of a warrior," she said.
"Once I had decided, I asked
`What do you think?' and he
said it sounded like a good
idea. So I packed up the car
and off we went."
Ms. Bray's first step was to
call Nancy Reinheimer Kauf-
man, coordinator of diagnos-
tics and special programs at
Beaumont Hospital's West
Bloomfield Center for Child-
hood Aphasia and Apraxia.
"When Nancy said Alicia's
problem was treatable, I
wondered if she was over-
estimating what she could do;'
said Ms. Bray. "Now I call her
the master magician." Alicia
was seen at least twice every
weekday, both individually
and in a small group with
other apraxic children.
Mrs. Kaufman helped Ms.
Bray find a Farmington Hills
apartment that was conve-
nient to Beaumont's facility.
"My own personality is to be
somewhat out of the city," said
Ms. Bray, "and Farmington
Hills is a little like the coun-
try. There are open fields.
And, we can get to every mall
there is."
Although their daily routine
was focused around Alicia's
therapy, Ms. Bray found time
to explore her new surroun-
dings during the weekends.
The two enjoyed visiting the
Farmington Public Library,
many nearby parks, and the
Jewish Community Center,
which Ms. Bray found "a lit-
tle overwhelming, but very
impressive."
"We also went to the
(Detroit) zoo a lot on week-
ends, until we almost froze to
death. Then we gave it up,"
she said.
She found friendship and
support in the other parents
whose children share Alicia's
therapy group. They met often
during the group sessions to
discuss common concerns and
share their enthusaism about
their children's progress.
Ms. Bray and Alicia drove
back home to Grayling one
weekend each month. And, in
between, the telephone
became a frequent substitute
for the presence of family and
friends, connecting her to her
husband in Grayling and to
her parents, sister and
brother in California.
"I like the city; I've found
lots of things to do, but at the
same time, our family is divid-
ed ." she said.
The loneliness hit hard
when Alicia hurt her head
and had to be taken to the
emergency room by am-
bulance. Alicia's injury was
minor, but Ms. Bray realized
she had no one to call to take
her and Alicia home
afterwards.
"Then I really felt alone,"
she said.
One of the nicest surprises
for Ms. Bray was the fulfill-
ment she found from living in
"a Jewish environment" for
the first time. "I've never liv-
Feeling this was
her last chance to
help Alicia, Ms.
Bray decided to
use her retirement
funds to pay for
the program.
ed in a community where I'm
so comfortable being Jewish,"
she said. "I can wear my Star
of David outside my shirr'
In northern Michigan, she
feels "implicit if not explicit
anti-Semitism." She grew up
in a San Diego, Calif., suburb
where she was taunted for be-
ing the only Jewish child in
her neighborhood. "I'll really
miss the Jewish environment
here," she said. "I've learned
as much as Alicia from being
here."
She also. fears the services
available to Alicia in the
Grayling area will not begin
to compare with the quality of
treatment she has received at
Beaumont, although Mrs.
Kaufman has agreed to train
Alicia's local speech
pathologist.
As Ms. Bray and Alicia
return home, Ms. Bray re-
counts a recent afternoon that
was beyond her wildest
dreams a few short months
ago. Alicia turned to her and
said, "Babies don't talk; big
girls do, and I'm a big girl
now." ❑
Alicia is excited to be able to communicate clearly.
Apraxia Symptoms
I
f apraxia is sus-
pected what should
parents look for? Accor-
ding to Beaumont Hospi-
tal's Nancy Kaufman, any
child who is not talking by
age 2 should be evaluated
by a speech and language
pathologist, although the
symptoms of apraxia are
somewhat more specific.
If a child is apraxic, the
words that he tries to say
will be unintelligible.
These children will fre-
quently omit sounds or
substitute other sounds
that are easier to make.
Also, they are unable to
imitate words and phrases,
although their hearing
and comprehension may be
normal.
"The key word here is
`can't,' " said Mrs. Kauf-
man. "You can tell that
they would like to express
themselves, but they can't.
They use a lot of gestures,
sometimes pointing and
grunting."
She said it is often
mistakenly assumed that
apraxic children have corn-
prehension problems or
that their hearing is at
fault. ❑
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
73