Thanks to a $512 donation from the Oxford/Orion Kiwanis Club, Paige Anolick will get the help she needs to speak ? for at least another month.
‘It was a relief,? said Lori Anolick, mother of the four-year-old Oxford resident, of the Kiwanis Club’s donation. ‘It’s been a struggle. This puts my mind at ease. For at least a month, I know that Paige will get her therapy.?
Paige suffers from a neurological disorder known as Verbal Apraxia/Oral Motor Dyspraxia.
‘She doesn’t know how to manipulate the muscles in her mouth to form words,? Lori said. ‘She’s very good at doing single sounds, but she has problems putting those sounds together to form words.?
When she was younger, Paige’s inability to speak caused her to throw ‘tantrums and fits.?
‘She would scream and cry and throw herself on the ground,? Lori said. ‘It was all because she couldn’t communicate.?
But thanks to two years of speech therapy at both Daniel Axford Elementary and the Kaufman Children’s Speech, Language and Sensory Disorder Center in West Bloomfield that’s all behind Page now.
At the start of her therapy, Paige learned basic sign language and had choices presented to her, such as food items, which she would then point to what she wanted.
‘She felt good because she could finally communicate,? Lori said. ‘Slowly but surely, all the tantrums went away.?
Today, Lori says Paige is ‘making great progress.?
‘Two years ago she was nonverbal and now she’s chatting up a storm,? Lori said. ‘Two years ago she said nothing but ‘daddy,? and that wasn’t even regularly. Now she’s starting sentences. She may still be unintelligible to people that aren’t around her a lot. But we can understand her. She can communicate. . .She’s speaking and that means more to me than you can ever imagine.?
‘She’s just a happier, happier child. A completely different child than what she was,? she added.
Lori gives a lot of the credit for Paige’s progress to her Kaufman speech therapist Diane Nancarrow, her preschool teacher at Daniel Axford, Meeghan Rayner, and her speech therapist at DA, Samantha Brush.
But the battle is far from over. Paige must continue to attend speech therapy three times a week ? one 15-minute session in a group setting at Daniel Axford and two 30-minute sessions in a one-on-one setting at the Kaufman Children’s Speech Center.
‘Our goal is that through the therapy, she will be able to start kindergarten with all the other children her age,? Lori said.
While the speech therapy at DA is publicly subsidized, the sessions at Kaufman cost the Anolicks $64 each, or $128 per week in Page’s case.
Unfortunately, none of Paige’s speech therapy at Kaufman is covered by the family’s health insurance.
‘Not a bit,? Lori said. ‘I haven’t found one insurance company ? one that’s been offered to my husband, Shawn Anolick ? that covers any of this.?
Because speech therapy is offered through the school district, insurance companies won’t pay for private sessions.
But Paige needs her twice weekly sessions at Kaufman, according to Lori.
‘School doesn’t last all year round or offer the one-on-one sessions she needs,? she explained. ‘Without the intensive Kaufman therapy, I don’t think she would be talking as well as she is right now.?
Despite the lack of insurance coverage, Lori and her husband work hard to afford Paige’s therapy and still meet the needs of their other three children.
‘My worst fear is we won’t have the money to send her (to Kaufman),? said Lori, who’s started her own cleaning business to help pay the bills.
Lori is grateful to the Oxford/Orion Kiwanis Club for its $512 donation, which will pay for one month of Paige’s speech therapy at Kaufman.
‘We really thank them. It was very nice of them to do this,? said Lori choking back the tears.
The Anolicks are also hoping to someday be able to afford occupational therapy at Kaufman to help treat Paige’s other condition, Sensory Integration (SI) Disorder, which affects the five senses, specifically how the body takes in and processes sensory input. It makes the sufferer either hypersensitive (too much sensory input) or hyposensitive (too little sensory input).
Paige’s big problem was being oversensitive to touch.
‘When she was younger, you would run your hand along her arm and she would scream,? Lori said. ‘You would try to hug her and she would run away and cry. I would comb or brush her hair and it would be like I was killing her.??
Paige receives occupational therapy to treat her SI at Daniel Axford. However, it focuses only on developing her ‘fine motor skills,? such as holding a pencil, according to Lori.
Although Paige’s SI Disorder is ‘a lot better now,? the Anolicks would still like her to receive occupational therapy for the ‘whole body? from Kaufman.
Unfortunately, it costs $128 per one-hour session and, again, insurance doesn’t cover it.
‘We can’t afford it,? Lori said.
Editor’s Note: Individuals and organizations wishing to help Paige Anolick can contact The Oxford Leader at (248) 628-4801. Ask for C.J. Carnacchio and he will put you in touch with the Anolick family.