| You may have heard of "apraxia," but are unsure | | | | CAS have severe speech problems that don't |
| exactly what it is. Perhaps you have wondered | | | | follow developmental patterns. Some of the |
| whether your child's speech problem falls under | | | | indicators of Childhood Apraxia of Speech are: |
| this category. The official term for apraxia, | | | | -Inconsistent errors - A child may produce a |
| approved by the American | | | | sound in one context, but not in another. The child |
| Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), is | | | | may make different errors when repeating the |
| "childhood apraxia of speech." Adults can also be | | | | same word or phrase several times. |
| diagnosed with "apraxia of speech," but this | | | | -Pauses between the sounds and syllables of a |
| generally refers to an acquired disorder. | | | | word |
| Most children with articulation disorders have | | | | -Abnormal rhythm of speech |
| errors that follow a predictable developmental | | | | -Difficulty producing vowels |
| pattern. Certain sounds, like /p/, /b/, /m/, /n/, | | | | -More errors in longer and more complex |
| w/ are mastered first and are consistently | | | | utterances |
| produced correctly. More difficult sounds, such as | | | | -Unusual errors |
| th/, /r/, and /ch/ are usually mastered later. Most | | | | Treatment of apraxia requires different therapy |
| children with articulation delays have no trouble | | | | techniques from standard articulation therapy. If |
| with vowels or the rhythm of speech. | | | | you suspect that your child may have apraxia, it |
| Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a deficit in | | | | is important to seek assessment and treatment |
| the motor planning and programming of speech. It | | | | from a speech-language-pathologist with |
| is a neurologically-based disorder. Children with | | | | experience in this area. |