Childhood Apraxia of Speech

We have worked with many kiddos with childhood apraxia of speech and here is what we have learned:

What is it?  A motor-speech disorder in which the child's brain has difficulty programming speech signals.

What are some characteristics of childhood apraxia of speech? Limited number of words, limited number of sounds produced, vowel and consonant distortions, increased difficulty with increased length and complexity of words, inconsistent errors, and more- see a speech therapist if you're concerned.

How do we treat it? Early intervention is key!  We like to start working with kids as early as possible.  We choose meaningful targets that we hope will lead to improved speech intelligibility.  We want frequent repetition of the correct motor plan to help the brain learn that motor plan!  So we provide maximum support to elicit accurate production of sounds/words/targets and then fade that support as quickly as possible so kiddos don't become prompt dependent.  Research supports an increased frequency of therapy with kiddos with apraxia of speech.

Ask us your questions or tell us about your experiences!