What Is Childhood Apraxia of Speech?

Q: Can AAC Be Used With Childhood Apraxia of Speech?

Yes. Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) can be an important part of supporting a child with CAS.

Q: Will My Child Grow Out of Childhood Apraxia of Speech?

Children do not simply "grow out" of CAS. However, children with CAS can make progress with appropriate, individualized speech-language therapy.

Kurliand Speech Clinic

Oct 2

4 min read

Have you noticed that your child knows what they want to say but has difficulty getting the words out clearly? If your child has difficulty producing certain sounds or words, especially when trying to say the same word more than once, you may have heard of Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS).

Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a neurological speech sound disorder that affects the brain’s ability to plan and program the precise movements needed for speech. CAS can make it difficult for a child to coordinate the movements of their lips, tongue, jaw, and other structures involved in speaking.

Importantly, CAS is not caused by weak speech muscles. Instead, the difficulty involves planning and coordinating the movements needed to produce clear and accurate speech (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association [ASHA], 2007).

What Are the Signs of Childhood Apraxia of Speech?

Children with CAS may demonstrate different speech characteristics. Some common signs include:

Inconsistent speech sound errors: A child may pronounce the same word differently each time they say it.
Difficulty transitioning between sounds and syllables: A child may have difficulty smoothly moving from one sound or syllable to another.
Difficulty producing longer or more complex words: Speech may become more difficult as words increase in length or complexity.
Atypical prosody: A child may use unusual stress, rhythm, or intonation when speaking.
Difficulty imitating words: A child may have more difficulty saying a word when asked to repeat it than when saying it spontaneously.
Limited speech sound repertoire: Some children may use a smaller variety of consonant and vowel sounds.

The severity and presentation of CAS can vary from child to child. A child may know exactly what they want to communicate but have difficulty planning the movements required to produce the word.

It is also important to remember that not every child who has difficulty producing speech sounds has CAS. Other speech sound disorders can have similar characteristics. A speech-language pathologist (SLP) can assess a child's speech and determine the areas that may be contributing to their communication difficulties.

What Causes Childhood Apraxia of Speech?

CAS can occur for different reasons. It may be associated with a known neurological condition or impairment, including brain injury or certain neurobehavioral disorders. However, in many cases, the specific cause of CAS is not known (ASHA, 2007).

CAS is a motor speech disorder, which means that the primary difficulty involves planning and coordinating speech movements rather than weakness of the speech muscles.

Can Childhood Apraxia of Speech Affect Other Areas?

Children with CAS may experience difficulties beyond speech production. Some children may also have challenges with:

Expressive language
Receptive language
Early literacy and reading
Spelling and writing
Vocabulary and sentence development

However, these difficulties do not occur in every child with CAS. Each child's communication profile is unique and should be assessed individually (ASHA, n.d.).

How Is Childhood Apraxia of Speech Treated?

Speech therapy for Childhood Apraxia of Speech focuses on improving speech motor planning and the coordination of movements needed for speech.

Unlike some traditional approaches to speech sound therapy, treatment for CAS focuses heavily on the movement sequences required to produce speech. Children may practice specific sounds, syllables, words, and phrases repeatedly to help develop more consistent and accurate speech movement patterns.

Treatment may include:

Repeated practice of specific speech targets
Auditory models and feedback
Visual cues
Tactile or touch cues when appropriate
Gradually increasing the complexity of speech targets
Practice of functional words and phrases
Activities designed to improve speech motor planning and coordination

Because CAS is a motor speech disorder, frequent and structured opportunities to practise speech movements are an important part of intervention. Treatment should be individualized based on the child's age, communication needs, speech abilities, and response to therapy (ASHA, n.d.).

Can AAC Be Used With Childhood Apraxia of Speech?

Yes. Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) can be an important part of supporting a child with CAS.

AAC may include gestures, signs, communication boards, picture-based systems, or speech-generating devices. AAC can provide children with another way to communicate while they continue developing their verbal speech skills.

Using AAC does not mean that a child has to stop working on spoken communication. Instead, AAC can help ensure that children have a reliable way to communicate their wants, needs, thoughts, and ideas while speech development is being supported.

Will My Child Grow Out of Childhood Apraxia of Speech?

Children do not simply "grow out" of CAS. However, children with CAS can make progress with appropriate, individualized speech-language therapy.

The type and amount of support a child needs can change over time as their speech and communication skills develop. An SLP can monitor progress and adjust treatment goals and strategies based on the child's changing needs.

Early identification and appropriate intervention can help children develop more effective ways to communicate and participate in everyday activities.

Speech Therapy for Childhood Apraxia of Speech in Vaughan, Ontario

If you are concerned about your child's speech development, a speech-language assessment can help identify your child's strengths and areas of difficulty.

At Kurliand Speech Clinic, our speech-language pathologists provide speech and language assessments and therapy for children in Vaughan, Woodbridge, Maple, and surrounding areas of Ontario. We can help families better understand their child's communication needs and develop individualized therapy goals.

Speech therapy may be provided in our Vaughan clinic, in your home, or virtually across Ontario, depending on your child's needs and the services recommended.

If you are looking for speech therapy for Childhood Apraxia of Speech in Vaughan, Ontario, contact Kurliand Speech Clinic to learn more about our assessment and therapy services.