What are the signs of Childhood Apraxia of Speech?

Not all children with CAS are the same. Your child may show some or all of the signs below:

  • Does not coo or babble as an infant; has limited vocalizations in infancy

  • Says first words later than you think she should

  • Says only a few different sounds:

    • may often use mainly vowels

    • Lack of a consonant by 12 months of age

    • Fewer than 3 consonants by 16 months of age

    • Fewer than 5 consonants by 24 months of age

  • Has problems putting sounds together to form syllables/simple words

  • Little use of different syllable shapes [consonant + vowel (CV); vowel + consonant (VC); CVCV, VCV]

  • Puts long pauses between sounds or syllables

  • Does not always say a word the same way

  • Has problems with eating (chewing and swallowing) or a history of this

  • Understands speech and language better than they can produce speech.

  • Has problems imitating what others say. If she can imitate, those words will sound better than words she says on her own.

  • Groping behaviors

  • More trouble saying longer words than shorter ones

  • Difficult to understand, especially with those who don’t know the child well

  • Speech may sound choppy, flat, or monotone. The child may put stress on the wrong syllable or word or have difficulty with continuous voicing across syllables or words.

Childhood Apraxia of Speech

How Can We Help?

Treatment of Motor Speech Disorders- particularly Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a speciality in the world of Speech Pathology. All of our Speech-Language Pathologists receive extensive training in CAS. These trainings include PROMPT (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets), Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC), the Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol, and regular continuing education through Apraxia Kids.

We are experts in assessing children for CAS, as well as developing a holistic treatment plan. We do not believe in a “one size fits all” approach to evaluation and therapy. Rather, we use a combination of techniques, methods, and approaches - all based in the Principles of Motor Learning and incorporating multisensory cues - to provide the most effective and efficient intervention for CAS and sCAS.