Childhood Apraxia of Speech (often abbreviated as CAS) is a somewhat rare speech disorder. It is estimated that 1 in 1,000 children will be diagnosed with apraxia. In comparison, 1 in 150 will be diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Many parents, and indeed doctors, are not aware of what apraxia is, and thus the early warning signs may go unnoticed. Like many other neurological disorders, early treatment is the key to helping your child overcome the difficulties this speech disorder can present.
In medical terms, Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a motor-planning disorder that is characterized by difficulty sequencing the speech movements necessary for volitional speech. In layman’s terms, the messages sent by the brain to the muscles and nerves that control voluntary speech get scrambled and the muscles and nerves can’t decode them to understand what to do. This is not a speech delay, but a true neurological disorder. It is unclear what causes apraxia, but it appears to be related to immature neurological development, rather than caused by an injury to the brain, such as is seen in stroke patients with apraxia. Though it has been named “childhood” apraxia of speech, it is not strictly a childhood disease. A child diagnosed with apraxia will struggle their entire lives with their speech, though it will probably get easier to speak as they get older.
Many children with Autism, Down Syndrome, and Cerebral Palsy have been diagnosed with CAS, though apraxia does appear in children who have no other disabilities. Common co-morbid conditions include hypotonia (low muscle tone), sensory integrations problems, and language delay. Many older children with apraxia have trouble with reading, writing, and spelling. Because of this, early intervention with speech therapy and occupational therapy is very important for a child’s future at school. Read the rest of this entry »
