How can I help my child?
Learning about CAS is an important first step.
Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is rare and many speech-language pathologists (SLPs) don't have experience diagnosing or treating it. Understanding how CAS is diagnosed and treated can help you advocate for your child.
Apraxia is a label for a specific type of speech disorder that is caused by difficulty with planning movements necessary to say words.
Research suggests that intensive therapy 3-5 times a week is recommended, especially for children with severe CAS, but may change over time as the child makes progress.
A speech-language pathologist is the most qualified apraxia therapy professional to diagnose and treat CAS.
Most children with child apraxia of speech (CAS), especially those without other developmental disorders, do develop verbal communication skills with appropriate treatment.
There are multiple treatment methods for CAS. Methods that address the underlying motor planning problems, especially those that incorporate Principles of Motor Learning (PML), are most effective in treating apraxia.
CAS may occur in isolation, but more often occurs with other developmental, neurological or genetic disorders. The incidence of CAS is not higher in children with autism.
