What is CAS?

Fast Facts about CAS

Signs your child may have CAS

What is CAS?

 

CAS is a label used for a specific type of speech sound disorder in which the planning and/or programming of the movements to produce speech is inefficient. This means that although a child with CAS may know what they want to say, their mouth may not move the way it needs to in order to say words clearly.

Fast Facts about CAS

CAS is a Rare Disorder

Approximately 1 to 2 children out of 1,000 have CAS.

CAS is a Speech Sound Disorder

CAS is a diagnostic label for a speech sound disorder, not a medical condition.

CAS is Best Diagnosed by a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP)

Since CAS is a speech sound disorder, a SLP is the most qualified professional to diagnose and treat it.

Children with CAS Need Specialized Treatment

CAS is a motor-based disorder, so the most effective treatments are based on the principles of motor learning, unlike traditional speech therapy.

CAS May Occur With or Without Other Disorders

CAS sometimes occurs in isolation but often happens with other developmental, neurological and genetic disorders.

Signs your child may have CAS

There is no one sign that indicates CAS. Inefficiency in the motor planning/programming for speech results in a variety of speech characteristics. If your child has several signs, consider having your child evaluated for CAS by a qualified speech-language pathologist (SLP).

Vowel Distortions

Your child produces vowel distortions, which can make the word sound “off” even if the consonant sounds are correct. The vowel may sound close to the correct vowel sound or may sound like it is a blend between two different vowel sounds. This can make it hard to understand what the child is saying.

Inaccurate, clumsy or awkward speech movements

Your child may appear to struggle to speak (effortful speech), move their mouth as if they were talking but not produce sound (silent posturing) or make extra or awkward looking movements (grope) while speaking. Children with CAS often display these difficulties due to inefficiency with motor planning/programming for speech.

Odd or "Robot-like" speech

Your child may stress all syllables equally (monotone) or have unusual pauses within or between syllables, making their speech sound odd or "robot-like." Issues with prosody such as these are common for children with CAS.

Voicing Errors

Your child may confuse voiced sounds and unvoiced sounds, such that it can hard to tell the difference between "papa" and "baba" or "do" and "two." These are called questionable voicing errors and are common for children with CAS.

Inconsistency

Your child may sometimes struggle to say a word (or say a word wrong), even if they have said the word correctly in the past. Your child may also say the same word many different ways with different sounds or only be able to say the word in certain situations. Inconsistency in speech is due to the inefficiencies in motor planning/programming for speech in children with CAS.

Diagnosis

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Treatment Depends on Severity

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Dr. Edythe Strand Explains CAS

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