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Childhood apraxia of speech is a motor speech disorder.
Children who have apraxia have problems saying sounds, syllables and words.
This in not caused by muscle weakness or paralysis.
The child's brain has problem planning movement of specific body parts
(eg:lips, jaw, tongue) needed for speech.
Signs of apraxia:
A young child:
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does not coo/babble
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first words are late
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says only a few different sounds
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says fewer consonants and vowels
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has problems combining sounds
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simplifies words (deletes difficult sounds) frequently
An older child:
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makes inconsistent sound errors
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understands language much better than s/he can talk
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has difficulty imitating speech - imitated speech is much clearer than spontaneous speech
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longer words/phrases are more difficult to say
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has more difficulty when anxious
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is harder to understand with an unfamiliar listener
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sounds choppy, monotonous, or stresses the wrong syllable
Other Potential Problems:
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Delayed language development
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Other expressive language problems (ex. word order confusion/word recall)
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Difficulty with fine motor movement/coordination
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Oversensitive/hypersensitive or undersensitive/hyposensitive in the mouth:eg may not like tooth brushing, crunchy foods, may not be able to identify objects in the mouth
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may have problems learning to read, spell, and write
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