9 Things You Need To Know About Childhood Apraxia of Speech

9.) What Is Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)?

Not to be confused with Acquired Apraxia which typically affects adult trauma victims, Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a rare neurological speech sound disorder in which the brain struggles with oral motor planning. Now talking may seem like a fairly simple process to those of us who’ve never struggled with a speech impairment, but the process is actually quite intricate, First, you subconsciously start with an idea of what you want to say. Then in the blink of an eye, you piece together a manual consisting of particular sounds and syllables, muscle movements, force needed to activate each muscle, appropriate timing, and a host of other specifications. This manual is what we’ll call a speech movement plan. The final step is to transmit the entire speech movement plan to the mouth, and Houston, we have lift off. It is believed that children with CAS struggle with the inability to transmit, create, and recall speech movement plans.

8.) What Does CAS Look Like?

Because of the rarity of CAS, a Speech Language Pathologist who is untrained in spotting the specific signs can easily misdiagnose your child with a similarly presenting disorder. For this reason, it’s imperative that we look at the various physical forms that CAS can take. In many children…