Childhood Apraxia of Speech
What is Childhood Apraxia of Speech?
Apraxia of speech (AOS) is a motor speech planning disorder that can occur in childhood or as a result of a neurological injury. It is also known as acquired apraxia of speech, verbal apraxia, or childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). Individuals with apraxia have difficulty achieving the correct oral motor movements needed to communicate their intended verbal message. Even though the person may know exactly what he or she wants to say, the motor planning system experiences a breakdown, and he or she is unable to plan and sequence the sounds to produce a clear verbal message. Though the person is unable to move his or her tongue, jaw, and lips in the correct way, it is not because of weakness.
What are Signs of Apraxia of Speech?
- Vowel distortion and/or the person mostly produces only vowels, while consonants are often omitted from words
- Inconsistent speech patterns: able to clearly produce some words spontaneously but unable to produce the same sounds in other words or phrases
- Inability to imitate
- Difficulty moving smoothly from one sound, syllable or word to another
- Groping for sounds is observed, which may look like a person trying to say sounds/words but unable to
- Prosody and intonation patterns may sound unusual
