Apraxia

Apraxia

Apraxia is a motor speech disorder that makes it hard to speak. It can take a lot of work to learn to say sounds and words better. Speech-language pathologists, or SLPs, can help.

In order for speech to occur, messages need to go from the brain to the mouth. These messages tell the muscles how and when to move to make sounds. When a child has apraxia of speech (Childhood Apraxia of Speech or CAS), the messages do not get through correctly. The child might not be able to move their lips or tongue in the right ways, even though their muscles are not weak. Sometimes, the child might not be able to say much at all.

A child with CAS knows what they want to say. The problem is not how the child thinks but how the brain tells the mouth muscles to move.

CAS is sometimes called verbal dyspraxia or developmental apraxia. Even though the word “developmental" is used, CAS is not a problem that children outgrow. A child with CAS will not learn speech sounds in typical order and will not make progress without treatment. It can take a lot of work, but the child’s speech can improve.

Source: https://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/childhood-apraxia-of-speech/