Childhood Apraxia
of Speech Developmental (Childhood) apraxia of speech is a disorder of the
nervous system that affects the ability to sequence and say sounds,
syllables, and words. It is not due to muscular weakness or paralysis.
The problem is in the brain's planning to move the body parts needed
for speech (e.g., lips, jaw, tongue). The child knows what he or she
wants to say, but the brain is not sending the correct instructions to
move the body parts of speech the way they need to be moved. There is
no known cause of the disorder.
Signs of Developmental Apraxia of Speech In Very Young Children The child...
does not coo or babble
as an infant
produces first words
after some delay, but these words are missing sounds
produces only a few
different consonant sounds
is unsuccessful at
combining sounds
simplifies words by
replacing difficult sounds with easier ones or by deleting difficult
sounds (Although all children do this, the child with developmental
apraxia of speech does so more often).
may have feeding
problems.
Signs of
Developmental Apraxia of Speech In Older Children The child...
makes inconsistent
sound errors that are not the result of immaturity
can understand
language much better than he or she can produce it
has difficulty
imitating speech
may appear to be
groping when attempting to produce sounds or to coordinate the lips,
tongue, and jaw for purposeful movement
has more difficulty
saying longer phrases than shorter ones
appears to be worse
when he or she is anxious
is hard for listeners
to understand.
Some children may have
other developmental and communication problems as well. These problems
can include weakness of the lips, jaw, or tongue; delayed language
development; other expressive language problems; difficulties with
fine motor movement; and problems with oral-sensory perception
(identifying an object in the mouth through the sense of touch).
Apraxia
http://home.ica.net/~fred/anch10-5.htm Apraxia is a motor disorder in which volitional or voluntary
movement is impaired without muscle weakness. The ability to select
and sequence movements is impaired. Oral apraxia affects one ability
to move the muscles of the mouth for non-speech purposes. Someone with
oral apraxia would have trouble coughing, swallowing, wiggling their
tongue or blowing a kiss when asked to do so. Verbal apraxia, or
apraxia of speech is an impairment in the sequencing of speech sounds.
Apraxia-FAQ The ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education
(ERIC EC)
http://ericec.org/faq/apraxia.html Apraxia of speech is felt to be a neurogenic (neurologically
based) speech motor disorder. Many (or perhaps most) children with
apraxia of speech have no abnormalities as detected by MRI scans.
Others may have specific damage to a part of the brain that can
account for the problem. In the latter case, some children are born
with such damage and other children acquire damage to the brain by
accident or illness.
NINDS Apraxia Information Page National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/disorders/apraxia.htm Apraxia is a neurological disorder characterized by loss of the
ability to execute or carry out learned (familiar) movements, despite
having the desire and the physical ability to perform the movements.
Apraxia of Speech National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication
Disorders
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/apraxia.asp Apraxia of speech, also known as verbal apraxia or dyspraxia, is a
speech disorder in which a person has trouble saying what he or she
wants to say correctly and consistently. It is not due to weakness or
paralysis of the speech muscles (the muscles of the face, tongue, and
lips). The severity of apraxia of speech can range from mild to
severe.
Developmental Apraxia of Speech
http://members.tripod.com/Caroline_Bowen/phonol-and-artic.htm#eval What is dyspraxia? Let's start with a reminder about what it is
not! Developmental Apraxia of Speech is a childhood speech disorder.
It is NOT the same as "Apraxia" or "Dyspraxia" in adults who have had
strokes or head injuries.
Developmental Apraxia of Speech Mayo Clinic Rochester
http://www.mayo.edu/pediatrics-rst/speech-apraxia.html Significant difficulty acquiring speech sounds; many errors in
making speech sounds, including omissions, distortions and additions;
halting, slow, or awkward speech rate and sequencing of sounds;
awkward attempts to correct errors; more errors as length of words or
phrases increase; awareness of speech difficulty.
What is Developmental Apraxia of Speech?
http://www.tayloredmktg.com/dyspraxia/das.shtml This excellent article by Ann S. Guild,MACCC/SLP with some
additions Tracy Vail, MSCCC/SLP is reproduced with their permission in
order to help all parents, grandparents, special educators and speech
language pathologists understand our children. It is the best handout
that I have seen. Please give it to anyone who touches children who
display these symptoms.
Ask the Experts About Apraxia
What Is Developmental Apraxia of Speech? By Diane Paul-Brown and Roseanne Clausen
http://www.pediatricservices.com/parents/pc-36.htm A child with developmental apraxia of speech has trouble correctly
producing and sequencing sounds, syllables, and words. Generally,
there is nothing wrong with the muscles of the face, tongue, lips, and
jaw. The problem is thought to arise from difficulty accessing the
"motor plan" from the brain for saying a sound or word.
Developmental Apraxia by Nancy William, M.A.
http://www.wyandotte.org/SpecialEd/apraxia.htm What is developmental apraxia? Apraxia is difficulty forming
sounds into words. The term "developmental apraxia" is used when
children have this problem.
How did parents discover fish oil helped their children talk?
http://www.shop-in-service.com/diet.htm
What is ProEFA, EFA, LCP, and DHA? And could they possibly help your
child? The answer will be clear to all in the near future. This is
because CHERAB will soon begin research on apraxia and EFAs (Essential
Fatty Acids) based on the outcome of the hugely successful First
Scientific Conference Dedicated to the Therapy of Verbal Apraxia/Dyspraxia.
A REPRESENTATIONAL ACCOUNT FOR APRAXIA OF SPEECH Jörg Mayer, Institute of Natural Language Processing,
Stuttgart, Germany
http://www.ims.uni-stuttgart.de/phonetik/joerg/papers/apraxie.pdf The present study proposes a new interpretation of the underlying
distortion in apraxia of speech. Based on the experimental
investigation of coarticulation it is argued that apraxia of speech
has to be seen as a defective implementation of phonological
representations at the phonology- phonetics interface. The
characteristic production deficits of apraxic patients are explained
in terms of over-specification of phonetic representations. with the
corresponding articulators resting in a neutral position or moving
from one target to another without affecting the actually produced
sound(s).
Early Intervention SpeechVille Express
http://www.speech-express.com/speech-therapy/early-intervention.html The prognosis for a child with a communication disorder is
improved if the child receives appropriate therapy at three years of
age over that of a child who first receives a diagnosis and
appropriate therapy at the age of six. So why are some children with
apraxia diagnosed after the early intervention years?
What Speech Therapy "Looks" Like SpeechVille Express
http://www.speech-express.com/speech-therapy/speech-therapy-view.html The exact format and content of your typical speech therapy
session will, of course, depend on the age of your child, whether they
are in private or group sessions, and what level of functioning they
are at.
Oral motor exercises Schatze Rasmussen
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/speech_language_disorders/41710 Oral motor exercises are occasionally necessary for weak
articulators or muscles in the mouth and face for speech production.
They sometimes need strengthening, need to move farther and/or have
better coordination. These can help a child make speech sounds better
as well as help with the eating/feeding/swallowing problems some
children have difficulty with.
Therapy Techniques Common For Apraxia Schatze Rasmussen
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/speech_language_disorders/36847 Apraxia therapy can seem pretty complicated and it may take a long
time to see progress, or so it seems. The key to success with any
apraxic patient or student is to find what works for him or her, since
every person is not the same.
This is a long but interesting law case from April 25, 2000
between a student with not only oral apraxia, but global apraxia, and
his school. (He wins!)
Speech, Language and Sensory-Motor Systems, Inc. 9388 North Lilley Road Plymouth, MI 48170
Phone: (734) 454-0866 Fax: (734) 454-1744 http://www.sphlangsys.com/ Offering Comprehensive, Multi-Disciplined Pediatric Therapy and
Education Programs. 2003 Recipient of the Clinical Services Award by
The Michigan Speech and Hearing Association.
Waterford School District Speech Language Pathologists Website
http://www.waterford.k12.mi.us/sal/ The Waterford School District Speech Language Pathologists would
like to welcome you to our web site. We have included information that
we hope will answer many of your questions. You will also find
suggestions on how to improve your child's speech and language skills
through a variety of activities as well as resources for additional
information.
The Childhood
Apraxia of Speech Association
http://www.apraxia-kids.org The Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association is a nonprofit
organization dedicated to children with speech apraxia (verbal
dyspraxia) and their families, the professionals who care about them,
and the researchers trying to find answers. The Association provides
help, guidance, information, referral, education, and research support
to thousands of families and professionals each year on topics related
to apraxia and associated speech, language, and learning delays,
education, therapy, and services.
Cherab Foundation http://www.apraxia.cc/ The Cherab Foundation is a world-wide nonprofit organization
working to improve the communication skills and education of all
children with speech and language delays and disorders. Our area of
emphasis is verbal and oral apraxia, severe neurologically-based
speech and language disorders that hinder children's ability to speak.
Apraxia Support CANADA
http://apraxiaontario.homestead.com/ Developmental Apraxia of Speech is a neurologically-based motor
planning speech disorder that affects a very small number of children.
Children with apraxia have extreme difficulty translating their
thoughts into the correct sequence of movements of their mouth,
tongue, and lips.
CHERAB - ECHO – Speechville Discussion Forum
http://www.speech-express.com/boards/ Connecting caregivers of children struggling with speech or
language.
Latetalkers Yahoo Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Latetalkers/ To discuss developmental speech delays caused by apraxia (dyspraxia),
phonological disorders, autism spectrum disorders, learning disabilies,
or other causes. The list is varied but our common thread is helping
those children attain intelligible speech.
A RECONCEPTUALIZATION OF APRAXIA OF
SPEECH: A SYNTHESIS OF EVIDENCE S.P. Whiteside and R.A. Varley, Department of Human
Communication Sciences, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom)
http://www.masson.it/cortex/pdf/vol34/issue2/221-231.pdf This paper presents a reconceptualization
of apraxia of speech (AOS) and reviews a range of acoustic and
articulatory data which have been reported on apraxia of speech. Data
from both domains, and previous theoretical debate are discussed as
support for this cognitive-based reconceptualization.
Look Who’s Talking Now: Fish oil capsules help children with speech
disorders find their voices EngleMed
http://www.shop-in-service.com/apraxia_conference.htm#Look A simple fish oil supplement may be the key to dramatically unlock
the voices of children with speech and language disorders.
The Official
Patient's Sourcebook on Apraxia: A Revised and Updated Directory for
the Internet Age by Icon Health Publications
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0597830460/qid=1055991682/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/103-7336561-4848639 This is a "must have" reference book for patients, parents,
caregivers, and libraries with medical collections. This sourcebook is
organized into three parts. Part I explores basic techniques to
researching apraxia (e.g. finding guidelines on diagnosis, treatments,
and prognosis), followed by a number of topics, including information
on how to get in touch with organizations, associations, or other
patient networks dedicated to apraxia.
Childhood Apraxia of Speech Resource Guide by Shelley Lynne Velleman
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0769301657/qid=1056030032/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/103-7336561-4848639 This comprehensive resource guide was created in response to the
requests from practicing speech language pathologists and parents of
children with apraxia of speech for information on the nature of this
complicated disorder and advice on assessment and treatment methods.
Fundamental aspects of the disorder are discussed in depth and
different viewpoints regarding apraxia are compared, eliminating the
need to track down multiple sources.
Helping Children With Dyspraxia by Maureen Boon
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1853028819/qid=1056030110/sr=2-3/ref=sr_2_3/103-7336561-4848639 Helping Children with Dyspraxia provides clear and positive
answers to the questions commonly asked by parents and teachers about
behavior, causes, identification and assessment associated with
dyspraxia and discusses the range of possible therapeutic
interventions. Maureen Boon shows how a therapeutic approach can
benefit this group and how parents and teachers can actively
participate in the child's therapy.
THE LCP SOLUTION: The Remarkable Nutritional Treatment for ADHD,
Dyslexia, and Dyspraxia by B. Jacqueline, Ph.D. Stordy, Malcolm J. Nicholl, Jacqueline
Stordy
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345438728/qid=1056052192/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-7336561-4848639?v=glance&s=books This important new book documents a major breakthrough in the
treatment of the three most widespread learning disabilities--ADHD,
dyslexia, and dyspraxia ("clumsy child syndrome"). Although these
conditions have reached epidemic proportions, treatment has been
limited to ineffective behavioral therapies or the controversial
prescription drug Ritalin. Now Dr. B. Jacqueline Stordy, a leading
researcher in the field, reveals a stunning new treatment based on a
simple nutritional supplement.
CD - AphasiaTutor 0: Sights 'n Sounds
http://www.bungalowsoftware.com/sights.htm
Speech therapy software that improves articulation and word retrieval.
Useful for aphasia and oral apraxia.
CD - Time to Sing! New Arrangements by Michael Moricz, A Project of the Center for
Creative Play
http://www.pittsburghsymphony.org/time2sing.html This special CD was created to help young children (2-8 years)
learn the words to familiar songs - especially children who suffer
from apraxia, a disorder that makes it difficult for children to
sequence and execute speech movements. The words are much slower than
the originals, but the music is fun, exciting, playful, and beautiful,
and will be enjoyed by all children.
