Childhood Apraxia

Although the onset of this disorder is during childhood, the symptoms often continue past the period of development into adulthood (Bernthal et al).

The true incidence and prevalence of CAS is unclear due to a lack of diagnostic guidelines and assessments, leading to an over-diagnosis of this disorder. However, according to ASHA it is estimated that 0.1-0.2% of children suffer from CAS (“Childhood Apraxia of Speech”). Individuals with Childhood Apraxia of Speech make up between 3.4% and 4.3% of children who are referred for speech-language therapy services. CAS occurs more often in boys than girls. It is co-morbid with other conditions, such as galactosemia, autism, epilepsy, and fragile X syndrome (“Childhood Apraxia of Speech”).

Although there is no specific list of symptoms for every case of CAS, there are three features that are common in individuals with CAS. These features include inconsistent speech sound errors, distorted vowels and transitions between sounds, and difficulty using correct prosody (“Childhood Apraxia of Speech”). Other characteristics common in individuals with CAS include voicing problems, schwa additions, groping behaviors during speech, higher levels of regression of speech sounds and words, and better performance for automatic speech as opposed to novel utterances (Bernthal et al).

Common co-occurring speech-language problems include language delay, literacy problems, and pragmatic issues. Common sensorimotor issues include motor delays, limb apraxia, difficultly feeding, and either too low or too high oral sensitivity (“Childhood Apraxia of Speech”). Children who are bilingual may present with some of the characteristics of CAS, including differences in prosody and inconsistent errors for phonemes that are not present in their first language. It is important to differentiate between between these features and the features of CAS to avoid