Childhood Apraxia of Speech

Written By Natalie Stasch

Childhood Apraxia of Speech, or CAS, is a speech disorder that affects a child's ability to coordinate the movements needed to speak clearly. It's important to understand that CAS is not caused by muscle weakness or cognitive deficits, but rather by difficulties in the brain's planning and programming of speech movements.

Signs to Look For

  • Inconsistent Speech: Your child may say a word correctly one time and struggle with it the next.

  • Limited Speech Sounds: Difficulty with certain sounds or combining them in words. Children with CAS have noted difficulty with vowels.

  • Groping Movements: Visible efforts to coordinate mouth movements to form sounds.

Early intervention with a qualified speech-language pathologist (SLP) who specializes in CAS is crucial. Therapy focuses on improving speech coordination through structured activities and repetition.

Natalie Stasch
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