Symptoms of Childhood Apraxia- Speechandot

1. Symptoms of Childhood Apraxia Diagnosing childhood apraxia can be difficult since some of its symptoms overlap with other speech disorders. Watching for symptoms that are unique to childhood apraxia is the key to correctly detecting it. The inability to smoothly transition from one sound, syllable, or word to another is a key symptom of childhood apraxia. Vowel distortions or incorrect vowel sounds are another strong indicator. Difficulties with syllable-stressing – such as emphasizing the wrong syllable or emphasizing every syllable in the word – differentiate childhood apraxia from other speech disorders. Causes of Childhood Apraxia Determining the root cause of childhood apraxia can be difficult, and many professionals who successfully treat children with apraxia do not isolate the root cause. However, there are studies that show links between childhood apraxia and factors, including brain injuries, strokes, and genetic disorders. Childhood apraxia cannot be cured, but it can be treated with proper and consistent speech therapy. Complications with Childhood Apraxia Childhood apraxia can affect more than childrens’ speech. Childhood apraxia can hinder every aspect of their learning, including development of motor skills and difficulty with reading and writing. Childhood apraxia can also interfere with childrens’ coordination. Some patients with childhood apraxia are hypersensitive, reacting poorly when exposed to certain materials, fabrics, or sensations. Treating Childhood Apraxia The sooner that a child is diagnosed with, and treated for, childhood apraxia, the fewer complications the disorder will cause the child as they develop. Repeating sounds, syllables, and words for the child to learn helps train the child to make the correct sounds. Taking additional efforts to demonstrate how sounds and words are formed are effective at training the child to speak properly. Teaching the child the importance of cues – such as integrating mirrors into therapy or having the child learn hand gestures to reinforce how the mouth should move during specific sounds – can make learning more effective for the child. The practice of co-production – where the therapist and the child say a word at the same time – can further reinforce good speech habits.

2. What Are the Early Signs of Apraxia? How to Overcome It? Apraxia is a neurological condition that isn’t well understood currently. This also means that treatment modalities haven’t been fully investigated either. As such, therapists are still trying to determine what approach will work best. Partially this is because there’s still some debate as to what symptoms and characteristics merit an apraxia diagnosis. Neurologists realize that when someone has apraxia, they will find it difficult, if not impossible, to make certain motor movements. This isn’t because their muscles are malformed because their muscles are quite normal. There are various forms of this disorder. Understanding Orofacial Apraxia When someone has orofacial apraxia, they can’t voluntarily perform certain movements that involve their facial muscles. An example of this happens when a person is unable to lick their lips or wink their eyes. Understanding Apraxia of Speech When someone has apraxia of speech, they’ll find it difficult, if not impossible, to move their mouth and tongue so that they can speak. This isn’t because a person doesn’t want to speak or that the muscles in their mouth or their tongue can’t physically form the words they’re trying to say. Treating Apraxia Sometimes apraxia will spontaneously resolve itself. However, this won’t happen when your child has developmental apraxia of speech. This form of apraxia will require treatment. The treatment’s effectiveness will depend upon the nature of the apraxia – something that varies from one person to the next. To get the best results, the treatment plan must be developed to meet each individual’s specific needs. However, treatment will typically involve meeting with a speech-language pathologist three to five times each week. As a parent, you’ll also want to work with your child on the skills they’re developing in these sessions. Improving Speech Coordination When your child works with a therapist they’ll be repeatedly practicing forming and pronouncing various sounds and words. They’ll also practice stringing together the sounds that make a speech. This involves a variety of multisensory

3. approaches, including watching themselves in a mirror and touching their face while speaking. Sometimes in truly severe cases of apraxia sign language is taught so the child can be clearly understood. However, most therapists will still have the child attempt to say the words they’re signing so they can practice making any necessary movements with their mouths. Childhood Apraxia – When Your Child Struggles to Speak Childhood apraxia is a speech disorder that causes children to have problems moving speech-related muscles correctly when speaking. The problem is not weak muscles; the brain itself sends incorrect signals to the body parts responsible for speech. Speech therapy is necessary to retrain childrens’ brains and to allow them to speak normally and without unnecessary struggles. Speech Apraxia, also known as Apraxia of speech, is when a child has difficulty with the proper movements necessary to form sounds. Although a child with speech Apraxia knows what they want or need to say, their brain’s ability to tell the proper muscles what to do when forming speech is interrupted. How Do You Treat Speech Apraxia in Children? Apraxia of speech in children requires speech therapy for them to learn how to both plan and execute the movements needed to produce speech, in order to make speech more automatic or natural. After practicing movements repeatedly, your child will no longer need to think about the movements before they make them. How Can I Help a Child with Speech Apraxia? There are numerous ways you can help children with speech Apraxia, from hands- on learning activities to raising awareness. Here are ways that you can start helping your child with Apraxia of speech today. Take advantage of available resources. There’s no reason to fumble through the process of adjusting along with your child with speech apraxia, especially when there are resources available to help with the transition. Informative websites include Speech and Language Kids and

4. Apraxia Kids, the latter of which provides an extensive list of speech apraxia support groups. Take advantage of technology. Both smartphones and tablets can be highly effective learning tools for children with speech apraxia because they can provide auditory and visual feedback to help your child learn how to form sounds. In addition, your child can hear their own sound productions for comparison. There are multiple apraxia apps are available to enhance your child’s journey to proper speech. Take advantage of your own speech abilities. When it comes to everyday speech, you already know the ropes, so share that with your child repeatedly throughout the day by exaggerating speech movements that are causing them the most difficulty, as well as using finger placement on or near your face to indicate where their lips and tongue should be. Take advantage of your health. It’s impossibleto support a child through any difficult transition if you’re not healthy yourself. Take time to nurture your body and mind with regular exercise and relaxation methods such as yoga and meditation, and try to eat foods that will give you energy and clarity rather than weigh you down. In addition, make sure you’re getting an adequate amount of sleep. These are all practices that will keep your support strong for many years to come. If you’re concerned about your child’s language and speech, please contact us at Speech and Occupational Therapy of Plano, Texas to schedule a consultation.