children’s therapy
apraxia and
motor difficulties
Childhood apraxia of speech
Speaking is a complex process that we often don’t give much thought to. Once we’ve composed what we want to say, signals are sent from our brain to the muscles involved in different subsystems of speech (i.e. breath support, jaw control, tongue & lip control). When a child has Apraxia of Speech, the signals coming from the brain get mixed up. This means the muscles do not receive the appropriate message, leading to difficulties in moving the articulators as intended. There is no indication of muscle weakness in Apraxia.
Areas where we can see Apraxia affect speech include (but are not limited to):
Inconsistency
Sometimes a word is said correctly and at other times it is misproduced
Speech Clarity
Distortions in the way vowels and/or consanants are produced
Rhythm
Incorrect stress on syllables of words or pauses between syllables
motor difficulties
Conversely, a decrease in muscle tone, known as Hypotonia, can also contribute to speech production errors. If your child has a problem with poor muscle tone, you may notice any or all of the following:
» chronic slouching or sliding down in chairs
» difficulty keeping head upright during tasks
» easily fatiguing during activities or tasks
» delays in meeting developmental milestones
» poor core strength
» chronic drooling
planning for success
At Wonderspeak, we understand how important it is to have your child succeed at home, at school, and at life.
If your child is experiencing any of the above, is having difficulty being understood, or is just not reaching their full speech potential, give us a call. We will use a team approach to assess your child and determine the best course of therapy to set them on the path to clearer speech.
