Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)
Does your child have difficulty producing consonants and vowels? Can they say a word correctly one day but not the next? Do they lack prosody or the "music" of speech? If so, Childhood Apraxia of Speech or CAS may be the culprit. CAS is a motor speech disorder or a neurological impairment affecting motor planning, programming, neuromuscular control or execution of speech. It may also be the result of a genetic disorder or syndrome. Basically, the speech helpers can do their job but the brain is having difficulties getting the message to produce speech.
Londa implements motor learning strategies such as more frequent sessions, a large number of trials, and specific feedback. The goal is to learn the skilled task of speaking and practice it until speech is executed automatically. Instead of working on specific sounds such as /k/ in the word "cat", Londa finds where the breakdown is occurring and works within different consonant and vowel combinations with input from the client and caregiver on word/phrase selection. Most importantly, carryover is addressed at the sentence level so communication is functional.
Londa implements motor learning strategies such as more frequent sessions, a large number of trials, and specific feedback. The goal is to learn the skilled task of speaking and practice it until speech is executed automatically. Instead of working on specific sounds such as /k/ in the word "cat", Londa finds where the breakdown is occurring and works within different consonant and vowel combinations with input from the client and caregiver on word/phrase selection. Most importantly, carryover is addressed at the sentence level so communication is functional.