What is Childhood Apraxia of Speech?

Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a motor speech disorder where the brain struggles to coordinate the muscles needed for speech production. It can result in mistakes with the timing or strength of muscle movements, as well as misplacement of speech organs (such as the tongue or lips), causing unclear speech sounds. Through early diagnosis and specialized therapy, children can enhance their speech clarity and gain confidence in communicating.

Common Features of Childhood Apraxia of Speech

• Inconsistent Speech Errors: Children may repeatedly attempt a sound but produce it differently each time, such as saying “mama” as “yaya” or “naya.”
• Irregular Speech Rate: Speech may be too fast or too slow, disrupting fluency and natural rhythm.
• Difficulty with Speech Imitation: Even with a model to follow, children struggle to accurately replicate sounds or words.
• Abnormal Prosody: Speech lacks natural pitch, stress, or intonation patterns, making it sound flat or uneven.

Treatment Approaches for Childhood Apraxia of Speech

1. Multisensory Speech Training: Integrates visual (e.g., watching mouth movements), auditory (e.g., hearing sounds), and tactile (e.g., feeling articulatory positions) cues to help children master speech sounds.
2. Repetitive Practice: High-frequency, structured exercises strengthen the brain’s ability to coordinate oral muscles for consistent speech production.
3. Progressive Goals: Therapy starts with simple syllables, gradually advancing to complex words and sentences to build speech proficiency.

Why KK Speech Therapy?

• Trilingual Therapy Services: Our speech therapists are all bilingual and are able to deliver therapy fluently in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English to meet the needs of diverse linguistic backgrounds with utmost professionalism.
• Experienced and Trusted Speech Therapy Team: Our team has extensive expertise, successfully supporting numerous adults in improving language and swallowing abilities.
• Personalized Treatment Plans: We design tailored intervention strategies based on each client’s unique needs and circumstances.
• Ongoing Progress Monitoring and Adjustments: We regularly assess treatment outcomes and adapt strategies to ensure therapeutic goals are met.
• Supportive Family Program: We empower family members to become the most effective supporters of stroke patients as well as effective advocates for their child’s language and social development.