Today is Apraxia Awareness Day. Apraxia is a motor speech disorder where a person has trouble forming specific movements of their tongue, lips, jaw, and palate making it difficult for them to speak. Children with apraxia understand language but they have difficulty in transmitting their thoughts to create the correct muscle movements that would allow for speech.
Some early warning signs of apraxia in young children may be, but are not limited to:
- The child's first words are delayed
- The child may be leaving out sounds in the words they are trying to express
- The child has difficulty in combining sounds
- The child does does not babble at all as an infant
(More information about childhood apraxia may be found at www.asha.org)
It is important for your child to be evaluated by a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) if you feel they may have a speech problem. Children who are diagnosed with apraxia receive therapy to help them learn the correct muscle coordination they need to speak. Initially or in more severe cases, children will rely on other sources to help them communicate, such as Augmentative and Alternative Communication Devces (AAC) or sign language.
An AAC device such as a 7-Level Communication Builder, is a transitional communicator which allows for a child to express themselves. The 7 Level Communication Builder gives them the opportunity to grow with the device since it can be programmed from one message to sixteen messages on different levels. Another communicator that may be used is the Visual Speech Trainer which not only allows a child to hear a pre-recorded message but it also allows them to use the attached mirror to see and imitate the movements for formulating speech.
Communication devices are helpful tools not only for children with apraxia but for any individual who needs help expressing themselves.
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