Signs or symptoms of childhood apraxia of speech:

A Very Young Child

• Does not coo or babble as an infant
• First words are late, and they may be missing sounds
• Only a few different consonant and vowel sounds
• Problems combining sounds; may show long pauses between sounds
• Simplifies words by replacing difficult sounds with easier ones or by deleting difficult sounds (although all children do this, the child with apraxia of speech does so more often)
• May have problems eating

An Older Child

• Makes inconsistent sound errors that are not the result of immaturity
• Can understand language much better than he or she can talk
• Has difficulty imitating speech, but imitated speech is more clear than spontaneous speech
• May appear to be groping when attempting to produce sounds or to coordinate the lips, tongue, and jaw for purposeful movement
• Has more difficulty saying longer words or phrases clearly than shorter ones
• Appears to have more difficulty when he or she is anxious
• Is hard to understand, especially for an unfamiliar listener
• Sounds choppy, monotonous, or stresses the wrong syllable or word

Potential Other Problems

• Delayed language development
• Other expressive language problems like word order confusions and word recall
• Difficulties with fine motor movement/coordination
• Over sensitive (hypersensitive) or under sensitive (hyposensitive) in their mouths (e.g., may not like toothbrushing or crunchy foods, may not be able to identify an object in their mouth through touch)
• Children with CAS or other speech problems may have problems when learning to read, spell, and write

If your child has been diagnosed with Childhood Apraxia of Speech or has some of the signs listed above please go to our HOW TO GET STARTED page to see how we can help you.