Childhood Apraxia of Speech [Technical Report]
Ad Hoc Committee on Apraxia of Speech in Children, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2007).
Rockville (MD): American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Available from: http://www.asha.org/policy/TR2007-00278/.
<p>This is a Technical Report document on childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). This report summarizes the scientific literature to address four key questions:</p><ol><li>Is CAS a recognizable clinical disorder?</li><li>What are the core characteristics of CAS?</li><li>How should CAS be assessed?</li><li>How should CAS be treated?</li></ol>
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
"Three segmental and suprasegmental features that are consistent with a deficit in the planning and programming of movements for speech have gained some consensus among investigators in apraxia of speech in children: (a) inconsistent errors on consonants and vowels in repeated productions of syllables or words, (b) lengthened and disrupted coarticulatory transitions between sounds and syllables, and (c) inappropriate prosody, especially in the realization of lexical or phrasal stress. Importantly, these features are not proposed to be the necessary and sufficient signs of CAS" (Definitions of CAS).
"Although the specific forms of treatment may change over time, the Committee recommends that children with CAS receive intensive services, especially in the earlier stages of intervention" (Professional Issues).
"At present, there is no validated list of diagnostic features of CAS that differentiates this symptom complex from other types of childhood speech sound disorders, including those primarily due to phonological-level delay or neuromuscular disorder (dysarthria)" (Definitions of CAS).
"There is emerging research support for the need to provide three to five individual sessions per week for children with apraxia as compared to the traditional, less intensive, one to two sessions per week ... this should be done in as naturalistic an environment as possible to facilitate carry-over and generalization of skills" (Professional Issues).
Due to insufficient research, this report does not provide any specific assessment or treatment guidelines.
