Apraxia in children is called "developmental apraxia of speech." It is a type of speech disorder that results in a child's inability to say what he wants to correctly or consistently. Children with apraxia have great difficulty with syllables, sounds, and forming words. Childhood apraxia is considered to be developmental as opposed to acquired, which can occur at any age from such events as stroke or head injury. Apraxia in children, though, seems to be present from birth, with more boys affected than girls.
Theories/Speculation
While some theories associate the disorder with a child's language skills development, others point to a neurological problem that prevents the brain from transmitting signals that allow the muscle movement necessary for correct speech. No evidence indicates that children with apraxia have anything different in their brains than normally speaking children, but children with this ailment usually have family members with similar troubles, suggesting a genetic link.
Symptoms in Young Children
In a young child, signs of apraxia include the ability to make only a few vowel or consonant sounds, and difficulty combining sounds to make words. As an infant, the child with apraxia probably didn't produce cooing sounds or babble like a normal baby does; her first words probably came much later than for most infants. A young child with apraxia often will not even try to make a difficult sound when speaking, or he will replace a hard-to-say sound with a much easier one. She also may have problems with eating.
Signs in Older Children
The older child with apraxia has a far easier time understanding the spoken word than talking. He has difficulty imitating speech and has an even harder time trying to speak spontaneously. Longer words and phrases are more problematic than short ones; when he becomes anxious, he will have many problems speaking. Stressing the wrong word or syllable during a conversation is common for older children with apraxia, and people who are not used to hearing them will understand their speech barely, if at all.
Diagnosis
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, speech-language pathologists have no single test that can determine if childhood apraxia is responsible for a child's speech problems. Doctors arrive at a diagnosis of apraxia by looking for a cluster of symptoms. They first must rule out other conditions, such as weakness in the muscles that guide speech and comprehension troubles. They must observe the child's speech over a span of time, and evaluate the child's speech through tests such as repetition of a certain word or series of words.
Treatment
While those with acquired apraxia sometimes recover their ability to speak again all by themselves, a child with developmental apraxia needs treatment to speak coherently. Speech-language therapy is very useful. Treatments and responses differ from child to child. Exhaustive one-on-one therapy along with support from family and friends has proven to be effective. Children with apraxia must practice their speech and undergo therapy as often as five times a week. Sign language, portable communication computers or a language book full of words and pictures may be necessary in extreme cases.
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