Children with verbal dyspraxia have problems with coordinating their muscle to produce speech sounds and words. They have difficulties in producing clear, fluent speech or saying certain words or sentences. Children with verbal dyspraxia might speak slowly with frequent pauses.
Children with verbal dyspraxia find it hard to produce individual speech sounds and to put sounds together in the right order in words. As a result, their speech is often hard to understand. Children with verbal dyspraxia have speech that sounds unusual; they don't just sound like a younger child.
CAS is sometimes called verbal dyspraxia or developmental apraxia. Even though the word “developmental" is used, CAS is not a problem that children outgrow. A child with CAS will not learn speech sounds in typical order and will not make progress without treatment.
Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) has a number of possible causes, but in many cases a cause can't be determined. Doctors often don't observe a problem in the brain of a child with CAS . CAS may be the result of brain (neurological) conditions or injury, such as a stroke, infections or traumatic brain injury.
difficulty making friends – they may avoid taking part in team games and may be bullied for being "different" or clumsy. behaviour problems – often stemming from a child's frustration with their symptoms. low self-esteem.
Apraxia and Autism: They Frequently Occur Together
A study published in 2015 showed that 64% of the children initially diagnosed with ASD also have apraxia. 36.8% of the children diagnosed with apraxia of speech also had autism, and 23.3% of the children received a dual diagnosis.
While they do not get worse over time, their challenges may become more apparent with increasing academic demands. They have to work harder and/or differently than their peers to achieve the same goals. Despite their difficulties, pupils with dyspraxia can and do learn to perform some motor tasks quite well.
Usually they require regular, direct therapy delivered by a Speech and Language Therapist, supported by frequent practise outside the therapy sessions e.g. at home and /or in school. Speech and Language Therapists use different therapy approaches to treat children with developmental verbal dyspraxia.
Dyspraxia, also known as developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD), is a common disorder that affects movement and co-ordination. Dyspraxia does not affect your intelligence.
Also known as Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), DVD/CAS is a rare and distinct speech sound disorder, comprising only a tiny percentage of children with speech disorders.
There are several red flags or signs that your child has apraxia of speech during early development. Red flags include: Limited inventory of consonants and vowels (how many sounds your child makes with specific letters) and gaps in types of sounds like saying “pie” instead of “bye.”
Children with suspected DCD are usually assessed using a method called the Movement ABC, which involves tests of: gross motor skills – their ability to use large muscles that co-ordinate significant body movements, such as moving around, jumping and balancing.
Poor coordination, reduced balance and timing, poor handwriting and fine motor are the more obvious signs. However, individuals also experience challenges with memory, focus, planning and completing tasks. This leads to challenges with time keeping as well.
Signs of Dyspraxia in Younger Children
Little understanding of concepts like 'in', 'on', or 'in front of'. Difficulties in walking up and down stairs. Poor pencil grip. An inability to do jigsaws and shape sorting games.
Does dyspraxia/DCD run in families? Dyspraxia/DCD seems to run in families in some cases, but to date, no specific gene has been identified. It is likely that there are many different causes of dyspraxia/DCD, and genetics may be one.
Developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD) cannot be cured, but there are ways to help your child manage their problems. A small number of children, usually those with mild symptoms who are diagnosed early, may be able to learn how to overcome their difficulties.
Adults with dyspraxia sometimes display social and emotional difficulties, as well as problems with time management, planning and personal organisation. This may affect the person's education or employment. Dyspraxia may make learning a new skill more difficult.
Causes of DCD
It's not usually clear why co-ordination doesn't develop as well as other abilities in children with DCD. However, a number of risk factors that can increase a child's likelihood of developing DCD have been identified. These include: being born prematurely, before the 37th week of pregnancy.
Common Dyspraxia strengths
Dyspraxics often learn to develop soft skills such as active listening, empathy, and when to delegate tasks to others. Their desire for people to understand what they deal with ensures that they communicate clearly too. All these result in dyspraxics making good leaders.
Dyspraxia is a difficulty with planning and coordinating motor movements, in the absence of any muscle weakness. This can affect an individual's speech and language as the individual may find it difficult to plan and coordinate the movements needed for speech.
Where Dyspraxia and Autism Overlap. Many children with autism spectrum disorders will exhibit symptoms of dyspraxia, and vice-versa. Shared symptoms may include difficulties with spoken language, sensitivity to light and noise, problems concentrating, and others.