Developmental Apraxia Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments
Developmental Apraxia Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments
Tammy A. Jacquay
Wendell, North Carolina
Apraxia of speech is a neurological condition in which a person finds it impossible to move their mouth or tongue to speak (Apraxia, 2005). There are two main types of apraxia; they are acquired apraxia of speech and developmental apraxia of speech (Apraxia of Speech, 2002). This paper is about Developmental Apraxia of Speech, its symptoms, causes, and appropriate treatments. Developmental apraxia of speech is also called childhood apraxia of speech, because it is present from birth (2002). There are many symptoms of developmental apraxia, and each child may have different symptoms (Childhood, 1997). Some symptoms of very young children include problems eating, not cooing as an infant, late first words, problems combining sounds, and deleting difficult sounds and replacing them with easier ones more often than normal children (1997). In older children, symptoms can include making inconsistent sound errors, understanding of language better than their ability to talk, difficulty imitating speech, difficulty saying long phrases or words clearly, difficulty for others to understand their speech, and speech which sounds choppy or monotonous (1997). Other symptoms may include delayed language development, word order confusion, word recall issues, difficult fine motor development and coordination, over sensitivity or under sensitivity of the mouth, and trouble reading, writing, and spelling (1997). Because there are so many possible symptoms of developmental apraxia, it is important to have children evaluated by a professional to rule out other causes of speech problems (1997). Developmental apraxia is believed by many researchers to be a neurologically based speech-motor disorder, but exact causes have not been isolated (Causes of Apraxia, 2010). Researcher’s studies have not shown a difference or abnormalities in the brains of
Tammy A. Jacquay
Wendell, North Carolina
Apraxia of speech is a neurological condition in which a person finds it impossible to move their mouth or tongue to speak (Apraxia, 2005). There are two main types of apraxia; they are acquired apraxia of speech and developmental apraxia of speech (Apraxia of Speech, 2002). This paper is about Developmental Apraxia of Speech, its symptoms, causes, and appropriate treatments. Developmental apraxia of speech is also called childhood apraxia of speech, because it is present from birth (2002). There are many symptoms of developmental apraxia, and each child may have different symptoms (Childhood, 1997). Some symptoms of very young children include problems eating, not cooing as an infant, late first words, problems combining sounds, and deleting difficult sounds and replacing them with easier ones more often than normal children (1997). In older children, symptoms can include making inconsistent sound errors, understanding of language better than their ability to talk, difficulty imitating speech, difficulty saying long phrases or words clearly, difficulty for others to understand their speech, and speech which sounds choppy or monotonous (1997). Other symptoms may include delayed language development, word order confusion, word recall issues, difficult fine motor development and coordination, over sensitivity or under sensitivity of the mouth, and trouble reading, writing, and spelling (1997). Because there are so many possible symptoms of developmental apraxia, it is important to have children evaluated by a professional to rule out other causes of speech problems (1997). Developmental apraxia is believed by many researchers to be a neurologically based speech-motor disorder, but exact causes have not been isolated (Causes of Apraxia, 2010). Researcher’s studies have not shown a difference or abnormalities in the brains of
References: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Childhood Apraxia of Speech (1997). www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/childhoodapraxia.htm Lederman, D. (2012). Speech Language Therapy for Childhood Apraxia of Speech. www.donnalederman.com/disorder-types/apraxia-of-speech.php National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Apraxia of Speech (2002). www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/pages/apraxia.aspx University of Rochester Medical Center. Causes of Apraxia (2010). www.urmc.rochester. edu/speech-pathology/speech-language-disorders/apraxia/causes-apraxia.cfm Web MD. Apraxia: Symptoms, Causes, Tests, Treatments (2005). www.webmd.com/ Brain/apraxia-symptoms-causes-tests-treatments