Apraxia/Dyspraxia of Speech:
Apraxia of speech is sometimes called verbal apraxia, developmental apraxia of speech, or verbal dyspraxia. “Praxis” means planned movement. A child with the diagnosis of apraxia of speech has difficulty programming and planning speech movements.
Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a motor speech disorder. Children with apraxia of speech have great difficulty planning, producing and coordinating the specific series of movements of the tongue, lips, jaw and palate that are necessary for intelligible speech. Children with Apraxia of speech have trouble saying what he or she wants to say correctly and consistently. Apraxia of speech is NOT a weakness of the tongue, lips, or jaw, but rather a problem with programming these articulators to form intelligible speech. Apraxia of speech is usually treatable with the appropriate, discrete and systematic techniques. It is not just a simple articulation disorder or a phonological disorder, therefore traditional articulation therapy techniques are usually unsuccessful. The severity of Apraxia of speech can range from mild to severe.