Childhood Apraxia of Speech: Finding the Right SLP
CAS is one of the most misunderstood and misdiagnosed speech disorders. Here's what parents need to know to get the right help.
What Is Childhood Apraxia of Speech?
Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a motor speech disorder. The child knows what they want to say — but the brain has difficulty sending the right signals to the muscles that control speech. Unlike articulation disorders, CAS is not about weakness in the speech muscles. It's about the neural planning and programming of movement sequences required for speech. Children with CAS often have inconsistent errors, difficulty with longer words and phrases, and prosody that sounds unusual.
Why You Need a CAS Specialist
CAS requires specialized, intensive intervention. The general strategies used for other speech disorders (articulation therapy, minimal pairs therapy) are not effective for CAS and may actually slow progress. CAS-specific intervention requires high practice variability, lots of repetition within sessions, and specific feedback techniques. The evidence-based approaches for CAS include DTTC (Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing), NDP3, ReST, and PROMPT.
Credentials to Look For
- PROMPT Certified — PROMPT (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets) is one of the most established CAS interventions. PROMPT-certified SLPs have completed specific training in this tactile-kinesthetic approach.
- ReST Training — Rapid Syllable Transition Treatment, developed at the University of Queensland, is another evidence-based approach specifically for CAS.
- CASANA Training — The Apraxia Kids organization offers SLP training. Look for SLPs who have completed CASANA's workshops.