Is A Child With Apraxia Considered Special Needs?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Although Childhood Apraxia of Speech—or CAS—is not listed in the SSA’s blue book,

your child may still qualify for disability benefits

. There are two ways in which your child may qualify for SSI without meeting a blue book listing: Match the specific medical criteria listed under a separate but similar listing.

How does apraxia affect learning?

Some clues that a child with apraxia of speech (verbal dyspraxia) may be having difficulty in reading and/or spelling are: The child is not progressing from reading words as visual wholes to breaking the words down into their sounds.

The child fails to segment the word into syllables and syllables into sounds

.

Is apraxia a developmental disability?

Childhood apraxia of speech is not the same as developmental delay of speech. Developmental delay is when a child follows a normal path of speech development, just at a slower rate. Childhood apraxia of speech can range from mild to severe. It’s not a common

condition

.

Is Cas a learning disability?

Some research has suggested that children with

CAS are at high risk for learning difficulties

in phonemic awareness, reading, spelling, and written expression. Language based problems can also impact on the math area with word problems and spatial/positional language.

Does apraxia affect motor skills?

Apraxia is a poorly understood neurological condition. People who have

it find it difficult or impossible to make certain motor movements

, even though their muscles are normal. Milder forms of apraxia are known as dyspraxia.

Can a child outgrow apraxia?

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.

Does apraxia affect intelligence?

It affects 1-5 in every 1,000 children.

It does not affect intelligence

. However, it can co-occur with other diagnoses. It is important to know that a child with CAS differs from a child with a developmental speech delay.

Does apraxia affect social skills?

Apraxia can impact many areas of your child’s development, such as motor skills, safety awareness, speech and language skills,

social skills

, and academic skills.

Does apraxia affect memory?

The study concluded that participants with apraxia of speech presented a

working memory deficit

and that this was probably related to the articulatory process of the phonoarticulatory loop. Furthermore, all apraxic patients presented a compromise in working memory.

Is apraxia part of autism?

You may be referring to the recent report that speech apraxia – a relatively rare disorder –

affects up to 65 percent of children with autism

. The report’s authors urge that any child being screened for one disorder also be screened for the other.

Is childhood apraxia of speech rare?

Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is

an uncommon speech disorder

in which a child has difficulty making accurate movements when speaking. In CAS , the brain struggles to develop plans for speech movement.

What is motor apraxia?

Apraxia is a motor disorder often associated with frontal lobe injury, including the PFC. Apraxia refers to an

inability to perform a skilled motor activity

despite intact strength, sensation, attention, memory, and drive, with no other movement disorders such as dystonia, tremor, or chorea to interfere.

Is childhood apraxia of speech permanent?

Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a

severe permanent and lifelong disorder

of speech motor programming and planning which is present from birth and does not naturally resolve.

Can a child with apraxia learn to read?

Considerations for Children with CAS

Children with speech and language disorders, including CAS, are at increased risk of experiencing difficulty learning to read. Research indicates that

50-75% of children

with CAS struggle with reading.

How can I help my child with apraxia in the classroom?

Encourage and support speech therapy.


Speech therapists

can help dyspraxic students with apraxia of speech speak more clearly over time. Refer your student, if needed, and work closely with the therapist to ensure you’re supporting their work in your classroom.

Does apraxia of speech affect learning?

Apraxia

can affect many aspects of a student’s education and academic performance

. It’s important for teachers to work with speech-language pathologists and families to help ensure students get the proper support.

Does apraxia affect eating?

Oral Apraxia is a disorder where a child exhibits difficulty easily coordinating and initiating movement of the jaw, lips, tongue and soft palate. This

may impact feeding

and/or speech skills.

What is mild apraxia?

Mild CAS indicates that

the deficit in motor planning/programming for speech is mild

, resulting in difficulty learning motor movement sequences to produce words.

Is apraxia related to dyslexia?


Dyslexia can certainly co-occur with apraxia of speech

. When we think of childhood apraxia of speech, we are thinking of that as the motor sequencing, the ability to plan the motor sequence for articulation.

Can a child with apraxia of speech be misdiagnosed?

Apraxia can sometimes get mistaken for another condition such

as autism

because they can have some of the same symptoms, such as difficulty making eye contact when trying to talk and sensory issues.

Is apraxia a neurological disorder?

Apraxia is a

neurological disorder

characterized by the inability to perform learned (familiar) movements on command, even though the command is understood and there is a willingness to perform the movement.

Can you be cured from apraxia?

While

there is no CURE

, regular and intensive speech therapy using the principles of motor learning that is accessed early in the child’s life/diagnosis is known to best treat CAS.

What causes developmental verbal dyspraxia?

What causes developmental verbal dyspraxia? Acquired verbal dyspraxia is caused by

damage to brain specific to the regions that involve the process of speaking

. This can occur in a child after an infection, traumatic brain injury, brain tumour, stroke or an illness that can affect the functioning of the brain.

What is a motor planning disorder?

Motor planning difficulties are

caused by problems processing sensory information and poor neural connections in the brain

. In order to have efficient motor planning, an individual must be able to organize sensory input from his body, have adequate body percept and be able to move around his environment.

How can parents help with apraxia?

Childhood apraxia of speech cannot be “outgrown;” it is vital that your child obtains

evidence-based speech therapy

. Research suggests that effective therapy for CAS should involve repetitive practice with sounds and movement patterns of speech, but there is not a “one-size-fits-all” approach for treatment.

Can a child get a disability check for speech?

The Social Security Administration (SSA) offers

monthly

disability benefits for speech disorders for children who have a qualifying disability. Children qualify for Supplemental Security Income, or SSI.

What can help apraxia?


Speech therapy

. Your child’s speech-language pathologist will usually provide therapy that focuses on practicing syllables, words and phrases. When CAS is relatively severe, your child may need frequent speech therapy, three to five times a week. As your child improves, the frequency of speech therapy may be reduced.

What is ataxia vs apraxia?

Apraxia results in a person’s inability to carry out a familiar purposeful movement, while in

ataxia they can carry out the movement with little coordination

. Remember, this is a generalization and is not applicable to all forms of ataxia versus the different forms of apraxia.

Is apraxia a spectrum?

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) are developmental disorders with distinct diagnostic criteria and different epidemiology. However, a common genetic background as well as overlapping clinical features between ASD and CAS have been recently reported.

Can a school based SLP diagnose apraxia?


School-based speech pathologists evaluate, diagnose, and treat

a diverse variety of disorders in the schools. Childhood apraxia of speech is one of those disorders which is frequently not adequately addressed in graduate programs.

Does apraxia affect comprehension?

Children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) present with severe speech difficulties. The underlying deficits of CAS

are not completely understood

and may be impacting the children’s success with reading and writing activities.

What age is childhood apraxia of speech diagnosis?

CAS often cannot be diagnosed until a child is

around three or four years of age

because the language and speech skills of toddlers naturally vary a lot. This means that before three years of age, many children share some of the early signs of CAS (e.g. slow to talk, poor appetite etc) without actually having CAS.

What percentage of children have apraxia?

While there is little national data available representing the number of children with apraxia of speech, speech therapists at Nationwide Childrens estimate as many

as one to 10 children out of every 1,000 kids

may have the disorder.

Is childhood apraxia of speech a neurological disorder?

Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a

neurological childhood (pediatric) speech sound disorder

in which the precision and consistency of movements underlying speech are impaired in the absence of neuromuscular deficits (e.g. abnormal reflexes, abnormal tone).

Does speech apraxia run in families?

Is childhood apraxia of speech genetic? The cause for childhood apraxia of speech (CAS)

has remained unknown

since the condition was first described in the 1950s. In many cases, the suspected cause is due to a complex interaction between a child’s genetic and brain makeup, and their environmental influences.

What are the two main types of apraxia?

  • Limb-kinetic apraxia. …
  • Ideomotor apraxia. …
  • Conceptual apraxia. …
  • Ideational apraxia. …
  • Buccofacial apraxia. …
  • Constructional apraxia. …
  • Oculomotor apraxia. …
  • Verbal apraxia.

Is apraxia a rare disease?


A rare neurologic disease

characterized by impaired ability to execute complex coordinated movements underlying the production of speech, leading to highly unintelligible speech in the absence of muscular or sensory deficits. Initial presentation may be a severe expressive speech delay.

Are there different types of apraxia?

Other types of apraxia include

limb-kinetic apraxia

(the inability to make fine, precise movements with an arm or leg), ideomotor apraxia (the inability to make the proper movement in response to a verbal command), ideational apraxia (the inability to coordinate activities with multiple, sequential movements, such as …

Emily Lee
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Emily Lee
Emily Lee is a freelance writer and artist based in New York City. She’s an accomplished writer with a deep passion for the arts, and brings a unique perspective to the world of entertainment. Emily has written about art, entertainment, and pop culture.