Apraxia (oral motor skills)

Children's Service Areas

Apraxia is characterized by a difficulty in planning and sequencing the movements of the lips, tongue and vocal cords used to produce speech. A child with apraxia has a late onset of speech, and when speech does emerge, it is often unintelligible (difficult to understand). The speech of a child with apraxia is often comprised mainly of vowel sounds with very few consonants. These children have less oral motor control and therefore may experience drooling into a later age. Lip and mouth movements such as kissing, smiling, frowning, and blowing are not a problem when done automatically; however a child with apraxia will have difficulty doing these actions on command. Traditional therapy techniques used for articulation delays are often unsuccessful when used for children with apraxia. However, effective treatments are available with the use of techniques that focus on progressive approximations (Kaufman approach) and phonetic placement and tactile cues (Phoneme Touch and Say™ and PROMPT).