Inappropriate intonation and stress in word/phrase production (for example, difficulty with the timing, rhythm and flow of speech).Difficulty producing longer, more complex words and phrases.

Inconsistent errors on consonants and vowels in repeated productions of syllables or words (for example, a child says the same word differently each time he tries to produce it).Manipulating sounds in words by adding, deleting or substituting – “In the word hat, change the h to b.According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA, 2007), the three most common features in children with apraxia of speech are:.What is the first sound you hear? What is the next sound you hear? What is the last sound you hear?” Segmenting sounds – “Say the word tap.When you hear the “ f ” sound, raise your hand.” Listening for sounds – “Close your eyes as I read some words to you.Identify rhymes – “Tell me all of the words you know that rhyme with the word “ bat.In fact, according to the International Reading Association, phonemic awareness abilities in kindergarten (or in that age range) appear to be the best single predictor of successful reading acquisition! Research clearly shows that phonemic awareness performance is a strong predictor of long-term reading and spelling success for children with speech and language disabilities. For example, the word ‘bench’ contains 4 different phonemes. A phoneme is the smallest functional unit of sound. In order to learn to read, children must be aware and able to sound out each of the phonemes in the English language. A child cannot learn to read without this skill. Phonemic awareness is when a child identifies the different sounds that make words and associates these sounds with written words. Strengthen Phonemic Awarenessīefore they can begin learning to read, children with childhood apraxia of speech will need intensive instruction in phonemic awareness. Learn more about Orton-Gillingham by reading my previous posts: It is a multisensory, language-based method that uses the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning modalities to explicitly and directly teach every phoneme in the English language. The Orton-Gillingham approach is a structured, sequential, cumulative and repetitive phonics based approach that teaches children the basics of word formation before whole meaning. Orton-Gillingham is an approach that helps children with reading difficulties due to dyslexia, auditory processing, speech deficits and other learning differences. If you’d like some more examples, we post lots of quick, easy multisensory activities for you to try out with your child or student on our PRIDE YouTube channel like this one:īecause apraxia affects how your child with childhood apraxia of speech processes and produces sound, they will need a different approach in learning to read. This combination of listening, looking, and moving around creates a lasting impression for the child as things will connect to each other and become memorable. When learning a new concept, the child will:įor example, when learning the letter combination “ank” like in the word “bank,” the child might first look at it and then have to trace the letters in the air while speaking out loud. A multisensory approach uses all the senses to relay information to the child, accessing the auditory, visual, and kinesthetic pathways in order to enhance memory and learning. You can help your child with CAS learn to read by utilizing multisensory instruction.

Apraxia of speech