When I got my first referral for a student with Apraxia of Speech, I cried. I had no idea how to help them. Blame it on the lack of training during Grad School or maybe it was imposter syndrome - either way - I did not feel confident or competent in treating Childhood Apraxia of Speech.
I know that I’m not alone. I get dozens of DMs a week from preschool SLPs and school aged SLPs asking for tips and tricks for treating Apraxia of Speech.
Over the last seven years, I have read every book, watched every video, and taken every Professional Development Course on Apraxia of Speech I could find. I have compiled my favorite resources and references for the assessment and treatment of Apraxia of Speech for you, so that you don’t have to make all the mistakes I did and spend as much time as I did doing all the research
Assessment Resources for Apraxia of Speech
Assessment for CAS is complex and requires a variety of components. Use can any (or all) of these resources in your assessment!
DEMMS: Dynamic Evaluation of Motor Speech Skill (DEMSS) Manual. This test was “Developed by one of the leading experts on childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) and an expert on test development, this tool is an efficient way to assess children who have significant speech impairment, especially reduced phonemic and/or phonetic inventories, vowel or prosodic errors, poor speech intelligibility, and/or little to no verbal communication.”
TOCS+: “TOCS+ includes software to record, save, playback, judge and analyze speech recordings to measure children's speech intelligibility at the word and sentence level.”
Nuffield Dyspraxia Programme - 3rd Edition: This Programme “is a flexible, comprehensive assessment and therapy resource for the management of severe speech disorders.”
Informal Childhood Apraxia of Speech Assessment by Jennie Bjorem: This informal assessment includes definitions of features, cueing resource, assessment checklist, case history, red flag checklist, sound inventory form, core word and power word list and an informal motor Speech Assessment, and a CAS Decision Guide. This is an immediate paid download.
Graham Oral-Facial Exam: A comprehensive Oral-Facial Exam that includes directions and a helpful clinical decision guide.
Buy Bobby a Puppy Task: This simple task can be a valuable part of your assessment. Research shows that the Token-to-token inconsistency of monosyllabic words and the phrase "buy Bobby a puppy" was sensitive and specific in differentiating children with CAS and speech delay. The research article and materials needed to complete the task are linked.
4 Evidence Based Treatment Approaches for Childhood Apraxia of Speech:
While there are other approaches for CAS, none of them have as much evidence supporting them as these four.
Rapid Syllable Transition Treatment (ReST) - free training: “This site is a self directed learning package for speech pathologists to learn how to deliver ReST treatment to children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)”.
The Nuffield Dyspraxia Programme (NDP3® Complete): is a flexible, comprehensive assessment and therapy resource for the management of severe speech disorders.
Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC): “DTTC is a treatment method designed specifically for children with severe CAS.” Includes examples of treatment and free workshops for using DTTC with your students with Apraxia of Speech.
Integrated Phonological Awareness (IPA): IPA was not specifically designed for children with CAS, research has demonstrated that children age 4-7 with CAS demonstrated improvements in speech production.
Free Research Summary for Apraxia of Speech:
Research Overview: “This document is a free summary of the current evidence on assessment, diagnosis and treatment of Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS; aka Dyspraxia).”
Social Media Accounts to Follow for Apraxia of Speech
You can learn SO much from Social Media! It is incredible. Check out the Instagram Profiles to learn from SLPs who regularly treat CAS.
SLP Mommy of Apraxia: Laura is an SLP who specializes in Apraxia of Speech and is recognized by Apraxia Kids for advanced training and expertise in Childhood Apraxia of Speech. She also has a daughter who has Apraxia of Speech and she shares their story and updates on her daughter’s progress.
Graham Speech Therapy: Amy Graham is a Speech Sound Disorder Specialist. She shares therapy tips and therapy videos of children with CAS, and another Speech Sound Disorders.
Bjorem Speech: Jennie Bjorem is a Childhood Apraxia Specialist and her practice consists of 100% children with Apraxia of Speech. She often shares therapy videos and she also creates amazing Speech Therapy Products.
Cari Ebert Seminars: Cari is an SLP with decades of experience treating children ages 0-5. She shares inforgraphics and therapy tips for SLPs. She also creates Speech Therapy Products.
Bondar Speech: Alonna is a an SLP specializing in Childhood Apraxia of Speech, speech sound disorders, and orofacial myology. She shares therapy tips and tonnes of CAS therapy videos.
Marquette Speech Lab: This lab studies the diagnosis and treatment of childhood apraxia of speech and developmental language disorder. They share current research and best practice tips.
Anna Dee SLP: I share therapy tips and any resources or research I find in my own Apraxia Learning journey!
Helpful Websites for Apraxia of Speech:
Resources for the Treatment of Apraxia of Speech:
It can be tricky to find resources for CAS. It's important to remember to customize your therapy to your child - be wary of "one size fits all therapy programs". We know that each child is an individual! These are some of my favorite therapy resources for my students with CAS.
Apraxia Homework Package: This easy to use homework packet for Apraxia of Speech is perfect to send with your preschoolers and early elementary students. These homework handouts cover Multi-Sensory Cueing, Prosody, Quick Tips, and a Target Word Homework Sheet. Use to supplement assessments, reviews, or for homework packages.
Free DTTC Hierarchy: You can use this as a quick reference when using DTTC, Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing, with your students
FREE Apraxia Home Therapy Planning Sheet: Use this easy to use checklist to keep parents informed of which cues their child benefits from, which word shapes they are working on, which carrier phrases to target, and what their child's target words are.
Free Word Shape Hierarchy: Use the hierarchy cheat list to help you choose goals for your students with Apraxia of Speech.
FREE Prosody Calendar: One Prosody Idea a Day for an entire month. Send this home, or use as a guide in your own therapy, to practice using different rates, volumes, and pitches with your students.
Apraxia Flash Cards: Over 300 cards for 9 early developing word shapes, exclamatory words, and functional words - perfect for your preschool students!
Apraxia Word List: This word list was created to help busy SLPs, like you, save time while choosing targets for young children with Apraxia of Speech.
Repetitive Book Bundle: These hands-on repetitive are designed to offer ample opportunities to practice early word shapes (and other speech and language goals) in a natural way.
Lists of repetitive books:
Books about Apraxia of Speech: I was going to write a list but Apraxia Kids has a great list, so I’ll just link it here.
Top Blog Posts about Apraxia of Speech:
These are helpful blogs focusing on the treatment of CAS, as well as provide general information about Apraxia of Speech.
Reference Book About Apraxia of Speech
I have read a lot of books about treating CAS and this is the best one! It changed my entire practice.
Here’s How to Treat Apraxia of Speech by Margaret Fish
Podcasts about Apraxia of Speech:
Podcasts are such an easy way to learn on the go. Listen on a walk or while you’re driving. These are some of favorite Podcasts about CAS.
The Whole Picture: Using A Holistic Approach to Treat CAS with Dr. Iuzzini-Seigel on Speechie Side Up.
Journal Articles about Childhood Apraxia of Speech
While this is not an exhaustive list of helpful articles about CAS, it's definitely a great starting point!
Free Handouts about Apraxia of Speech:
There are so many free handouts online! I have linked some of my favorites.
Videos/Webinars about Apraxia of Speech:
These are courses/videos you can watch from the comfort of your own home. Most of these are free!
Assessment of Childhood Apraxia of Speech : This course demonstrates the steps of the differential diagnosis process, including rating perceptual features of CAS and interpreting test results. Case studies are included for additional practice.
Childhood Apraxia of Speech Info by Dr. Edyth Strand: There are several videos included here: Explaining CAS to parents, The Co-Occurrence of Learning Disabilities and CAS, is CAS a medical diagnosis, The importance of identifying CAS, and Planning Treatment for CAS. These are all FREE!
On Demand Webinars by Apraxia Kids: A variety of videos presented by Apraxia Kids.
Diagnosis and Treatment of CAS Using Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC): FREE online video course taught by Dr. Edythe Strand in assessment and treatment of CAS (childhood apraxia of speech) using evidence-based treatment methods
I hope you find these useful and helpful. If you have other resources that I should add to the list, please email me at anna@annadeeslp.com.
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