Apraxia/Dyspraxia

Apraxia/Dyspraxia of Speech and Verbal Apraxia/Dyspraxia are terms used to describe a speech disorder characterized by difficulty combining the movements necessary to produce speech. There is typically no difficulty with the actual muscles themselves although the condition can co-occur with Dysarthria (weak, spastic or ineffective oral musculature). The child typically knows what he wants to say and can move his muscles with no difficulty but has difficulty coordinating the movements.  Children can exhibit characteristics of apraxia alone or combined with other disorders.

It is difficult to diagnose apraxia before a child begins to talk. Once the child does begin to talk, their speech is characterized by inconsistent errors or a lack of a pattern in their errors. For example, they may attempt to imitate words but the words sound different each time they try. We also tend to see lots of difficulties with the production of vowel sounds. In some children, we see groping behaviors as if the child is struggling to find the "right place" to put his articulators to say words.  

While there is a wide range of severity, children typically have the best outcome when intensive, consistent therapy starts as early as possible. Here at Let's Talk we offer a multi faceted approach to the treatment of apraxia which includes our own "ABC" Program in combination with therapy strategies used in PROMPT, Nancy Kaufman's praxis approach, Beckman's oral motor approach, Sarah Johnson Rosenfield's horn hierarchy program, and many years of hands on experience that have proven to be very successful.

Therapists

Tracy Vail

Co-Owner / Speech/Language Pathologist/Autism Consultant

Tanya McDowell

Co-Owner / Speech/Language Pathologist

Dru Showers

Speech/Language Pathologist

Erin Maher

Speech/Language Pathologist

Ashley Petrilyak

Speech/Language Pathologist

Sarah Young

Speech/Language Pathologist

Diane S. Meiburg

Speech/Language Pathologist