Speech Disorders Introduction and Definition Thesis

Tips for Teaching or Working with a Child that has Childhood Apraxia of Speech

According to Gretz (2005), research into effective methods for providing treatment to children with Apraxia is inadequate but in the professional literature a variety of techniques illustrated, including PROMPT method, Integral Stimulation, Adapted Cueing, Touch Cue, Melodic Intonation Therapy, Rate Control Therapy, etc., even though these therapeutic methods varies to some extent, they have shared characteristics that consists of principles of motor learning such as a high degree of practice and repetition, correction and feedback, slowed rate, and a focus on targeted motor placement and productions; heightened sensory input for control of the movement sequences and sensory cueing such as visual, tactile, and kinaesthetic cueing; touch cueing; verbal cueing; use of rhythm and melody; and focus on speech movements vs. individual sounds.

In the treatment of CAS, it is generally understood that repeated practice of sounds and words helps to enhance speech and reduce some of the pressures linked with expressive language. Repetitive books contain various characteristics that can be part of an effective treatment strategy for children diagnosed with CAS -- predictability, existence of carrier phrases, repeat practice of target sounds, familiar inflection, and an introduction to phonemic awareness (Velleman, 2005). Books are great instruments in the treatment for speech and language disorders because of the multi-sensory method they offer for learning. All books promote speech and language training (Chamberlain & Strode, 2004); Common inflection, another characteristic of repetitive books, can assist in addressing some of the problems with prosody that children with CAS experience. Prosody is described as "the stress, duration, pitch, rate, and timing changes that make our speech meaningful, intelligible, and interesting.It is the melody of speech." (Chamberlain & Strode, 2004).

Improving sound symbol awareness and early sight word recognition can be challenging and wearisome for the child. A repetitive book, especially those with repeated words and short phrases can aid in the enhancement of phonemic awareness and pre-reading skills (Lovelace & Stewart, 2007). With suitable aid, nearly all children with Apraxia of speech create brilliant advantages in their expressive speech ability but it is as well true that in some situations, in spite of everyone's best efforts, a child might not develop to be primarily a verbal communicator (Gretz, 2005).

References

Apraxia. (n. d.). Retrieved March 15, 2009, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apraxia.

Chamberlain, C. & Strode, R. (2004). Making it Fun: Practicing Speech at Home. First Apraxia- KIDS Parent Conference, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Childhood Apraxia of Speech. (2007). Retrieved on March 15, 2009 from American Speech-Language-Hearing Association: http://www.asha.org/docs/html/PS2007-00277.html.

Gretz. S. (2005). Using Sigh Languagewith Children who have Apraxia of Speech.. Retrieved on March 15, 2009 from Apraxia-kids: http://www.Apraxia-kids.org/site/apps/nl/content3.asp?c=chKMI0PIIsE&b=788447&ct=464165.

Lovelace, S. & Stewart, S.R. (2007) Increasing print awareness in preschoolers with language impairment using non-evocative print referencing. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 38 (1), 16-30.

Powell, T. (2005).A Brief Overview of Language and Approaches to it's Assessment: One Professional's Perspective. Retrieved on March 15, 2009 from Apraxia-kids: http://www.Apraxia-kids.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=chKMI0PIIsE&b=788447&ct=464861.

Velleman, S. (2005). Update on Childhood Apraxia of Speech. Worldtide, Northampton, MA......