Childhood apraxia of speech

Childhood apraxia of speech occurs in children and is present from birth. It appears to be more common in boys than girls. Children with this condition have difficulty planning and producing the precise, refined, and specific movements of the tongue, lips, jaw, and palate that are necessary for intelligible speech. In many cases, the underlying cause of childhood apraxia of speech is unknown (idiopathic). Some cases are associated with a known neurological cause (such as intrauterine or early childhood stroke, infection, trauma, brain cancer or tumor resection, traumatic brain injury, etc.), and other cases occur as part of a complex neurobehavioral disorder (such as autism, epilepsy, fragile X syndrome, galactosemia, Rett syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome or certain types of chromosome abnormalities). In some cases, researchers have found alterations (mutations) in the FOXP2 gene or loss of genetic material involving this gene. Treatment of childhood apraxia of speech involves speech therapy with a speech-language pathologist. Those with more severe cases will require more therapy than those with mild cases. The goal of therapy is to increase speech production and intelligibility. In some cases, augmentative and alternative forms of communication may be needed.