A mouth is made up of different muscles, tendons, and more. The brain feeds messages to your mouth, which makes these muscles move so that you can make sounds in a particular pattern that then make sense.
Come to think of it, the process is a beautiful symphony and the result is astounding.
However, sometimes the brain is unable to send the messages correctly to the muscles and this creates a speech limitation for children. Medical science terms this condition as apraxia. It’s when a child is not able to move their lips or tongue correctly, even though their muscles aren’t weak.
Apraxia makes speech difficult or nearly impossible for many, even though the child may want to speak. However, their mouth and tongue are unable to form words.
Sadly, not many know about apraxia and its effects, which makes it a poorly understood neurological condition. People suffering from apraxia find it difficult to make certain motor movements. While apraxia isn’t commonly known, you may have heard of its milder form, dyspraxia.
Nevertheless, we’ve managed to compile all that you need to know about apraxia. From apraxia symptoms, causes, to its treatments? We’ve got you covered.
Types Of Apraxia
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There are two types of apraxia that you need to know about – acquired apraxia and childhood apraxia of speech.
With acquired apraxia, people lose their speech-making ability at any age. This, however, is most commonly seen with adults.
Childhood apraxia of speech is a motor speech disorder. This condition is present from birth and affects the child’s ability to form sounds and words. A child with apraxia knows what they want to say but their brain is unable to tell the mouth muscles to correctly move to create the right sound.
Apraxia is treatable and children will see improvement upon receiving the correct treatment. While it’s not completely curable, you can expect to see a massive change in how the child speaks.
Apraxia Symptoms
Not all children with apraxia show the same symptoms. While some may show all symptoms, others may show a few. Some of the childhood apraxia symptoms include:
- Difficulty stringing syllables together in the right order of words
- Does not always say words the same way every time
- Minimal babbling during younger ages
- Difficulty in saying long or complicated words
- Inconsistent speech
- Incorrect stresses on certain sounds or words
- More non-verbal forms of communication
- Omitting consonants at the beginning and end of words
Childhood apraxia is usually accompanied by other cognitive defects. This usually includes:
- Limited vocabulary
- Grammatical problems
- Problems with coordination and fine motor skills
- Difficulty in chewing or swallowing food
- General clumsiness
Apraxia Causes
One of the major causes of apraxia is brain damage to those areas that control a person’s ability to speak. A head trauma, stroke or even a brain tumour might produce acquired apraxia in individuals.
With childhood apraxia of speech, there’s no determining reason for what causes the disorder. Experts do believe that the brain may have signalling problems when sending messages to the muscles.
Experts do not yet understand what causes childhood apraxia of speech. Some scientists believe that it results from signalling problems between the brain and the muscles used for speaking.
That said, there’s still research happening to find the cause of childhood apraxia of speech. Researchers also looking at genetic causes, while some studies are trying to understand exactly which parts of the brain cause the disorder.
Tests For Apraxia Of Speech
Diagnosing childhood apraxia of speech is a complicated process. speech-language pathologists have different opinions about which symptoms indicate the condition.
Experts will look at multiple apraxia symptoms while assessing the child’s ability to repeat the same word multiple times. They may also assess whether the child is able to recite a list of words that get increasingly difficult.
For instance, the expert may ask the child to repeat words like “play, playful, playfully.” While they sound the same, they get increasingly difficult with every version.
The medical professional will also check in other ways. This includes asses the sounds, syllables and words that the child can make out and understand.
They will also examine the little one’s mouth, tongue and face for any structural deformities that may be the reason for apraxia symptoms.
Diagnosis
Medical professionals may look for other symptoms such as weakness or difficulty in language comprehension. These symptoms also point towards other conditions and their presence can rule out apraxia in a child.
With respect to acquired apraxia, an MRI of the brain will help determine the location and extent of the damage.
Experts can only diagnose childhood apraxia of speech after a child’s second birthday. Prior to this, children are mostly unable to understand or perform the tasks needed to determine if they have apraxia.
Apraxia Treatment
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While it cannot be fully treated, childhood apraxia of speech can improve with the correct treatment. For those with acquired apraxia, the condition will improve and correct itself once the right treatment begins.
For children with childhood apraxia of speech, the treatment will involve a speech-language pathologist. You will need to set up one-on-one meetings at least three to five times a week. They may also need to work with their parents and caregivers to help the child practice the skills.
In order to treat childhood apraxia of speech, the pathologist may recommend the following exercises:
- Repeat practising the formation and pronunciation of sounds and words
- Practice connecting sounds to make a speech
- Work with rhythms or melodies
- Practice talking or trying to form words in front of a mirror
Some therapists recommend teaching sign language to the child who may have difficulty in being understood. It will also be beneficial for the treatment as they will attempt to say the words they are signing by making the necessary movements with their mouth.
You can also use assistive electronic devices to help with the disorder to use computers that use a speaker to produce words and sentences when typed.
Source: WebMD.com
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