MED CITY APRAXIA AWARENESS

WHAT IS CAS?

Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a motor speech disorder that makes it hard to say certain sounds and syllables. 

In order for speech to occur, messages need to go from the brain to the mouth. These messages tell the muscles how and when to move to make sounds. When a child has apraxia of speech, the messages do not get through correctly. The child might not be able to move their lips or tongue in the correct ways, even though their muscles are not weak. Sometimes, the child might not be able to say much at all.

A child with CAS knows what they want to say. The problem is not how the child thinks, but how the brain tells the mouth muscles to move.