This section of my blog is dedicated to Childhood Apraxia of Speech. My intent is to raise awareness and share resources for families with affected loved ones. The majority of the play activities…
Fresh speech and language activities and ideas for the busy Speech Language Pathologist
Easy guide for syllable shapes to target in apraxia and early speech. I use this to show parents the steps we're using to build more complex words. I also use it for myself to organize high value words for therapy.
An essential tool for working with apraxia is prompting and cueing. You expand utterances methodically according to the skill of the individual.
Is your child more of a thinker than a talker? Read this if you are worried about speech delays. A mom shares important info on Childhood Apraxia of Speech.
I recently received a few questions from a parent of a little boy who has childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). This wonderful mom was feeling a bit nervous
May is the month of “Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)” awareness. Apraxia is a motor speech disorder that makes it difficult for children to speak. Children with the diagnosis of apraxia of speech generally have a good understanding of language and know what they want to say.
You assess a highly unintelligible child, and after giving a battery of tests and carefully looking at the results, you still wonder, is it CAS? How can I
If you like this free card set, you might want to check out the premium speech therapy kits now available in the Testy Shop . Kits include ...
An essential tool for working with apraxia is prompting and cueing. You expand utterances methodically according to the skill of the individual.
Brand: Super Duper PublicationsFeatures: WORD FLIPS - Four tabs in each section that divide the words according to articulatory placement: Bilabial, Alveolar, Velar, and Palatal.PHRASE FLIPS - Five tab sections organized by placement, from the front to the back of the mouth Bilabial, Labiodental, Alveolar, Palatal, and VelarTEACH WORDS - Teach functional vocabulary words, such as greetings and requests (for example, "hi," "go," and "bye")SPEECH - Great for children with limited speech, unintelligible speech, and/or childhood apraxia of speechSOUNDS - P, B, M, W, F, T, D, S, N, L, SH, CH, J, R, K, and GDetails: Word FLiPS with REAL words (and pictures) is a must for children with limited speech, unintelligible speech, and/or childhood apraxia of speech! Teach functional vocabulary words, such as greetings and requests (for example, "hi," "go," and "bye") while practicing up to three repetitions of sound sequences. Word FLiPS includes three sections of identical picture words with four tabs in each section that divide the words according to articulatory placement: Bilabial, Alveolar, Velar, and Palatal. Begin teaching severely unintelligible children by having them repeat identical earlier developing sounds, such as "boo-boo-boo." Older or more verbal children can practice a variety of sequences, such as "tie-tea-shoe" as a warm-up to practicing sentences. The words in Word FLiPS can also be combined to form other words (for example, "tie-knee" can be combined to form the word "tiny"). Word FLiPS includes a list of words and phrases that can be produced using the "flips," and suggestions for activities to make practice fun and motivating! Word FLiPS is 12" x 6 ½". Help your children progress from single-syllable words to five-syllable phrases in three simple steps with Phrase FLiPS! This flip-book will improve your child’s intelligibility of speech as he/she progresses through 16 sounds in the initial position of words.Package Dimensions: 0x0x0
Today I got to attend a seminar led by Cari Ebert, an SLP who specializes in Childhood Apraxia of Speech. It was entitled “Suspected Apraxia in Early Intervention” and I loved her persp…
Click here for an updated version of this page with the following sounds p, b, t, d, m, n, h. Sample:
I recently attended the Colorado Speech, Language and Hearing Association Spring Conference and the speaker gave me a lot to think about. At the conference, Christina Gildersleeve-Neumann, Ph.D., from Portland State University discussed current theories of phonological development and various treatment approaches. What she said made a lot of sense and affirmed the approach I take in therapy for the young nonverbal child. It is very risky to diagnosis a young nonverbal child with childhood apraxia of speech. The child has not yet developed a phonological system so how do you know if it's impaired? The first step in therapy is to get the child talking. In HOW TO Start Apraxia Therapy with the Young Child, I outline my approach in three steps and provide toy choices to use in play to stimulate speech and language development. Check it out on TeacherspayTeachers.
Apraxia Mat. What comes next?/ Follow the pattern targets CVC words for the Late Developing Sounds. Though this packet is designed to be used for Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), it can also be perfect for Articulation Disorders and Phonological process; Initial Consonant Deletion [ICD] and Final Consonant Deletion [FCD]. What is included? Page 4-Page 21: A No-Prep just Print and Go Version : 18 Mat for the Late Developing Sounds;Initial and Final positions for [l-r-s-ch-sh-v-j-z-th]. Page 23-Page 40: 116 Cards for CVC words used in all the Mats. 7 Cards for most sound position except (4 cards only for Initial Z, Th and Final J) and (6 cards only for initial V). 18 Cover Cards for each Sound position for easy sorting and storage. Pages (42-64): I made another version (Same pages) if you decided to invest some time to make an Interactive book that can be used repeatedly. If you have any question, please email me before you purchase at [email protected] ✅ Be sure to follow my store to be alerted of new products ➪ click here. ✅ Don't forget to leave feedback. You will receive TPT credits that can be used on future purchases!
I figured it was time to post again, since it has been more than a full year since my last post. Ugh. I am a big blogging slacker. But although I am a blogging slacker, I have been extremely bu…
When childhood clumsiness is really something more.
Looking for a fun, NO PREP activity to use with your students with apraxia? This deck of Boom™ Cards targets repetition of the coarticulated CV VCV phrase "Go Away!" This simple, digital deck is perfect for getting quick repetitions needed when working with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). Use it in person or during telehealth sessions. Includes: A link to https://wow.boomlearning.com/ where you can access this deck of cards once you purchase and download the PDF. Thank you for supporting my store. Click HERE to follow me, and be the first to know when I upload new products. I would love to hear your feedback on how you used/enjoyed this book, as well as any of my other products. I also appreciate suggestions to help me improve, or create new products you can’t live without. Leave feedback on my products, and you can earn Teachers Pay Teachers credit towards future purchases. For more in this series: Get up Boom Cards™ Boo! Boom Cards™ No! Down! Boom Cards™ Hi! Boom Cards™ Hot! Water! Boom Cards™ Like this deck? Check out this free deck of Boom Cards for working on Who questions. Who is It? Boom Cards- Freebie Looking for following directions Boom Cards™? Following Directions Springtime Boom Cards™ Like the Hungry Monster Series: Hungry Monster Coarticulation and 2-3 Syllable Words Boom Cards™ Hungry Monster /s/ Blends Boom Cards™ Hungry Monster /k/ Boom Cards™ About Boom Cards: To use Boom Cards, you must be connected to the Internet. Boom Cards play on modern browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge). Apps are available for modern Android, iPads, iPhones, and Kindle Fires. For security and privacy, adults must have a Boom Learning account to use and assign Boom Cards. You will be able to assign the Boom Cards you are buying with "Fast Pins," (a form of play that gives instant feedback to students for self-grading Boom Cards). For assignment options that report student progress back to you, you will need to purchase a subscription. If you are new to Boom Learning, you will be offered a free trial. Read here for details: http://bit.ly/BoomTrial. Boom Learning and Boom Cards are the trademarks of Boom Learning Inc. Used with permission. ©Yvonne Smith, M.S. CCC-SLP, Find My Words Permission to copy for single classroom use only. Please purchase additional licenses if you intend to share this product.
Prompting Hierarchies have been a staple in special education, behavioral methodology andcommunication therapy for some time. However, when it comes to children with severe apraxia, with or without coexisting anxiety, (Rett Syndrome, Angelman Syndrome, ASD, etc) the commonly used prompting hierarchy can complicate instead of simplify teaching augmentative and alternative communication. Many studies now support aided language stimulation or direct modeling as a primary intervention that should be ongoing and intense with child who are learning to use AAC. Given this knowledge we should move modeling from a step in the hierarchy to the umbrella that covers all of the other steps in AAC teaching. Another flaw in the commonly used prompting hierarchy in AAC is the use of direct verbal/requesting a response/giving a command as a "cue" or "prompt". Telling a child what to "say" with their talker isn't a cue or prompt. It is a command and usually it is testing. When we equate communication with testing we lose out on what drives communication (and humanity, when it comes down to it) - an inherent desire to connect with another person. Sometimes that connection is about meeting a need or want and sometimes it is about sharing information, being polite or socially being part of an interaction. But we negate that when we command child to say something specific. Furthermore, such demanding/testing type interactions increase anxiety (fear of getting it wrong, fear of disappointing, etc), oppositional behavior (the child's desire to prove that the he or she has power) and apraxia. Apraxia is a neurological disability that impacts the child's ability to follow a direction in spite of the directive being understood, a desire to follow the directive, the physical ability to follow the directive and sometimes, a previously shown ability to follow the directive. In short, the more the child WANTS to do something the more apraxia stops them. This is neurological, NOT a behavior. Anxiety and demands increase the apraxia. So the child might still be working through the previous levels of cues you have given but then you make the demand "show me_______" or "say_________" and all bets are off! It will be nearly impossible for the child to do as you say at this point. Creating a amicable bond, sometimes even an almost conspiratorial connection is much more likely to enable a child with severe apraxia to be able to communicate. Non-directive and non-confrontational is the way to go in apraxia if you want results! Finally there is the issue of "hands-on" cueing. What does "hands-on" cueing really mean? It basically means we MAKE the child press or activate buttons on their devices. (The child actively taking your hand is different than you taking the child's hand. Yet, this should still be faded as soon as possible.) Hand-over-hand and hand-under-hand both are hands-on. What does a hands-on, full physical "cue" this tell the child? It tells them that A) we have the right to manipulate their bodies or make them touch or do things whether they want to or not and B) that we have the right to force them to say things just because we want them to say it. It teaches them that if they don't comply with a directive (regardless of if they understood it or if apraxia stood in their way) we will make them comply with the directive. Our students are some of the most vulnerable human being anywhere. Consider this statistic: More than 70 percent of those with disabilities polled said they had been abused and over 60 percent of family members indicated that their loved one with special needs had been mistreated. (http://www.disabilityandabuse.org/survey/survey-report.pdf) Or this one: More than ninety percent (90%) of people (both male and female) with developmental disabilities will experience sexual abuse at some point in their lives. Forty-nine percent (49%) will experience ten or more abuse incidents. (Valenti-Hein, D. & Schwartz, L. (1995). The Sexual Abuse Interview for Those with Developmental Disabilities. James Stanfield Company. Santa Barbara: California) Now tell me again how is it ok to teach children who have significant disabilities that they should allow others to make them do things with their hands and that they should allow others to "put words in their mouths"? We have almost a sacred duty to do everything in out power as educators, therapists, caregivers, parents to prevent abuse of our students - now and in the future. And this starts with teaching them that they have the right to be respected in what they do (and don't do) as well as what they say (and don't say). It might be the most important thing we do. We must take it seriously. We must make it a priority. And that means finding new ways to teach and "cue"/"prompt" (it definitely isn't a prompt if it is hands-on). We are an intelligent, creative and compassionate field, certainly we can find other ways? Additionally a "full physical" or hands-on situation, where we make the child "say" something with the device, teaches the child that language/words are something put upon them by others. If we want our students to see the power of their AAC systems we must let them see, in both our modeling and in how we teach and respond to their AAC, that the power of language/words is that it comes from INSIDE us and can affect those OUTSIDE us. Children can't learn that if we are constantly putting them in a position where the words come from someone else who is physically making them access their communication system. In teaching AAC we are setting the child's attitude about using their speech system for the rest of their life. It is so much better that we teach them the value of their system from the beginning instead of having to combat a negative attitude about their communication system that is created by how we taught them in the first place. So we must rethink the prompt hierarchy. We make modeling a setting event that happens ALWAYS. Then we use the expectant pause, indirect gestural cue (body language), direct gestural cue (pointing), indirect and partial verbal cues (phonemic cue, hinting) and then we return to modeling and move on. Why don't we force the issue until we get the device activation we want? Because communication isn't a test and nothing is so important that we put our hands on and make them say something. Instead we increase the motivation of the child (through preferred activities, child led sessions and our own demeanor), we increase the modeling of the AAC device or system and we move out of the way and let the child come to an understanding of their communication system and the power it has through repeated meaningful experiences. Join us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Teaching-Learners-with-Multiple-Needs/179671874000.
