Apraxia vs. speech delay

[elenamum]

My 26 month old girl only has about 60 partial words, mostly monosyllabic.  She is in all other respects normal or even advanced for her age. There are no hearing problems. She has had several pop-out words, and seems to have forgotten words, so that in spite of recent acquisitions her total vocabulary size remains constant.  She is well able to repeat individual sounds and usually syllables, even repetitive same-syllable nonsense (like papapa or bububu) but refuses to even try real words or even nonsense words that involve too many changes (like matipa). She is clearly trying very hard to express herself with the few words she does have, so autism doesn't seem to be a problem, but we are worried about apraxia particularly since her half brother has motor dyspraxia.  A recent speech therapy assessment has been unable to confirm a CAS diagnosis but has not ruled it out.  Are there any main markers or symptoms we should be aware of that might help us point towards a diagnosis?  What treatment should she be getting now, regardless of an eventual diagnosis?   Where are the main centers for help with apraxia and similar disorders? Any help would be very appreciated.

[William H Ahearn, Ph.D., BCBA]

Sorry for the delayed reply but apraxia, though it has been identified in children with autism, is its own condition.  Apraxia is defined as the inability to perform previously-learned tasks or movements even though your muscles and senses work properly. It is a neurological disorder.  More sound information on apraxia can be found at the following link:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003203.htm
I suggest that you seek a thorough developmental assessment by a specialist in developmental disorder.  Intervention is heavily influenced by the type of condition the child presents with and apraxia can be associated with a number of other conditions, like seizures.  If your child has apraxia they should also receive an extensive medical work-up potentially including some of the test referenced through the aforementioned link.
More information on developmental screening can be found at the following Center for Disease Control site:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/child/devtool.htm

[aver]

My son, now 13 years-old, has dyspraxia. The first signs were lack of speech. He was three years old and would only make nonsensical words. I was told by doctors that there was nothing wrong. To say the least, they were wrong.

After an evaluation, I was able to put him in speech therapy through the school district. It was a miracle. He slowly started with words, then sentences etc. He also received speech therapy through our medical insurance. I only wished that I had done it sooner.

The best help is therapy. Your medical insurance should be able to help.

The most important thing is to start as soon as possible.