National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center, a program of the National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences

Childhood apraxia of speech


Other Names:
CAS; Developmental apraxia of speech; Developmental verbal apraxia; CAS; Developmental apraxia of speech; Developmental verbal apraxia; Developmental verbal dyspraxia; DAS; Articulatory apraxia; Speech and language disorder with orofacial dyspraxia; Speech-language disorder type 1; Speech-language disorder-1 See More
Categories:
This disease is grouped under:
Childhood apraxia of speech occurs in children and is present from birth. It appears to be more common in boys than girls.[1] 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.[2] In many cases, the underlying cause of childhood apraxia of speech is unknown (idiopathic).[1][2][3] 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).[1] In some cases, researchers have found alterations (mutations) in the FOXP2 gene or loss of genetic material involving this gene.[4] 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.[2] The goal of therapy is to increase speech production and intelligibility. In some cases, augmentative and alternative forms of communication may be needed.[3]
Last updated: 5/30/2017

This table lists symptoms that people with this disease may have. For most diseases, symptoms will vary from person to person. People with the same disease may not have all the symptoms listed. This information comes from a database called the Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) . The HPO collects information on symptoms that have been described in medical resources. The HPO is updated regularly. Use the HPO ID to access more in-depth information about a symptom.

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Medical Terms Other Names
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HPO ID
30%-79% of people have these symptoms
Abnormal speech prosody 0031434
Dysarthria
Difficulty articulating speech
0001260
Expressive language delay 0002474
Grammar-specific speech disorder 0006977
Incomprehensible speech 0002546
Poor fine motor coordination 0007010
Poor speech 0002465
Receptive language delay 0010863
Specific learning disability 0001328
Speech apraxia 0011098
5%-29% of people have these symptoms
Caudate atrophy 0002340
Delayed social development 0012434
Drooling
Dribbling
0002307
Feeding difficulties
Feeding problems
Poor feeding
[ more ] 		0011968
Poor gross motor coordination 0007015
1%-4% of people have these symptoms
Autistic behavior 0000729
High, narrow palate
Narrow, high-arched roof of mouth
Narrow, highly arched roof of mouth
[ more ] 		0002705
Horizontal eyebrow
Flat eyebrow
Straight eyebrow
[ more ] 		0011228
Overfolded helix
Overfolded ears
0000396
Submucous cleft hard palate 0000176
Percent of people who have these symptoms is not available through HPO
Abnormality of the basal ganglia 0002134
Abnormality of the face
Abnormal face
Facial abnormality
[ more ] 		0000271
Autosomal dominant inheritance 0000006
Delayed speech and language development
Deficiency of speech development
Delayed language development
Delayed speech
Delayed speech acquisition
Delayed speech development
Impaired speech and language development
Impaired speech development
Language delay
Language delayed
Language development deficit
Late-onset speech development
Poor language development
Speech and language delay
Speech and language difficulties
Speech delay
[ more ] 		0000750
Oromotor apraxia 0007301
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Last updated: 7/1/2020

If you need medical advice, you can look for doctors or other healthcare professionals who have experience with this disease. You may find these specialists through advocacy organizations, clinical trials, or articles published in medical journals. You may also want to contact a university or tertiary medical center in your area, because these centers tend to see more complex cases and have the latest technology and treatments.

If you can’t find a specialist in your local area, try contacting national or international specialists. They may be able to refer you to someone they know through conferences or research efforts. Some specialists may be willing to consult with you or your local doctors over the phone or by email if you can't travel to them for care.

You can find more tips in our guide, How to Find a Disease Specialist. We also encourage you to explore the rest of this page to find resources that can help you find specialists.

Healthcare Resources

Research helps us better understand diseases and can lead to advances in diagnosis and treatment. This section provides resources to help you learn about medical research and ways to get involved.

Clinical Research Resources

  • ClinicalTrials.gov lists trials that are related to Childhood apraxia of speech. Click on the link to go to ClinicalTrials.gov to read descriptions of these studies.

    Please note: Studies listed on the ClinicalTrials.gov website are listed for informational purposes only; being listed does not reflect an endorsement by GARD or the NIH. We strongly recommend that you talk with a trusted healthcare provider before choosing to participate in any clinical study.

Support and advocacy groups can help you connect with other patients and families, and they can provide valuable services. Many develop patient-centered information and are the driving force behind research for better treatments and possible cures. They can direct you to research, resources, and services. Many organizations also have experts who serve as medical advisors or provide lists of doctors/clinics. Visit the group’s website or contact them to learn about the services they offer. Inclusion on this list is not an endorsement by GARD.

Organizations Supporting this Disease

These resources provide more information about this condition or associated symptoms. The in-depth resources contain medical and scientific language that may be hard to understand. You may want to review these resources with a medical professional.

Where to Start

In-Depth Information

  • GeneReviews provides current, expert-authored, peer-reviewed, full-text articles describing the application of genetic testing to the diagnosis, management, and genetic counseling of patients with specific inherited conditions.
  • Medscape Reference provides information on this topic. You may need to register to view the medical textbook, but registration is free.
  • The Monarch Initiative brings together data about this condition from humans and other species to help physicians and biomedical researchers. Monarch’s tools are designed to make it easier to compare the signs and symptoms (phenotypes) of different diseases and discover common features. This initiative is a collaboration between several academic institutions across the world and is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Visit the website to explore the biology of this condition.
  • Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) is a catalog of human genes and genetic disorders. Each entry has a summary of related medical articles. It is meant for health care professionals and researchers. OMIM is maintained by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. 
  • Orphanet is a European reference portal for information on rare diseases and orphan drugs. Access to this database is free of charge.

Questions sent to GARD may be posted here if the information could be helpful to others. We remove all identifying information when posting a question to protect your privacy. If you do not want your question posted, please let us know.

  1. Apraxia of Speech. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/pages/apraxia.aspx. Accessed 1/4/2016.
  2. A Beginner’s Start Guide to Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). The Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America. http://www.apraxia-kids.org/guides/family-start-guide/. Accessed 1/4/2016.
  3. Childhood Apraxia of Speech. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. http://www.asha.org/Practice-Portal/Clinical-Topics/Childhood-Apraxia-of-Speech/. Accessed 1/4/2016.
  4. Morgan A, Fisher SE, Scheffer I, et al. FOXP2-Related Speech and Language Disorders. GeneReviews. 2017; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK368474/.