Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)
Helping children plan, coordinate, and produce speech with confidence
Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a motor planning disorder where children know what they want to say but struggle to coordinate the precise mouth movements needed to say it. Our specialized program uses intensive, evidence-based motor speech approaches to build reliable speech production.
At a Glance
Session Length
30-45 minutes
Typical Duration
6-24+ months
Availability
In-Person & Virtual
For
About
Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)
Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is one of the most complex and misunderstood speech disorders in children. Unlike a simple articulation delay, CAS is a neurological motor planning condition—the brain has difficulty creating and executing the precise, coordinated sequences of movement required for speech. Children with CAS often have a limited repertoire of speech sounds, make inconsistent errors on the same words, struggle with longer or more complex words, and may appear to grope or search for the right mouth position. The gap between what these bright, capable children want to say and what they can produce is often a source of significant frustration for both the child and their family.
At Horizon Speech Therapy, we specialize in CAS treatment using the most current, research-supported approaches. Our therapists are trained in Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC), PROMPT (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets), Rapid Syllable Transition Treatment (ReST), and multisensory cueing methods. We know that CAS requires intensive, frequent practice with high numbers of speech movement repetitions to build and strengthen the neural pathways for motor speech planning. That's why we recommend a more intensive treatment schedule than typical speech therapy—usually 2-3 sessions per week—and equip families with structured home practice activities to maximize progress between sessions.
What We Treat
Conditions
Methods
Treatment Approaches
DTTC (Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing)
A motor-based approach that uses tactile cues, slowed rate, and simultaneous production to help children plan and execute speech movements accurately.
PROMPT
Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets—a tactile-kinesthetic approach where the therapist uses precise touch cues on the face and jaw to guide correct speech movements.
ReST (Rapid Syllable Transition Treatment)
Targets the smooth, rapid transitions between syllables and sounds that are the hallmark difficulty in CAS, building fluent connected speech.
Multisensory Cueing
Combines visual, auditory, and tactile cues simultaneously to give the child's brain multiple pathways for learning and remembering how to produce speech movements.
Process
How It Works
Specialized Assessment
Conduct a thorough motor speech evaluation to confirm a CAS diagnosis and identify specific movement planning breakdowns.
Individualized Motor Plan
Design a treatment program targeting the child's specific movement patterns, starting with achievable targets and building systematically.
Intensive Therapy Sessions
Frequent sessions (2-3x weekly) with high repetitions of speech movements using motor-based approaches in fun, motivating activities.
Home Practice Program
Equip families with structured, manageable daily practice activities to reinforce motor patterns between therapy sessions.
Progress & Advancement
Systematically increase complexity—from sounds to words to phrases to sentences—as motor plans become more reliable and automatic.
Results
Expected Outcomes
FAQ
Common Questions
How is CAS different from a regular speech delay?
In a typical speech delay, a child is developing speech sounds in the normal pattern but at a slower rate. With CAS, the challenge is neurological—the brain struggles to plan and sequence the precise movements of the lips, tongue, and jaw for speech. Children with CAS often make inconsistent errors (saying the same word differently each time), have difficulty imitating words, struggle more with longer words, and may appear to 'search' for the right mouth position. CAS requires specialized motor-based therapy approaches that differ significantly from traditional articulation therapy.
Why does CAS require more frequent therapy sessions?
CAS is fundamentally a motor learning challenge, similar to learning a complex physical skill. Research shows that motor learning requires high numbers of practice repetitions, distributed across frequent sessions, to build and strengthen the neural pathways responsible for speech movement planning. Just as an athlete wouldn't practice only once a week, children with CAS need frequent, intensive practice to develop reliable motor plans for speech. We typically recommend 2-3 sessions per week combined with daily home practice for the best outcomes.