We also help to script the children directly into two or three-word combinations almost immediately, even if every word is only approximated, such as in I want. We actually assist them with imitation, cues, prompts or any possible way to help them make their best word approximation attempt. In this approach, however, we do not necessarily wait for the child to use an approximation independently, though that is certainly the optimal goal. As soon as the child has any type of an approximation for a word, it should be encouraged and reinforced by the appropriate response of the listener (i.e., giving the child juice for attempting doos or oos for juice). Then, through practice of this hierarchy of consonant and vowel patterns, the children gain verbal praxis skills for the ultimate goal of successful verbal communication.īeyond the workout of practicing consonant-vowel patterns in real words is the important aspect of functional communication. One can evaluate the consonant and vowel patterns of children by asking them to imitate, moving in a hierarchy from simple to complex vowel and consonant combinations to obtain a profile of the childs motor-speech proficiency. Through shaping, cueing, and fading techniques, children with CAS can gradually move into whole words, phrases and sentences. By simply offering children with CAS the opportunity to attempt word approximations using the consonants and vowels already in their repertoire, successful attempts at words are achieved, reinforced, and rewarded by the listeners comprehension, and thus their response to the childs needs and desires. Children with CAS who have performed little babbling or practice as infants, may not be able to change what they hear and understand, into the motor act of speaking those words. Just like any other task that is difficult to master, the task of speaking can be broken down into a more simplified one, in this case word approximations.īy examining how children first learn to speak, we can observe that many of the early vocabulary begins with word approximations such as, baw for ball, or bah for bottle, or even wawa for water. Asking children to imitate whole words would be setting them up for failure. Children with childhood apraxia of speech cannot easily execute and/or coordinate oral-motor movements to combine the consonants and vowels necessary to form words.
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