How is childhood apraxia of speech diagnosed?

How is childhood apraxia of speech diagnosed?

Childhood apraxia of speech is usually diagnosed by a speech-language pathologist (SLP). SLPs have extensive training and skill in treating speech disorders.

To diagnose CAS, an SLP will learn about your child’s history, including any known medical problems. The SLP will also test your child’s hearing, oral-motor skills and intonation (pitch) and the way they say sounds.

The SLP will also test your child’s ability to speak by:

• Checking for signs of mouth muscle weakness.
• Checking how well your child makes consonant and vowel sounds.
• Looking at nonspeech oral motor skills such as blowing, smiling, rounding lips and how quickly your child can move their mouth.
• Observing how your child pauses or changes the pitch of their voice.
• Observing how well others can understand what your child is saying.

Genetic testing can also determine if there is a genetic mutation that is responsible for causing symptoms of the condition. Your healthcare provider will examine a sample of your child’s blood to identify any abnormalities of their genes.