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Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a motor speech disorder where the brain has difficulty planning and coordinating the precise movements needed for speech. Children with CAS know what they want to say, but their brains struggle to send the correct signals to the muscles of the lips, tongue, and jaw. This results in inconsistent speech errors, difficulty with longer words, groping movements when trying to speak, and a limited sound repertoire. CAS is not caused by muscle weakness — it is a neurological planning problem. Treatment requires frequent, intensive speech therapy using motor-based approaches (such as DTTC or PROMPT). Children with CAS often benefit from AAC while building speech skills. CAS co-occurs with autism in some children.
CAS requires intensive speech therapy often exceeding what schools provide alone. HCBS waivers and Medicaid can fund supplemental speech services and AAC devices to fill the gap.