Testing for verbal dyspraxia (or Childhood Apraxia of Speech - CAS) involves a speech-language pathologist (SLP) conducting a comprehensive assessment, including case history review, hearing tests, oral-motor exams (checking mouth movements like blowing/smiling), and analyzing speech production to look for inconsistent errors, difficulty with sound transitions (e.g., repeating "pa-ta-ka"), and issues with speech rhythm/melody (prosody). No single test confirms it, but the SLP observes how a person plans and produces speech movements to differentiate it from other speech disorders.
Verbal dyspraxia is usually diagnosed by a speech and language therapist, but often, a GP or occupational therapist may be involved in making a diagnosis. The key to improvement is the early recognition of the symptoms and tailoring an individualised treatment plan for each person with speech disorders.
What are the symptoms? The person usually knows what they want to say, but has difficulty saying it. The wrong sounds may come out or sometimes nothing at all. This can be frustrating for the speaker as one word may come out correctly one minute and incorrectly the next.
My child is very difficult to understand, could they have CAS? CAS is a very rare type of speech sound disorder. Around 60 out of every 1,000 children will have a speech sound disorder, but only one in every 1,000 children will have CAS.
Speech exam
Your child's ability to make sounds, words and sentences may be watched during play or other activities. Your child may be asked to name pictures. This allows the speech-language pathologist to check whether your child has trouble making specific sounds or speaking certain words or syllables.
As has already been mentioned, these two conditions are very closely related, in that apraxia is a form of dyspraxia. However, dyspraxia is an umbrella term to describe muscle planning developmental abilities, while apraxia is most commonly used to describe muscle planning needed for speech.
For a child to receive a diagnosis of CAS, they must meet all three consensus‐based features of CAS: Inconsistency across words and syllables. Lengthened and disrupted coarticulatory transitions. Inappropriate prosody.
Autism is mainly about having social and communication difficulties. Meanwhile, dyspraxia is mainly about having difficulties with motor skills. A few more specific differences are as follows. Some autistic people hate change and this leads to rigid thinking, repetitive behaviours, a love of routines and so on.
The short answer is, Yes! For example, it is widely believed that Albert Einstein was dyspraxic. He didn't learn to tie his shoelaces until he was 15.
Famous Figures with Apraxia
Emily Blunt, Samuel L. Jackson, Tiger Woods, Nicole Kidman, Ronda Rousey, and Bruce Willis are among the notable celebrities who have experienced speech difficulties, including apraxia of speech.
Signs of dyspraxia in older children
Difficulty with balance — they may bump into objects, fall frequently or seem clumsy. Difficulty with sports and activities, such as riding a bike; jumping; and catching, throwing or kicking a ball. They may avoid participating in activities because of their lack of coordination.
There's no cure for childhood apraxia of speech. But with early diagnosis and a special kind of speech therapy, many children make significant progress and learn to speak clearly.
DCD is often confused with dyspraxia. Here's the thing, they are very similar and cause a lot of the same types of clumsiness and disorganisation. However, dyspraxia involves planning of tasks. A child with dyspraxia has difficulty to use toys and equipment in novel ways.
Thumb-finding test. Your GP places your hands in a position of their choosing and then asks you to touch your thumb with your other thumb while your eyes are closed. Sequential finger-touching. Your GP will ask you to touch each of your fingers to your thumb, starting with your forefinger.
Movement and co-ordination problems
They often avoid joining in because of their lack of co-ordination and may find physical education difficult. walking up and down stairs. writing, drawing and using scissors – their handwriting and drawings may appear scribbled and less developed compared to other children their age.
Dyspraxia can make it difficult for people to maintain attention and focus, especially when there are distractions and interruptions. Some people can also experience excessive tiredness.
Daniel Radcliffe (Actor)
Best known for his titular role in the Harry Potter films, Daniel revealed that he had a mild form of dyspraxia in 2008 in an interview for his Broadway debut in Equus. He was unsuccessful at school and 'he sometimes still has trouble tying his shoelaces. '
Bill Gates, one of the richest people in the world didn't let his dyslexia hold him back.
Sylvester Stallone - Stallone is one of the highest paid actors of all time. He suffers from dyslexia, but has developed an outstanding talent for screenwriting. His writing credits include "Rocky" and "Over the Top", both of which he starred in.
Around 90% of autism cases are attributed to genetic factors, meaning autism is highly heritable, with many different genes contributing, rather than a single cause, often interacting with environmental influences during early brain development, though specific environmental factors don't cause it but can increase risk. Twin studies show strong genetic links, with concordance rates between 60-90% in identical twins, and research points to complex interactions of many genes and prenatal/perinatal factors.
In children, verbal dyspraxia is a very rare motor speech sound disorder thought to have a prevalence of 1-2 children out of 1,000 in the general population.
The "6-second rule" for autism is a communication strategy where a speaker pauses for about six seconds after asking a question or giving information, giving the autistic person extra time to process it without feeling rushed, which helps reduce anxiety and allows for a more thoughtful response, reducing frustration for both parties. Instead of repeating or rephrasing, which can be confusing, you wait, and if needed, repeat the exact same words after the pause.
The child or young person's therapists, including physiotherapist, speech pathologist or occupational therapist, usually diagnose dyxpraxia, and these are the health professionals who can give you advice about treatment strategies and how to best assist your child.
Some common symptoms associated with developmental verbal dyspraxia in children are:
CAS often cannot be diagnosed until a child is around three or four years of age because the language and speech skills of toddlers naturally vary a lot. This means that before three years of age, many children share some of the early signs of CAS (e.g. slow to talk, poor appetite etc) without actually having CAS.