Apraxia Dallas, PLLC

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❓Did you know❓

Assessing a child for is different than assessing a monolingual child.

Characteristics of have been identified primarily based on studies of monolingual English-speaking children. Not all of these characteristics apply to children who speak languages other than English and multilingual children.

Characteristics to consider when evaluating multilingual children:
▪️Inconsistency (consonant, vowel, and tone errors in repeated trials)
▪️Lengthened and disrupted coarticulatory transitions
▪️Increased difficulty with sequencing as words/utterances become longer
▪️Segmentation/breaks between consonants and vowels
▪️Inaccurate and/or excess, equal stress
▪️Inaccurate intonation or monotone speech
▪️Variable rate, resonance, loudness, pitch at word and sentence levels

It's important to consider all languages of exposure. Remember, even if a child is not speaking more than one language, if they are hearing multiple languages, they are building phonological systems based on multiple languages, which will be different than a child in a primarily monolingual environment.

Keep on learning and growing. 🌱

📌Don't forget to save for future reference.

References: Gildersleeve-Neumann, C.E., Michel, I., Beltrán, B. & Heath, A. (2023). Working with Multilingual Children with CAS: Reframing Your Thinking. 3 part training program for Apraxia-Kids, Org.

Happy International Women's Day! 🌍

Here's to strong women.

May we know them.

May we be them.

May we raise them.

Fact check ✅ and

Children with CAN and DO learn more than one language when they are part of a multilingual family and/or community. ✅

Just like some monolingual children have , some multilingual children have CAS.✅

A multilingual child's will not improve or get better by becoming monolingual. ❌And we know there can be many negative impacts on a child's language and relationships when they are excluded from the language spoken by their family and/or community. 💔

The research is clear.
➡️There is no need for a multilingual family to "pick one language."
➡️There is no reason for a multilingual family to "only use English."

Children with CAS have multilingual rights and they deserve a voice. ❤️

Let's keep striving for best practice and better education, starting here. 👇We know better, we do better. 🙌

References: Gildersleeve-Neumann, C.E., Michel, I., Beltrán, B. & Heath, A. (2023). Working with Multilingual Children with CAS: Reframing Your Thinking. 3 part training program for Apraxia-Kids, Org.

Love wins. ❤

Love is being kind.🧡

Love is accepting all communication, regardless of its form.💙

Love is listening so all voices can be heard. 🤎

Love is asking, not assuming. 💚

Love is being open-minded. 💛

Love is being curious.🤍

Love is being non-judgemental.🖤

Love is always learning.💗

Love wins.❤

Happy Valentine's Day!

In , "the core impairment in planning and/or programming spatiotemporal parameters of movement sequences results in errors in speech sound production and prosody" (ASHA, 2007).

What happens when there are errors in moving the speech articulators 👄through space and time? What should we be listening for? 🤔

In MONOLINGUAL English-speaking children SOME of the characteristics we should listen for are (Iuzzini-Seigel et al, 2022; Shriberg et al, 2017):

👂vowel errors and distortions
👂sound distortions
👂intrusive schwa
👂voicing errors
👂inappropriate prosody
👂inaccurate stress, even and equal stress
👂difficulty moving between articulatory configurations, disruptions in coarticulation
👂inconsistency in repeated trials
👂fluctuating resonance
👂slow rate
👂increased difficulty with multisyllabic words

There are other features that are easier to see 👀than hear.

Do you know which of these ALSO apply to multilingual children? Or which features are also features of dysarthria?🧐

Like, save and follow for more info! 🙌

💡Tip Tuesday 💡 Avoid negative practice!

Children, especially children with , learn 🧠 what they practice. If they rehearse an incorrect motor plan for speech (negative practice), they will learn an incorrect motor plan for speech. 👎

This incorrect motor plan will then have to be changed or re-learned, which can be even more difficult for children with than learning a new motor plan. 😕

When selecting targets for children with , we want to be particularly careful that the target word or phrase is stimulable with multisensory cueing, so that the new motor plan can be practiced accurately. 👍

Accurate practice means that we are taking into account coarticulation and how the entire target is actually said,🗣 not how we write it , spell it or say it if we break it into parts.

Found this information helpful? Like, save and share! 🙌

Don't miss this opportunity for a full-day course on hosted by THERAPY2000! In-person in Irving, Texas or available via live webinar or recorded webinar.

I can't wait to share tons of info about identifying and treating !

Register at https://tinyurl.com/3z3u5sby

Come learn about ! Breanna will be presenting a full day course on for ! 😁

Thank you THERAPY2000 for hosting! 🙌

See all the details and register at https://tinyurl.com/3z3u5sby

Coarticulation Q&A!

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! 🎁🎄

We will be CLOSED for the holidays 🎁🎄🎉🥂 December 25th-January 1st. See you next year! 😃

🥳🥳🥳Congratulations to Jordyn - her CCCs are in the bag! 👜

Way to go, Jordyn Brechler, MS, CCC-SLP. 🙌We are so proud of you! 💞

Treating the Whole Child, Part 3!

What can be done in therapy to help a child the most? 🤔

Look at the whole child - what is the biggest priority or what is the biggest barrier for that child?

Some ideas to help:

🤸‍♀️Use movement! Movement that is neurologically calming, like swinging, can be particularly helpful.

⏲Use visual supports, like timers, schedules, counting on your fingers.

🪢Provide sensory input if the child benefits from it.

💞Use trauma-informed care!

🌱Keep a growth mindset.

🎯Pick speech targets and activities that are motivating and meaningful to the child.

🗣Practice targets in context so the child knows how to use the words in their daily life.

📉Explicitly fade feedback and cueing to help the child gain independence.

🔄Use routines for children that prefer routines, and use novelty for children that are motivated by new toys and activities.