How to Treat Apraxia

Apraxia is a motor-speech programming disorder that results in difficulty making or coordinating (sequencing) the oral-motor movements necessary to produce and combine speech sounds. It's a challenging condition to treat, but some techniques are effective.

Things You'll Need

• Speech therapist or speech language pathologist

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Instructions

How to Treat Apraxia

• 1

  Sometimes, people with acquired apraxia recover on their own, but it's important to note that kids with developmental apraxia don't "outgrow" the condition. Intense therapy and help is usually necessary and yields great results.

• 2

  Working with a speech language pathologist (SLP) can be greatly helpful in treating a child with apraxia. Since no two kids are the same, therapies are generally tailored to the individual child and can include drilling, conversational exercises, and role-play.

• 3

  In more severe cases, a SLP may introduce a communications board for the child to write on to bridge the gap between the lack of oral-motor skills and speech.

• 4

  One of the most important aspects of treating a child with apraxia is instilling a sense of self-esteem and confidence. This is achieved through praise and reassurance by professionals and family members. Speech therapy works best in concert with reinforcement by family and caregivers.