ARTICLES by MARGARET (DEE) FISH
A dozen tips for supporting early speech development in children with severe childhood apraxia of speech
by Margaret Fish from PediaStaff Newsletter May 22, 2012
"Young children with suspected childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) and children with very severe CAS present unique challenges to speech-language pathologists. When children begin to develop some volitional control over the production of syllables, the speech-language pathologist can help to shape increasingly complex speech movement sequences and support the child’s acquisition of a complete phonemic repertoire. For children who do not imitate speech reliably, however, other treatment strategies need to be utilized. Following are several strategies..." to read the rest of the article, CLICK HERE
10 suggestions for effective treatment of childhood apraxia of speech
by Margaret Fish from PediaStaff Newsletter March 25, 2011
"Speech sound disorders, including articulation disorder, phonological disorder, dysarthria and childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), make up the bulk of caseloads of many speech-language pathologists. The incidence of childhood apraxia of speech, however, is relatively low, affecting approximately 3 – 5 percent of preschoolers with speech impairments (CASANA, 2005). It is not unusual for a speech-language pathologist to feel unprepared when presented with a child with known or suspected CAS. Many speech-language pathologists report that their graduate school instruction in identification and treatment of children with CAS was limited. In addition, treatment techniques that are effective for children with articulation or phonological disorders generally are not effective with children with CAS.
It is important to recognize that the core impairment for children with CAS is not the execution of speech movements (as seen in children with dysarthria) or in the ability to learn the phonological rules of a language (as seen in children with phonological disorder). The underlying challenges for children with CAS are in “planning and/or programming spatiotemporal parameters of movement sequences” (ASHA, 2007). When we consider the complexity of these spatiotemporal parameters, including muscle selection, direction, distance, and speed of articulatory movement, amount of force that is applied to the articulators, and degree of muscle contraction, it becomes more clear how an impairment in planning and programming articulatory movements can have such a significant impact on a child’s speech intelligibility and speech prosody, particularly stress and intonation of syllables and words.
Below are several principles to consider when designing and implementing treatment programs for children on your caseload with known or suspected CAS."... to read the rest of the article, CLICK HERE
The Ineffectiveness of Checklists in Diagnosing Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)
by Margaret Fish from Plural Publishing Newsletter November 20, 2015
"Sorting through evaluation findings for young children with complex speech sound disorders can be confusing and challenging. As SLPs we strive to complete thorough evaluations and make sense of our evaluation findings to achieve an accurate diagnosis; however, many of the characteristics of CAS overlap with other types of speech sound disorders. Certain key characteristics from a CAS checklist such as inconsistency, atypical prosody, groping, or vowel errors may raise red flags for a diagnosis of CAS, but these characteristics alone should not predetermine the diagnosis until a thorough analysis of the child’s speech productions is completed.
Following are case studies of two children" ... to read the rest of the article, CLICK HERE
ONLINE RESOURCES FOR PARENTS AND PROFESSIONALS
Click on the links below to be directed to the websites for these organizations and online resources
AMERICAN SPEECH-LANGUAGE-HEARING ASSOCIATION (ASHA) - The professional organization for speech-language pathologists, speech and hearing scientists, and audiologists in the United States
ILLINOIS SPEECH-LANGUAGE-HEARING ASSOCIATION (ISHA) - The professional organization for speech-language pathologists and audiologists in the State of Illinois
APRAXIA KIDS - The world's largest clearinghouse of information about childhood apraxia of speech for individuals with CAS, their families, SLPs, and researchers.
SPEECHPATHOLOGY.COM - Online continuing education opportunities for speech-language pathologists
LEARNING DISABILITIES ONLINE - Large clearinghouse of information about learning disabilities
CHILDREN AND ADULTS WITH ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER - Large clearinghouse of information about ADD/ADHD
AUTISM SPEAKS - A website devoted to understanding and advancing treatment of autism spectrum disorders
JENNIFER TAP'S PHONOLOGY WEBSITE - Numerous articles and resources related to supporting the needs of children with phonological impairments
PRACTICAL AAC - The website of Carole Zangari, speech-language pathologist and specialist in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)
NET CONNECTIONS FOR COMMUNICATION DISORDERS AND SCIENCES - An extremely detailed website by Judith Maginnis Kuster with information about a wide range of communication disorders and links to access a huge variety of speech-language therapy materials
SPEECH ROOM NEWS - A helpful blog by Jenna Rayburn, SLP and speech-language materials designer
ERIK X RAJ WEBSITE - An entertaining and insightful website by Erik Raj, SLP, with blog, information and links to apps
SOCIAL THINKING - The website of Michelle Garcia Winner, the developer of Social Thinking with excellent information about Social Thinking and links to related materials and conferences