Childhood Apraxia Of Speech (CAS)
Quick Answer
If your child understands everything but struggles to speak clearly (samajhta sab hai, bol nahi pata), they may have Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). The good news is that with intensive speech therapy and early intervention, most children with CAS make significant progress! CAS is a motor planning disorder - the brain has difficulty coordinating mouth movements for speech. It's not about intelligence or understanding - children with CAS are often very bright.
What is CAS?
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Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a neurological speech disorder where the brain struggles to plan and coordinate the precise movements of the tongue, lips, and jaw needed for clear speech.
Important to Know:
- NOT caused by muscle weakness
- NOT a hearing problem
- NOT a language understanding problem
- Child knows what they want to say but can't coordinate the movements
- With proper therapy, most children improve significantly
Signs by Age
Infants (0-12 months):
- Limited babbling
- Few consonant sounds
- Quiet baby
- Delayed first words
Toddlers (1-3 years):
- Very limited vocabulary
