![]() If we didn’t get his jaw in a good and stable position, he would inevitably have much more difficulty moving his tongue and lips when he speaks. I explained to his mom that while this looks much different than traditional speech therapy it was essential to for him to have a good oral motor foundation. We also began to target the reverse swallow. Gum chewing and use of the slow feed technique were addressed as well. We started the TalkTools Straw Hierarchy (straw #2), the chewy tube hierarchy, Bite Blocks (the ultimate jaw exercise!), the Horn Hierarchy, and bubble blowing. While Kamdyn had no history of feeding difficulty or being a picky eater, he was chewing and manipulating the food in his mouth in a very unorganized way. In addition, I found that he had a high palate, a moderate tongue tie, and a reverse swallow. I found asymmetry in his jaw strength and stability, poor lip rounding, and poor lip closure for his /m/, /p/, and/b/ sounds. I examined his mouth and assessed motor responses of his tongue, jaw, and lips. My speech evaluation was different from others he had done though. ![]() This kid had been through assessment after assessment and now he had to do more speech testing. Kamdyn came to his initial evaluation reluctantly. I had never worked with a kiddo with a sole diagnosis of severe CAS but I knew with all of the trainings I had taken in the last year I could bring something to the table. There was no time for beating myself up, only time to get Kam into therapy and see what we can do. I worked with this little boy every week for over a year and I never once thought CAS was on the radar. Childhood Apraxia of Speech?! I know CAS is very difficult to diagnose before 3 years of age but I was dumbfounded and to be honest, disappointed in my clinical skills for not having any inclination. In May of 2016 I got an e-mail from Kamdyn’s mom, Ashley, who told me he was recently diagnosed with severe Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). I had immersed myself into motor speech and feeding therapy and had opened my own private practice. I said my goodbyes to this sweet little boy and wished him and his family luck on their journey ahead.įast forward 14 months later. ![]() When he turned 3 he began seeing his local school district for therapy services. Also, he had 18 documented ear infections! All signs pointed to your typical late talking boy who had to endure ear infection after ear infection. I was presented with some general background info such as scores, goals of the family, and his limited verbal productions. 3 years ago I was seeing a little boy named Kamdyn who had just turned 2 a couple months prior, through our state’s early intervention program. ![]()
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