Apraxia Therapy Services from The Loop
When childhood apraxia of speech impacts your family, The Loop is here for you
Childhood apraxia of speech is a confusing and overwhelming condition and diagnosis for a family to contend with.
Thankfully, if your child is impacted by apraxia, there is help and support available to help you navigate this issue.
The Loop was founded and is run by a speech-language pathologist who has assembled a top-quality team of therapists and learning specialists who help support Chicago children and families with a wide range of speech, language, and communication issues, including apraxia.
If you’re like most parents, you may feel unclear about what apraxia is, let alone how it can be evaluated and treated.
Let’s explore apraxia and how it impacts children like yours.
In need of personalized advice and support? Reach out to our team to get the help you need.
What is apraxia?
Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a type of communication disorder. It causes children difficulty with producing sounds, syllables, and words clearly.
Apraxia is caused by problems with planning and coordinating movements for speech. It involves issues with the brain sending signals for speech to the lips, tongue, and jaw.
Apraxia is not caused by muscle weakness or paralysis.
Instead, it’s more like a signal issue—in which the instructions from the brain to the muscles and mechanisms of speech get scrambled up en route, much like what happens in the classic game of telephone.
Many children with apraxia present with groping or grasping movements of their tongues and mouths when attempting to produce sounds and words.
It’s as if they’re trying with all their might to locate and make the right sounds.
Other common signs and symptoms of childhood apraxia of speech include—
Limited consonant sounds
Limited vowel sounds
Inconsistent errors
Increased difficulty and lower intelligibility with longer phrases
Difficulties imitating speech
Spontaneous speech that’s relatively understandable
Incorrect stress patterns on syllables and words
Good receptive language skills (the ability to understand what’s said)
With these symptoms, it’s easy to see how much apraxia can impact the life of a child who experiences it.
When your child struggles with apraxia, you may be unsure where to turn to get the support and guidance you need to help them.
The Loop is here to assist Chicago families in overcoming issues that impact children’s speech, language, and communication skills.
Our team of highly skilled therapists have both experience and education in assessing and treating children with apraxia of speech.
Connect with The Loop to see how we help Chicago children in need—
How is childhood apraxia of speech treated?
When your child receives apraxia therapy services from The Loop, our assessment and treatment process and goals will be custom-tailored just for them.
Our skilled therapists take great care to craft personalized assessments and therapy plans that meet the goals and include the preferences of each unique child we’re honored to serve.
The overarching goal of your child’s apraxia therapy is to enhance their ability to form sounds, words, and sentences—both fluently and accurately.
We’ll help them learn and practice how to accurately execute the movements needed to produce specific sounds and sound combinations.
Your child’s Loop therapists will likely train both them and you in the use of multimodal cues to improve sound production, including—
Touch cues
Visual cues
Listening cues
We take care to involve you in your child’s apraxia therapy. Because we know a child’s success in apraxia therapy is significantly impacted by your understanding of the disorder and involvement in their therapy process and goal setting.
We’ll help you learn and practice valuable strategies to support them at home and further their therapy goals. We’ll answer your questions and provide you with the resources needed to feel confident in being a key member of your child’s therapy team.
Because we’re in this together. The Loop will proudly stand in your corner to help both you and your child thrive.
How can I get my child with apraxia the help they need?
The Loop exclusively partners with Chicago private schools to offer their students the comprehensive, individualized therapy and learning support services they need to succeed.
Our expert team of therapists and learning support specialists are ready to support your child to reach the fullest potential in their school and life experience.
You can also visit our website regularly for great new content and free resources to support families like yours in your therapy journey. We’re here for you!
Check out our blog and collection of free resources.
In need of personalized help and support? Feel free to contact us directly to ask questions and get advice from our expert team.
Interested in getting in The Loop? We’re here to help!
Complete our contact form online and we’ll reach out to connect with you and answer your questions.
Or, email us at info@theloopsll.com. You can also reach us by phone at 773.720.0646. And be sure to connect with us on your favorite social platforms @TheLoopSLL