New Explore Medbridge Pathways

Assessment of Young Children With Suspected CAS

Presented by Marnie Millington

12-Month Subscription

Unlimited access to:

  • Thousands of CE Courses
  • Patient Education
  • Home Exercise Program
  • And more
Subscribe Now

Or

First Chapter Free Buy Course
While it is not uncommon for SLPs to be referred young children and/or early talkers with suspected childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), making this diagnosis can be very difficult. What information do SLPs need to confirm or rule-out the presence of this disorder? We’ll begin this class by clarifying the meaning of CAS and helping assimilate this information with video examples of several of the discriminative behavioral markers of speech-motor planning and programming impairment. We’ll discuss what role CAS plays in a child’s overall communication development in order to understand it fully. Next, the instructor will provide and demonstrate a test battery to diagnose and triage this disorder. In the final chapter, we will focus on how to interpret the results we have culled in assessment to identify whether CAS is present, and if so, what the relative contribution of this disorder is to the child’s communication profile as a whole.

Meet your instructor

Marnie Millington

Marnie Millington co-owns a pediatric speech-language clinic in MetroWest Boston. Marnie’s weekly caseload focuses on motor-speech disorders. She has taught on the subject of pediatric and lifespan motor-speech disorders at Northeastern University and Emerson College. She has presented nationally on the assessment and…

Read full bio

Chapters & learning objectives

What is CAS?

1. What is CAS?

We'll begin this chapter by defining CAS. The instructor will provide verbal and video examples of several of the discriminative behavioral characteristics of speech-motor planning and programming deficits, in order for the viewers to "tune" their eyes and ears to what CAS looks and sounds like. Once we have established a shared picture of CAS, we will examine how deficits in speech-motor planning and programming fit into the communication process as a whole. By the end of this segment, viewers will not only have a deeper understanding of what CAS is, but also grasp what it is not. This clarification will help us when it is time to interpret the information we obtain during testing, and to understand how intervention should be conducted.

Snapshots of Typical Speech Development

2. Snapshots of Typical Speech Development

In our second chapter, we will review typical speech development when children are chronologically or developmentally between two and four years of age. We'll expand on what many of us learned in graduate school to include vowel, syllable and prosodic development. Reviewing what occurs in typical development will help us to identify deficits in the speech impaired population.

Assessment Procedures and Data Gathering

3. Assessment Procedures and Data Gathering

In this chapter, we will discuss the information needed to not only determine if CAS is present in the child's communication profile, but also identify other potential disorders that adversely impact communication development. We will review all relevant procedures in detail so that viewers can begin to create and administer appropriate probes and tests for use with this population. In addition, close attention will be paid to data gathering, as much of this information will directly aid the SLP in treatment.

Test Interpretation

4. Test Interpretation

Now that we have gathered our data through formal and informal, direct and indirect testing, we will discuss how to interpret the factual information we have collected. We will talk about the concept of relative contribution to identify what deficits might be present and place these in order of importance. This aspect of testing will allow the SLP to answer important questions regarding how to present assessment results as well as schedule, design, and implement effective treatment.

Interview with Dr. Edythe Strand

5. Interview with Dr. Edythe Strand

In this chapter, Dr. Edythe Strand joins for a discussion on assessments that are available for young children with suspected CAS.