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Specialized Pediatric Treatment

Motor Speech Disorder Therapy

Evidence-based therapy for Childhood Apraxia of Speech, dysarthria, and motor planning disorders. Our speech-language pathologists use specialized techniques to help children in Greeley and Northern Colorado develop clear, functional speech.

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Child practicing motor speech exercises with a speech-language pathologist at Front Range Speech in Greeley, CO

Understanding Motor Speech Disorders in Children

Motor speech disorders occur when the neurological pathways responsible for planning, programming, or executing speech movements are disrupted. Unlike language disorders—where a child struggles with vocabulary or grammar—or simple articulation errors, motor speech disorders affect the fundamental ability to coordinate the rapid, precise movements of the jaw, tongue, lips, and soft palate required for intelligible speech.

At Front Range Speech in Greeley, Colorado, we specialize in the differential diagnosis and treatment of pediatric motor speech disorders. Accurate identification is critical because these conditions require fundamentally different therapeutic approaches than other speech and language diagnoses. Our clinicians hold advanced training in motor speech assessment protocols and evidence-based treatment methods.

Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)

Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a neurological motor speech disorder that affects approximately 1–2 children per thousand. The core deficit in CAS lies in the brain's ability to plan and program the spatiotemporal parameters of speech movements—the sequences, timing, force, and range of articulatory gestures needed to transition smoothly between sounds and syllables.

Children with CAS typically present with three consensus-based features identified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA): inconsistent error patterns on both consonants and vowels, disrupted coarticulatory transitions between sounds and syllables, and inappropriate prosody, particularly in lexical and phrasal stress patterns. Many children also demonstrate vowel distortions, limited phonetic inventories, and a significant expressive-receptive language gap.

Families throughout Greeley, Loveland, Fort Collins, Windsor, and the broader Northern Colorado region trust Front Range Speech for CAS evaluation and treatment because we follow the latest research from leaders in the field and apply motor learning principles systematically to every session.

Evidence-Based Treatment Approaches

Tailored protocols for each child's unique motor speech profile

01

DTTC (Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing)

DTTC is an evidence-based treatment designed specifically for children with moderate to severe CAS. Developed by Dr. Edythe Strand, DTTC uses a systematic cueing hierarchy that begins with simultaneous production and gradually fades support as the child gains motor control. Tactile cues guide articulatory placement, while temporal cues shape the rhythm and rate of speech movements, building accurate, independent motor plans through carefully scaffolded practice.

02

PROMPT

PROMPT (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets) is a multidimensional approach that uses tactile-kinesthetic cues to the jaw, face, and under the chin to guide articulatory trajectories. This physical input helps the brain map the correct motor movements for speech. Brittany Furnari is Level I PROMPT certified, allowing her to integrate this powerful technique into therapy for children who benefit from direct physical feedback.

03

ReST

Rapid Syllable Transition Treatment (ReST) is an evidence-based approach for children with mild to moderate CAS. It specifically targets the transition between sounds and syllables, as well as lexical stress (the rhythm and melody of words). Using pseudo-words (nonsense words), ReST forces the brain to build new motor plans rather than relying on old, incorrect habits, leading to improved speech intelligibility and natural-sounding prosody.

Dysarthria in Children

Pediatric dysarthria results from weakness, spasticity, or incoordination of the muscles used for speech, typically secondary to neurological conditions such as cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, or neuromuscular disorders. Unlike CAS, where the muscles themselves are not weak, dysarthria involves impaired muscular execution that can affect respiration, phonation, resonance, articulation, and prosody—any or all of the speech subsystems.

Treatment for dysarthria focuses on maximizing the strength, coordination, and efficiency of the speech mechanism. Depending on the type and severity, intervention may include respiratory-phonatory coordination exercises, rate control strategies, articulatory strengthening, and compensatory techniques. For children with severe dysarthria, we integrate augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to ensure functional communication while continuing to develop oral speech skills.

Frequently Asked Questions

Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a neurological motor speech disorder in which the brain has difficulty coordinating the precise movements needed for speech. Children with CAS know what they want to say, but their brains struggle to plan and sequence the jaw, lip, and tongue movements required to produce words accurately. CAS is not caused by muscle weakness—it is a motor planning and programming deficit that requires specialized, intensive speech therapy.

Motor speech disorders like CAS and dysarthria involve neurological disruptions to the motor planning, programming, or execution of speech movements. Speech sound disorders, by contrast, typically involve difficulty learning the rules of the sound system (phonological disorders) or producing specific sounds correctly (articulation disorders) without an underlying neurological cause. Stuttering and other fluency disorders are also distinct from motor speech disorders, though they may co-occur. The distinction matters because motor speech disorders require different, more intensive treatment approaches focused on motor learning principles.

The most common sign of CAS is inconsistent speech errors where your child says the same word differently each time. Other key indicators include limited babbling as an infant, a small inventory of consonant and vowel sounds, difficulty combining sounds into syllables or words, groping or searching movements with the jaw and lips when attempting speech, difficulty imitating words, and a significant gap between what the child understands and what they can say. Children with CAS often show more difficulty with longer or more complex words and may lose previously mastered words.

We use several evidence-based treatment approaches tailored to each child's needs. Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC) provides systematic cueing hierarchies for children with severe CAS. PROMPT (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets) uses tactile-kinesthetic cues to guide jaw, lip, and tongue movements. Rapid Syllable Transition Treatment (ReST) targets the prosodic and transitional aspects of speech production. Treatment selection depends on the child's severity, age, and specific motor speech profile.

Research strongly supports intensive, frequent treatment for CAS—ideally 3 to 5 sessions per week, especially in the early stages of intervention. Motor learning principles show that distributed, high-frequency practice produces the best outcomes for motor speech disorders. Front Range Speech serves children, teens, and young adults from birth through age 21 in Greeley and Northern Colorado. We work with families to develop a treatment schedule that balances clinical best practices with practical considerations, and we provide structured home practice programs to supplement in-clinic sessions.

Most health insurance plans in Colorado cover speech therapy for motor speech disorders when deemed medically necessary. CAS and dysarthria are recognized medical diagnoses with established treatment protocols. Our team at Front Range Speech can help verify your benefits and provide the documentation needed for authorization. We also assist families in Greeley and Northern Colorado with understanding their coverage options and navigating the insurance process.

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