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SPEECH PATHOLOGY · CONDITION GUIDE

Treatment for Apraxia of Speech.

You already know the words. We help you say them.
Speech Pathology for childhood and acquired adult apraxia of speech.

Apraxia of speech is a difficulty planning the movements of speech. The brain knows the word, but it struggles to get the lips, tongue, and jaw to move in the right order to say it. The muscles themselves work, and the person understands language. The trouble is in planning the movements of speech. It affects children learning to talk and adults after stroke or brain injury.

The word is right there. They can hear it in their head and know exactly what they want to say. But somewhere between the thought and the mouth, the signal takes a wrong turn, and the sound comes out wrong, or not at all, or perfectly once and then gone the next time they try.

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At Optimum Health Solutions, our speech pathologists use evidence-based treatment approaches built for motor speech, not general articulation drills that miss the point. Speech Pathology is available across our clinics in NSW and Tasmania. NDIS, Medicare, DVA, Private Health Insurance and private clients are all welcome.

How to Fund Speech Pathology for people with Apraxia of speech.

Most families fund Speech Pathology for apraxia of speech through the NDIS, under Capacity Building, specifically the Improved Daily Living category. A plan can cover assessments, therapy sessions, communication devices, and the progress reports your plan review needs.

If you or your child do not have an NDIS plan, a GP referral can give you access to Medicare rebates through a GP Chronic Condition Management Plan, which covers up to five allied health sessions in a calendar year. This plan replaced the older Chronic Disease Management (CDM) plan in July 2025.

If you have an older plan, it stays valid until your GP updates it. We also work with private health insurance, DVA, and self-funded appointments.

If you are unsure which funding applies to you,
call us on 1800 678 647 or email hello@opt.net.au.
We will sort it out before your first appointment.

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Understanding Apraxia of Speech

What Apraxia of Speech Actually Is

Speech takes more than knowing a word. Your brain has to send the right signals to your lips, tongue, and jaw, in the right order, with split-second timing. In apraxia, that planning is where things go wrong. The muscles work fine and the person knows the word. The gap sits between knowing it and saying it.

This is why apraxia looks different from other speech difficulties. A child with an articulation disorder makes the same sound error every time, predictably. A child with apraxia might say a word perfectly at breakfast and not find it at lunch. Longer words are harder than short ones, and you can often watch the mouth searching for the right position. The errors change from one attempt to the next.

Childhood Apraxia of Speech

Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a motor speech disorder that shows up as a child learns to talk. Children with CAS often say their first words late, use only a few consonant sounds, and find longer words and sentences hard, even when they understand everything around them. Some children say very little. Others talk a lot but are hard to understand.

The signs parents notice first are usually these. A child who clearly understands but cannot say much back. Words that turn up one day and vanish the next. Trouble copying sounds on request. Some children also have early feeding difficulties, because the same planning that shapes speech also shapes chewing and swallowing. CAS is rare, affecting around 1 in 1,000 children, or about 0.1%. Early identification matters, because it shapes how treatment is planned from the start.

Acquired Apraxia of Speech in Adults

Acquired apraxia of speech comes on after an injury to the brain. Speech planning that used to happen without a thought stops working smoothly. Stroke is the most common cause. Traumatic brain injury, brain tumours, and some progressive neurological conditions can also cause it. The person spoke fluently last week. This week the words will not come.

Acquired apraxia often turns up alongside aphasia, a separate language disorder that affects word-finding and comprehension. The two are different: aphasia is about understanding and finding words, apraxia is about the movements of speech. Many stroke survivors have both, which is why a careful assessment matters. Research published in the journal Stroke found that behavioural speech treatment improved speech in adults with chronic apraxia after stroke, well after the early recovery window.

Dysarthria and How It Differs from Apraxia

Dysarthria is a motor speech problem, like apraxia, but it happens at a different point. Dysarthria is a problem with the muscles that control breathing, the voice, the lips, tongue, or jaw. When they are weak or hard to control, speech can sound slurred, quiet, strained, or imprecise. The cause is usually a condition affecting the nerves or muscles, such as a stroke, Parkinson’s, cerebral palsy, or a brain injury.

The main way clinicians tell them apart is consistency. With apraxia, the same word can come out clearly one moment and wrong the next, because the planning is unreliable. With dysarthria, speech is affected in a steadier, more predictable way, because the muscle difficulty is always there. A person can have both at once, which is common after a stroke. Our speech pathologists assess which one is present, or whether both are, so the support matches the real difficulty.

Aphasia and How It Differs from Apraxia

Aphasia is different from apraxia in an important way. Apraxia affects the movements of speech. Aphasia affects language itself, the words a person can find and the words they can understand. Someone with aphasia often knows exactly what they want to say, but the words are hard to reach or arrange. It usually follows a stroke or another injury to the language areas of the brain.

Because apraxia and aphasia can look similar from the outside, and often appear together after a stroke, a careful assessment sorts out what is happening. A person might have trouble with the movements of speech, with language, or with both, and each one is worked on in its own way. Our speech pathologists check for both before starting, so that if aphasia sits alongside apraxia, the plan covers both rather than treating one and missing the other.

When a Communication System Helps Alongside Therapy

Some children and adults use a communication system while their speech is still developing. This is a bridge, not a replacement. A three-year-old with severe CAS might use a picture app on a tablet to tell a parent what they want for lunch, and attend Speech Pathology in the same week to build spoken words. An adult after stroke might use a communication board through the first months of recovery while speech treatment rebuilds the movements of speech.

Using another way to communicate does not slow speech down. Speech Pathology Australia’s clinical guidance is clear that an alternative way to communicate supports spoken language rather than replacing it. Our speech pathologists work out which system fits the person, and train everyone around them, family, teachers, and support workers, to use it the same way across home, school, and the community.

INSIDE THE CLINIC

Treatment Approaches Built for Motor Speech

General articulation therapy does not work for apraxia. The trouble is in planning the movements, so it needs approaches built for that. What that looks like in practice depends on the person’s age, how much speech they have, and what they want to work toward.

Modelling and cueing. Your speech pathologist says the sound or word with the person, then slowly pulls back the support as it gets more reliable for them to say. For a child with very little speech, sessions start with single sounds and build from there.

Touch and visual cues. Light touch on the face or jaw, and clear visual models, can guide the mouth into the right position when listening alone is not enough.

Rhythm and stress practice. Apraxia disrupts the natural rhythm of speech. Sessions work on the flow between syllables, the stress patterns that make words sound right, and the move from one sound to the next.

Communication support along the way. Some children and adults need a way to communicate while their speech is being built. More on that below.

A TYPICAL COURSE OF TREATMENT

Apraxia treatment takes time, and it is built through a lot of repetition, especially early on. Research on speech disorders shows that higher treatment intensity tends to help more with apraxia than spreading the same work thinly, so a typical course usually means more frequent sessions than other speech conditions. Every plan is shaped around the person and their goals, and a typical course looks like this.

SESSION 01

Full assessment

The person’s story, a close listen to their speech, and telling apraxia apart from dysarthria or aphasia. For children, parents do most of the talking; for adults after stroke, the wider recovery is taken into account. 45 to 60 minutes.

SESSIONS 02-04

SETTLE AND BUILD TRUST

Modelling and cueing, beginning with single sounds and short words, practised with plenty of repetition. For a child with very little speech, sessions start with a few sounds and build from there.

SESSIONS 05-08

BUILD THE SKILLS

Touch and visual cues, and rhythm and stress practice, moving from single sounds up to words and short phrases. Practice carries into home, school, or work, with coaching for family and support workers.

SESSIONS 09+

INTO DAILY LIFE

Practice moves into everyday talking in the places that matter, with follow-up visits spread further apart as speech becomes more reliable. Where speech is still developing, a communication system can bridge the gap.

Your Team, Not a Single Clinician

Apraxia rarely travels alone. Children with CAS often have co-occurring differences in fine motor skills, sensory processing, or feeding. Adults with acquired apraxia are often recovering from a stroke and need Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy alongside Speech Pathology.

At Optimum Health Solutions, your speech pathologist sits in a team that also includes Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Exercise Physiology, Positive Behaviour Support, and Dietetics. When your clinicians share a building and a case meeting, you get one plan, not a stack of separate ones.

YOUR funding PATHWAY

NDIS

NDIS Speech Pathology for Apraxia of Speech

Apraxia of speech is recognised under the NDIS, and Speech Pathology is one of the core supports funded for participants with communication needs. A plan can cover the first assessment, ongoing therapy, communication device trials and training, and the reports your plan review needs. If your child also sees an Occupational Therapist or Positive Behaviour Support practitioner through Optimum Health Solutions, those clinicians line up their goals together rather than working apart.

Self-managed, plan-managed, or NDIA-managed, we work with all three. Our admin team checks your funding covers Speech Pathology before your first appointment.

12 clinics across NSW & Tasmania

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Where to Access Speech Pathology for Apraxia

Blacktown

Liverpool

Croydon Park

Sylvania

Hornsby

Campbelltown

North Rocks

Batemans Bay

Nowra

Cessnock

Mornington

Dodges Ferry

Moonah

Launceston

COMMON QUESTIONS

Frequently Asked Questions

What causes apraxia of speech?

Apraxia of speech is a problem with motor planning. The brain knows the word and the muscles can move, but planning the order and timing of those movements is where it breaks down. In children, the cause is often not known, and it can sit alongside other developmental differences. In adults, it usually follows damage to the brain from a stroke, a head injury, a tumour, or a progressive neurological condition. The common thread is that the brain struggles to plan and sequence the movements of speech.

Is apraxia of speech a sign of autism?

No. Apraxia of speech and autism are different things. A child can have apraxia without being autistic, and a child can be autistic without having apraxia. The two can also occur together, which is one reason a careful assessment by a speech pathologist matters. Apraxia is about planning the movements of speech. Autism is about how a person communicates, relates, and experiences the world.

What are the first signs of childhood apraxia of speech?

Parents often notice a child who understands far more than they can say. First words may come late. Sounds or words may appear one day and disappear the next. The child may find it hard to copy sounds on request, and may visibly search with their mouth for the right position. Some children also have early feeding difficulties. One sign on its own does not mean apraxia, which is why an assessment matters.

At what age is apraxia of speech diagnosed?

A reliable diagnosis usually becomes possible once a child is attempting words and short phrases, often from around three years of age, though signs can be noticed earlier. Diagnosis is not a single test. A speech pathologist looks at how steady the child’s errors are, how they manage longer words, and the rhythm of their speech. A clinician who works with motor speech disorders can tell apraxia apart from other speech difficulties.

What is the difference between apraxia and aphasia?

Apraxia of speech is a motor planning problem. The person knows the word, but the brain cannot coordinate the mouth movements to say it. Aphasia is a language problem, affecting finding words, understanding, or both. Many stroke survivors have apraxia and aphasia together, and each needs its own approach, which is why assessment comes first.

Can you recover from apraxia of speech?

Childhood apraxia responds to intensive, targeted Speech Pathology, and many children make real gains in their speech over time. In adults, speech treatment can improve speech after stroke, including well after the early recovery window. Meaningful, lasting progress is a realistic goal for many people with consistent, specific treatment.

Does apraxia of speech affect intelligence?

No. Apraxia is a motor planning problem, and it leaves thinking untouched. Children with CAS often understand much more than they can say. Adults with acquired apraxia keep their knowledge and reasoning even when the words will not come. That gap between what a person knows and what they can say is one of the hardest parts of the condition.

Does the NDIS cover childhood apraxia of speech?

Yes, in most cases. Speech Pathology for apraxia is usually funded under the NDIS as Capacity Building, in the Improved Daily Living category. A plan can cover assessment, therapy, communication device trials, and progress reports. If you are unsure whether your plan covers it, our admin team can check before your first appointment.

CLINICALLY REVIEWED BY

Gayle Rogers

BAppSc (Speech Pathology), GradCertBA

HEAD OF CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT (SPEECH PATHOLOGY),
OPTIMUM HEALTH SOLUTIONS

With over 13 years of experience across Australia and the United Kingdom, Gayle has extensive experience working with participants with AAC and complex communication needs.She reviews all Speech Pathology content for clinical accuracy.