How can you make yourself heard when you can’t speak? That’s the puzzle kids with childhood apraxia of speech must solve every day. Now, Trios Health has developed a new partnership to help children with this tongue-twisting neurological disorder.
Childhood apraxia of speech, CAS for short, happens when your brain struggles to plan and deliver speech movements to your mouth. All the muscles are there and work fine, but directions on word shapes and sounds get scrambled or simply don’t arrive. Young children with CAS speak later, use limited consonants and vowels, often leave out sounds and are hard to understand.
The good news is CAS is treatable — that’s where Trios Health comes in. This June, in partnership with Washington State University’s Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Trios Health launched “Camp I Can Say It!” This innovative bilingual speech therapy and early literacy camp was designed for children aged 5-7 struggling with CAS and other severe speech disorders.
The camp was held at Trios Care Center in Kennewick and provided comprehensive treatment, including individual assessments, therapy sessions, small and large group activities as well as family education.
“We were proud to partner with WSU’s Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences,” Trios Director of Therapy Services & Wound Care Kristy Leitze said. “This camp not only addressed the unique challenges of childhood apraxia, but also celebrated the linguistic diversity and potential of every child involved.”
The program was led by graduate student clinicians, under the supervision of certified speech-language pathologists and WSU faculty. Most camp staff were bilingual and provided activities in Spanish and English.
Learn more about Trios Health’s Therapy Services.
Learn more about WSU’s Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences.
