02/23/2026
One of the messages I receive most is from people saying that they are constantly being told, “they’re lazy, they’ll catch up when they’re ready,” “just give them some time, my friends, brothers, daughter didn’t speak until they were 3,” or “their sibling’s talking for them, why would they bother talking for themselves?”
Actually NO!
If the child has received a diagnosis of childhood apraxia of speech (verbal dyspraxia) they are most certainly not being lazy! They are having to fight for every sound, approximation or word. CAS is a very real neurological speech disorder. People with CAS have difficulty making the precise movements required for speech but there is no evidence of nerve or muscle damage. They have difficultly sequencing sounds together in words. This makes their speech unintelligible, even to family members.
“Just give them time, they’ll catch up.” Again, wrong! There is no quick fix or cure. Children with CAS need years of intensive, motor planning based speech therapy to have any chance of improving their speech. Learning to talk is a very slow process. I was 15 when I was discharged from speech and language ( after 13 years of speech therapy), when my speech was “as good as it’s going to get.” Now at 24, I still have speech sound errors, word retrieval difficulties and anxiety surrounding my speech.
“Their sibling is talking for them.” Well yes, maybe they are but this is because their sibling, at a relatively young age, already realised that they struggle to make themselves understood, so yes they help them. When I was younger there were times when my sister was the only one who understood what I was trying to say so she would translate for me. It never stopped me from trying to make myself understood but it did help reduce the feelings of frustration.
Please, if some one tells you that they/their child has CAS, don’t dismiss it because you don’t understand it or have never heard of it, take the time to find out what it is and how you can help and support.
CAS is a life long, neurological speech disorder!
