ACQ Vol 12 no 1 2010

Motor speech disorders

Max’s House Top 10 resources for paediatric motor speech intervention Kieran Flanagan and Emma Laube

when assessing children with motor speech disorders are observed including sound inventory, word structure, impact of length and complexity of utterance, and oral motor movement.

Max’s House is a not-for-profit private speech pathology clinic in Brisbane offering intensive therapy specialising in childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) and related conditions (www.maxshouse.com.au). The top 10 resources we have compiled are a snapshot of the eclectic mix of resources in our therapy tool box which we have acquired over time from experts in the field of motor speech disorders including Edyth Strand, David Hammer, the PROMPT institute and Nancy Kaufman. 1. CASANA Apraxia Kids Website The Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America is a non-for-profit organisation which was established by the inspirational mother, Sharon Gretz. This website (www.apraxia-kids.org) has information for everyone 2. Clinical Management of Motor Speech Disorders in Children Caruso, A. J., & Strand, E., A. (1999). Clinical management of motor speech disorders in children . New York: Thieme. All too often, books written for speech pathologists are criticised for being either too “theoretical” or, alternatively, full of useful ideas for the clinical setting but lacking a firm evidence base. Clinical Management of Motor Speech Disorders in Children is indeed a rare book in that it provides in depth theoretical information of the working of the motor speech system and describes, in very practical terms, how to work with children with motor speech disorders. 3. Treatment Strategies for Childhood Apraxia of Speech with David W. Hammer UPMC Medical Media Services (Producer). (2006). Treatment strategies for childhood apraxia of speech with David W. Hammer , M.A., CCC-SLP [Motion picture]. USA: Children’s Hospital Pittsburgh & CASANA. Children who have CAS need drill therapy. Drill therapy is boring (no pun intended). That is, until you’ve seen the work of David Hammer. David Hammer is a speech pathologist and CAS expert who has given workshops around the world on the assessment and treatment of CAS based on the principles of motor learning. On the Treatment Strategies for Childhood Apraxia of Speech DVD, he presents effective and fun techniques for treating children with this disorder. 4. Kaufman Speech Praxis Test for Children Kaufman, N. (1995). Kaufman speech praxis test for children . West Bloomfield, MI: Wayne State University Press. This test developed by Nancy Kaufman offers an easy- to-administer assessment of children who are attempting to imitate oral movements and/or speech. The key areas affected by CAS including a library, resources, and discussion forums for parents and professionals.

5. Sign Planet Website When working with children with CAS we utilise Makaton key word signing as a part of therapy to support their verbal attempts, to encourage language development and to provide them with a visual cue for the words and phrases we are encouraging. The website www.signplanet.net offers an easy-to-use dictionary of Auslan signs. It includes a written explanation as well as a picture and some animated videos of the signs. Printable worksheets and games are also available.

6. First Sound Series Books By Levinia Pereira and Michelle Solomon. Available from www.firstsoundseries.com. These fun books were developed by two speech pathologists and can be ordered on-line. With titles such as Pop Up! and Uh-oh these books are repetitive and predictable, providing the opportunity for repetition of functional vocabulary, speech targets, and carrier phrases required for motor speech development. 7. Super Duper Token Tower Motivating children to produce hundreds of accurate repetitions of speech targets while having fun at the same

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ACQ Volume 12, Number 1 2010

ACQ uiring knowledge in speech, language and hearing