As a specialist in Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), I get a lot of questions about what CAS is and how to treat it. For every child who has CAS, there are that many ways to treat it! The approaches are similar—using the Principles of Motor Learning, focusing on the movement of speech and not single speech sounds, using target words that are meaningful to the child—but the ways that those approaches are used are individual to what each child likes to do for fun! Nothing is more salient in the learning process than play. 

So, while there are a myriad of ways to treat CAS, here are my top ten materials and games that I use in my sessions. If you are interested in purchasing one of these, I’ve included Amazon links. If you use the link, I will receive associate compensation. Thank you!

1. Large Foldable Mirror: https://amzn.to/44BrPp3
   • Kids with Apraxia need visual cues in order to make corrections to their motor planning. Using a large mirror is a great way to provide this visual feedback. I do a lot of moving from room to room in my sessions, so having this mirror, which is large and also movable, is a must-have for me!
2. Velcro Bullseye: https://amzn.to/4vD8n7r
   • Speech therapy for Apraxia is characterized by repetition. Using an activity in which you can target the same word multiple times is easier when you have an activity in which you are targeting the same movement.
3. Tiny Trinkets: https://amzn.to/4vFeEiU
   • I love to play lots of games with these! Hide and seek works well (just don’t hide them too well!). Putting the trinkets into a bag and having your kiddo reach their hand inside, find one, and try to guess what it is based on the feel works well too. You can also use the trinket as the target word, or help the child determine what sound it starts with, and find one of the child’s target words that also starts with that sound.
4. Lacing Beads: https://amzn.to/4xREyBz
   • Another great repetitious activity! Have the child produce their target word, receive a bead, and lace it on the string.
5. Whiteboard: https://amzn.to/4xREyBz
   • A must-have for older clients! These can be used to play Pictionary, to make check boxes to check off each time the target word is produced correctly, or to put speech sound cards onto in order to create a target word.
6. Clear container with lid:https://amzn.to/4an0lac
   • A great motivation tool, especially if the lid is hard for a child to take off on their own. Putting a toy that they want into the container so that they can see it, but may need help accessing it is a great way to work on target words and phrases such as “help”, “I want”, and “mine”.
7. Non-clear container with lid: https://amzn.to/4v1rczK
   • This can be used in a myriad of ways. Sometimes I use these in conjunction with the Tiny Trinkets, hiding one inside, and having my client open the “Treasure Box” to see what’s inside! Before the child opens the box, you can have them guess what’s inside, or ask them to produce one of their target words before they open the Treasure Box.
8. Magnetic Funny Faces: https://amzn.to/4eOXfx4
   • Have your kiddos earn each piece of the funny face that they want by practicing a target word or phrase. Targets can be inherent to the game (ie. “Can I have it”, “my turn”, “eyes”, “mouth”), or based on the client’s target word and phrase list.
9. Pacing Boards: https://amzn.to/4eEMa2E
   • Great tools to use as a visual representation of how many sounds/syllables are in a target word, or how many words are in a target phrase. You can have your client touch or press each one along with their production of the target word or phrase. 
10. Picture cards: https://amzn.to/443QO4c
    • There are endless options when it comes to picture cards for clients, but I love Bjorem Cards! These are tailored toward young clients, so they are often a good starting point. Kids with CAS do not follow the typical developmental pattern of speech acquisition, so you can feel free to expand off of any cards that you have, or make a separate set of cards for each client. In addition to purchased cards, I also take photos to represent target words and phrases for my clients, laminate those, and use them in a variety of ways throughout our sessions. 

Want a FREE visual of these Top Ten Materials? Head over to my Teachers Pay Teachers Store to download it! I include them in a list of things that you can buy, things that you can thrift, and things that you can create on your own 🙂

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/apraxia-amy

What are some of your favorite materials and games to use with your client or child with CAS?