Bethesda Hospital East

Childhood Apraxia of Speech

Is your child 18 to 24 months and not talking? 

Is your child developing normally except for speech?

Has his or her hearing been checked?     

If you are concerned, speak with your pediatrician and ask about a referral to Bethesda's Center for Pediatric Development for hearing testing and speech and language evaluation. 

Our speech and language therapists have many years of experience in diagnosis and treatment of speech and language disorders, and have been Early Intervention providers since the program's inception.  Children who would benefit from a comprehensive evaluation may show some or all of the following behavioral signs: 

• Exceptionally "quiet" baby (did not babble much).
• Uses non-specific vocalizations (grunts, uh, eh) and gestures to communicate. 
• Language understanding is normal. Your child understands countless words, but says only one or two. 
• Vocabulary is not developing rapidly after first words emerge. 
• Child says something once and cannot say it again. 
• May be a "picky" eater (only eat foods they are familiar with, do not like surprises). 
• Child does not "jabber", using the typical sentence-like intonation toddlers use when "talking".

Childhood apraxia of speech is a motor speech disorder with difficulty learning the complex motor movements necessary for speech.  Early intervention can help your child discover what his or her speech mechanism can do and can systematically guide you through the course of development.  We also help your child communicate his or her needs to help avoid behavior problems caused by frustration.  Appropriate early intervention, prior to age three, is extremely effective. 

Contact Us

To schedule an appointment, call Central Scheduling at 561.374.5700.
For more information, call 561.374.5712.