Abstract
Purpose This study sought to determine if (a) children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), other speech sound disorders (SSDs), and typical development (TD) would perform differently on a standardized motor assessment and (b) whether comorbid language impairment would impact group differences. Method Speech, language, and motor abilities were assessed in children with CAS (n = 10), SSD (n = 16), and TD (n = 14) between the ages of 43 and 105 months. Motor skills were evaluated using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition (Henderson, Sugden, & Barnett, 2007), a behavioral assessment that is sensitive in identifying fine/gross motor impairments in children with a range of motor and learning abilities. Data were reanalyzed after reclassifying children by language ability. Results The CAS group performed below the normal limit on all components of the motor assessment and more poorly than the TD and SSD groups on Aiming and Catching and Balance. When children were reclassified by language ability, the comorbid CAS + language impairment group performed worse than the SSD-only and TD groups on Manual Dexterity and Balance and worse than the TD group on Aiming and Catching; all 7 children with CAS + language impairment evidenced performance in the disordered range compared to 1 of 3 children in the CAS-only group and 2 of 6 children in the SSD + language impairment group. Conclusions Children with CAS + language impairment appear to be at an increased risk for motor impairments, which may negatively impact social, academic, and vocational outcomes; referrals for motor screenings/assessments should be considered. Findings may suggest a higher order deficit that mediates cognitive-linguistic and motor impairments in this population.
Highlights
This study sought to determine if (a) children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), other speech sound disorders (SSDs), and typical development (TD) would perform differently on a standardized motor assessment and (b) whether comorbid language impairment would impact group differences
While the original CAS group did not perform significantly worse than the control groups on Manual Dexterity tasks, they did evidence significantly poorer performance than other groups on the Balance and Aiming and Catching components
On average, the CAS group scored more than 1 SD below the mean on all components of the Movement ABC-2, whereas the SSD and TD groups scored within the normal range on these motor assessments, indicating clinically meaningful differences between groups
Summary
This study sought to determine if (a) children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), other speech sound disorders (SSDs), and typical development (TD) would perform differently on a standardized motor assessment and (b) whether comorbid language impairment would impact group differences. Children in this population are negatively affected by atypical speech production but are at an increased risk for language impairments and fine and gross motor deficits (Teverovsky, Bickel, & Feldman, 2009; Tükel, Björelius, Henningsson, McAllister, & Eliasson, 2015; Zuk, Iuzzini-Seigel, Cabbage, Green, & Hogan, 2018), thereby increasing their risk for academic, social, and vocational challenges (Lewis et al, 2004). Physical limitations may further compound the social consequences of communication impairments and be associated with poorer self-esteem, bullying, and other psychosocial and psychiatric issues (Bouffard, Watkinson, Thompson, Dunn, & Romanow, 1996; Cantell et al, 1994; Cousins & Smyth, 2003; Geuze & Börger, 1993; Hellgren et al, 1994)
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