Distinguished Assistant Professor Appas Saha joins us from India to discuss speech apraxia awareness, care, and diagnosis in his country. He explores how families navigate assessment and therapy for children with childhood apraxia of speech, highlighting both the challenges they face and the progress being made. He also shares his hopes for the future of support and understanding in this important field.

When Lottie Berry’s non-speaking autistic son Joshua didn’t follow the normal pathway for speech progression, she started to question why.Yes, he was autistic, but that didn’t explain why he couldn’t talk. Lottie talks about how she bravely pushed for a diagnosis for his speech disorder on the NHS and secured an adapted speech assessment, which resulted in a diagnosis of Suspected Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS).Josh now has intensive speech therapy sessions for CAS on the NHS that have helped unlock his voice alongside his trusty speech device Monty (Proloquo2Go).Lottie says, “I had given up hope that he was ever going to talk with his mouth - I just didn’t think it was ever going to happen…the fact he can now say mummy (and other words) with his mouth is the best thing ever for him and me.”Lottie Berry is the Founder of Tap Type Talk, an autism, apraxia, and AAC advocacy platform.

Olga Komadina talks about why she chose to work in speech apraxia and her route into the field. What are the challenges and how do you make decisions about children? Olga has years of experience working with childhood apraxia of speech.

In this episode, Jon Hunt discusses how apraxia affects people after a stroke and shares insights from his work supporting individuals with acquired apraxia of speech and aphasia. He explores the challenges of diagnosis, common misconceptions about treatment, and how these conditions often overlap more than many realise.

Jon also talks about designing the Cuespeak therapy app, created to help people practice speech and communication more effectively. He explains how apraxia therapy tends to focus on the mechanics of speech, while aphasia therapy targets language processing—but in reality, speech and language are deeply connected, and both approaches can complement each other in therapy.

Liz Bedson runs the Stroke Survivors Speech and Language Support group. She explains the effects of stroke on speech and language, how her organisation supports individuals with apraxia of speech and is looking to also train their volunteers.

The organisation supports Stroke Survivors in Cheshire, UK and surrounding areas with speech, language and communication difficulties with fun activities in a safe, person centered way.

They empower stroke survivors to recover, reclaim and rebuild their lives after stroke through fun and engaging activities. Helping them become more motivated, they become more resilient and feel less isolated.

Libby hall discusses both childhood apraxia of speech and selective mutism. She answers questions around diagnosis, common misconceptions, and raising awareness. This unique podcast focuses on an area of speech and language that is often misunderstood and underrepresented, Libby sheds light on the challenges families face and the importance of early intervention.

Whether you're a person living with one or both of these or a parent, educator, or speech-language professional, this episode offers valuable perspectives and practical advice to support children navigating these complex communication disorders.Libby is in her 40th year of being a speech and language therapist and remains as passionate about what she does as ever. Libby worked for the NHS in Aylesbury, Dudley and Sandwell before moving to the independent sector. She leads an independent team of therapists at Small Talk Speech & Language Therapy, working mainly with children with complex autism and selective mutism.

In this episode, I’m joined by Pam Slater, whose daughter was diagnosed with a FOXP2-related speech and language disorder in 2017. She shares her story with www.speechapraxia.co.uk That diagnosis helped piece together years of unanswered questions—hypotonia, poor eye contact, and unclear speech that even family struggled to understand. Pam shares her daughter’s remarkable journey, from early physiotherapy and years of intensive speech therapy for Childhood Apraxia of Speech, to finding ways to communicate through Makaton, communication books, and AAC. We also talk about the mental health impact, the determination her daughter shows every day, and how international research collaborations have supported her progress. This is a powerful story of resilience, advocacy, and hope for families navigating rare genetic speech conditions. #FOXP2 #FOXP2RelatedDisorder #ChildhoodApraxiaOfSpeech #CAS #ApraxiaOfSpeech #SpeechDisorder #GeneticSpeechDisorder #AAC #AugmentativeAndAlternativeCommunication #Makaton #SpeechTherapy #SLT #SpeechAndLanguageTherapy #RareDisease #RareDisorder #Hypotonia #NeurodevelopmentalDisorder #CommunicationDisorder #ApraxiaAwareness #ParentAdvocacy #FamilyAdvocacy #Resilience #Hope #MentalHealth #ResearchCollaboration #GeneticsAndSpeech #RareDiseaseCommunity #ApraxiaSupport #SpeechTherapyJourney #InclusiveCommunication

Alonna addresses the common questions asked when treating childhood apraxia of speech. Alonna is PROMPT certified and DTTC trained, and listed on the Apraxia Kids directory. She is a pediatric speech language pathologist with over 25 years of experience specializing in apraxia and other speech sound disorders.

Alonna offers online courses on childhood apraxia of Alonna addresses the common questions asked when treating childhood apraxia of speech. Alonna is PROMPT certified and DTTC trained, and listed on the Apraxia Kids directory. She is a pediatric speech language pathologist with over 25 years of experience specializing in apraxia and other speech sound disorders.Alonna offers online courses on childhood apraxia of speech that give you practical strategies you can use right away in your therapy sessions. Her goal is to make CAS education easy to understand and speech that give you practical strategies you can use right away in your therapy sessions. Her goal is to make CAS education easy to understand and implement—so you can confidently start helping CAS clients immediately. #ChildhoodApraxiaOfSpeech #CAS #ApraxiaOfSpeech #SpeechTherapy #SLP #SLT #SpeechLanguagePathology #SpeechLanguageTherapy #SpeechSoundDisorders #ApraxiaAwareness #ApraxiaKids #PROMPTTherapy #DTTC #PROMPTCertified #DTTCTrained #SpeechTherapyEducation #PediatricSLP #SLPCommunity #ApraxiaSupport #CASStrategies #SpeechTherapyTips #ApraxiaTreatment #ApraxiaTherapy #ApraxiaResources #ProfessionalDevelopment #ContinuingEducation #SLPTraining #SLPOnlineCourses #SpeechTherapyOnline #SLPStrategies

Today on the podcast, I’m joined by Chelsea, mum to Lucas. When Lucas was just two, Chelsea noticed he wasn’t talking at all. After years of frustration and limited progress with standard speech therapy, Lucas was finally diagnosed at six with Childhood Apraxia of Speech. Fast forward just over two years, and with the right specialist, intensive support, he’s making incredible progress. Chelsea has thrown herself into raising awareness—attending CAS family days, even doing a sponsored skydive in 2024 to fund assessments, and helping to create an official CAS pathway in her local area. In this episode, Chelsea shares the highs and lows of their journey so far, and her passion for making sure children like Lucas get the support they need to reach their potential.”

#ChildhoodApraxiaOfSpeech #CAS #ApraxiaOfSpeech #ApraxiaAwareness #SpeechTherapy #SpeechAndLanguageTherapy #SLT #SLP #ParentAdvocacy #FamilyAdvocacy #CASJourney #ApraxiaSupport #SpeechDisorder #CommunicationDisorder #RareSpeechDisorder #ApraxiaParents #ApraxiaKids #Resilience #Hope #InclusiveCommunication #CASCommunity #ApraxiaPathway #CASFamily #ApraxiaFundraising #SkydiveForCAS #ApraxiaWarrior #ApraxiaStrong #MakingProgress #SupportForCAS #EveryChildDeservesAVoice

I intervew Kendra Frank, founder of 'Elliot's Voice' Elliot is four — bursting with energy, laughter, and curiosity. He understands the world around him, but childhood apraxia of speech makes it hard for him to get the words out. That’s why she created Elliott’s Voice: a nonprofit placing low-tech communication boards in parks, libraries, zoos, and even emergency services — so kids like Elliott can always be heard. In this episode, we share how a personal struggle grew into a mission to build inclusive communities where every child, every person, and every voice matters

#ChildhoodApraxiaOfSpeech #CAS #ApraxiaOfSpeech #ApraxiaAwareness #AAC #AugmentativeAndAlternativeCommunication #CommunicationBoards #InclusiveCommunication #EveryVoiceMatters #ApraxiaSupport #ParentAdvocacy #FamilyAdvocacy #ElliottsVoice #SpeechDisorder #RareSpeechDisorder #SLP #SLT #SpeechTherapy #SpeechLanguagePathology #BuildingInclusion #AccessibilityMatters #InclusionForAll #ApraxiaCommunity #ApraxiaKids #CommunicationForAll #ApraxiaJourney #VoiceForAll #NonprofitAdvocacy #ApraxiaStrong #EveryChildDeservesAVoice