This three-hour course dives into the foundational skills every speech-language pathologist needs to confidently recognize, assess, and diagnose Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). Participants will explore the key discriminative and non-discriminative characteristics that define CAS and learn how to separate CAS from childhood dysarthria (CD) and non-motor speech disorders through careful observation and dynamic assessment.

Using real therapy videos, discussion, and hands-on examples, participants will walk through the assessment process step-by-step, from case history and early sign recognition to informal dynamic motor speech assessment. Clinicians will gain practical tools to identify consistent patterns across speech tasks, apply differential diagnostic reasoning, and use a CAS decision guide to support accurate diagnosis and treatment planning.

By the end of this session, participants will feel more confident identifying the motor-based patterns that distinguish CAS and will have a clear framework to guide diagnostic conversations with families and teams.

1. Define Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) and distinguish it from childhood dysarthria (CD) and motor speech delay (MSD) using discriminative and non-discriminative characteristics.
2. Plan and conduct a dynamic motor speech assessment using multiple speech tasks to identify characteristics and determine severity and prognosis.
3. Apply a structured decision guide to synthesize assessment findings and confidently identify CAS using consistent observable patterns.