Parental experiences and perceptions related to childhood apraxia of speech: Focus on functional implications.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the functional implications of childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) as experienced by children and their parents.

Method: Using a mixed qualitative/quantitative design, 40 parents responded to two Likert-scale questionnaires and four phenomenological questions about their personal experiences and their perceptions of their children's (ages 3-16 years) experiences of living with CAS.

Result: Quantitative data indicated that although parents reported concern about their children's speech production as expected, they also expressed that CAS affected their children's every day activities and social interactions.