While there is no CURE, regular and intensive speech therapy using the principles of motor learning that is accessed early in the child’s life/diagnosis is known to best treat CAS. This means consistent attendance to therapy where the Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) has experience in treating CAS. This might mean the SLP has training or professional development in one of the specific approaches (e.g. DTTC, Kaufman, PROMPT, etc.) or has extensive experience in treating children with CAS. See: How do I find a SLP for treating CAS in Ontario.
Children with CAS often move into ‘residual CAS’ or ‘resolved CAS’ during their speech therapy journey. This may take months or years; connect regularly with your SLP about your child’s prognosis as it likely changes as therapy progresses. Many children’s symptoms change into characteristics of a phonological disorder, language disorder, articulation disorder, auditory processing disorder and/or stuttering, and their primary symptoms of CAS become “residual”. Many children, with the right therapy, become “resolved” of their symptoms of CAS in so much that people unfamiliar with them wouldn’t ever know there was a diagnosis of CAS unless specific stressors to the speech system were at play (e.g. fatigue, narcotics, emotional stress, etc.) CASANA has some excellent resources about what the journey through CAS can look like. Our favourites are: What Will the Future Hold & How Will My Child Do Over Time? Will My Child Speak Normally?. There are also many video examples available of residual and/or resolved CAS cases; please contact OPPEN CAS for more information.
