Worrying about Childhood Apraxia of Speech in a newborn

If you have been reading about Childhood Apraxia of Speech and wondering whether your newborn might have it, take a slow breath — this is a loving worry, and the reassurance is genuine.

In short

Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a motor-speech difficulty that can only be recognised once a child is actually attempting words and short phrases — usually well after the first birthday, and often around 18 months to 3 years. It is not something that can be identified in a newborn, because a baby this young is not yet expected to talk. So there is nothing to "watch for" as apraxia at this stage. What is helpful now is to enjoy and observe the normal building blocks of early communication, and to have a routine developmental check if anything about hearing, feeding or alertness concerns you.

What is actually appropriate to observe at the newborn stage

In the first three months, communication shows up in lovely, simple ways — not in words:

• Startling or quietening to sounds and your voice (a basic sign hearing is working)
• Making eye contact and beginning to study faces
• Cooing and gurgling by around 2 months
• Feeding comfortably — sucking, swallowing and coordinating breathing
• Calming to your touch and voice, and beginning to smile socially around 6–8 weeks

These are the foundations on which speech is later built. If your baby is feeding well, responding to sound and connecting with you, the apraxia question simply does not apply yet.

When the question of CAS becomes meaningful — and when to check sooner

Concerns about apraxia genuinely begin to make sense from around 18 months onwards, when a toddler is trying words but speech sounds are markedly inconsistent, effortful or hard to understand. Before then, the kinder path is to monitor the normal milestones.

Do seek a prompt check at any age — not because of apraxia, but for general development — if your newborn does not startle to loud sounds, never seems to settle to your voice, has ongoing feeding or swallowing difficulty, or is unusually floppy or unalert. A hearing screen and a paediatric review come first.

The Pinnacle way

A clinical AbilityScore® and any diagnosis are formed only at a Pinnacle Blooms Network centre, under qualified clinician care — never from an online form or a checklist, and never for a condition before it is age-appropriate to assess. If you would like reassurance now, a gentle developmental check is the right starting point, and our speech therapy team can guide you on what to expect as your child grows. You can also read more about Childhood Apraxia of Speech for the years ahead.

Trusted sources

WHO ICD-11 (6A01.0, developmental speech sound disorders); American Speech-Language-Hearing Association guidance on Childhood Apraxia of Speech (asha.org); American Academy of Pediatrics early communication and hearing milestones (healthychildren.org).

Next step — If anything about your baby's hearing, feeding or alertness worries you, the kindest move is a calm conversation with a clinician. Book a developmental check with a Pinnacle team.

This is general information, not a diagnosis — individual assessment and diagnosis require an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.