A speech disorder considered rare in the general population has been found to affect nearly two out of every three children with autism.

Called apraxia, the condition had previously been thought to affect at the most two out of every 1,000 children. Now, a study suggests that almost two out of every three children with autism (64 per cent) have apraxia.

Cheryl Tierney, of the Pennsylvania College of Medicine, which led the study, said: “Children with apraxia have difficulty co-ordinating the use of their tongue, lips, mouth and jaw to accurately produce speech sounds, so that each time they say the same word it comes out differently, and even their parents have difficulty understanding them.”

Tierney, a developmental behavioural paediatrician, and her team assessed 30 children aged between 15 months and five years. The results revealed that 64 per cent of children initially diagnosed with autism also had apraxia. Also, 37 per cent of the children who were initially diagnosed as having apraxia were also found to have autism.

Early intervention can improve both autism and apraxia, but the team said that each should have a different intervention and use different techniques. Accurate diagnosis was therefore critical.

The study has been published online in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioural Pediatrics.

Published: 3 July 2015