There is absolutely no substitute for speech therapy with a therapist qualified in apraxia. However, there are a couple of other approaches that may prove helpful to a child with apraxia.

Essential Fish Oils: Geng swears by them, as does Dr. Agin and many other experts in the field of apraxia. There is some promising research indicating that children given fish oil supplements containing a mixture of omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids show significant improvement in their behavior, ability to talk, focus and ability to maintain eye contact. It was a very small study, although it was reviewed by an impressive host of research scientists, but it certainly isn't harmful. If it truly helps, it's another tool, along with therapy, to help children with apraxia.

Physical Therapy of the Mouth: This approach is something speech and language pathologist Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson has been exploring. While some of the experts interviewed for this article note that it is a rather controversial approach, it seems to make sense – again, in conjunction with more traditional apraxia therapy. Rosenfeld-Johnson does note that she does use both approaches. In a nutshell, Rosenfeld-Johnson gives her patients an idea of the tactile component of speech, such as using a tongue depressor to help them "feel" how the muscles move to make a certain sound. She also uses straws, tubes and other tools. Again, it can do no harm, and with our limited current understanding of apraxia and its causes, it would probably be premature to discount any reasonable – or reasonably promising – therapy.