25/07/2026
Yes!!!
A common question from parents is: “Why are we only working on a few words?”
In DTTC and other motor-based approaches for childhood apraxia of speech, the words we practice are carefully selected, not because those specific words are the most important words a child will ever say, but because they contain movement patterns we want the child to learn and strengthen.
Think of target words as practice opportunities for the speech motor system.
As motor plans become more stable and efficient, children can begin using those movement patterns in new words and new situations.
When therapy focuses on a small set of targets, we're not limiting language growth. Instead, we're building a foundation that supports clearer, more consistent speech across many words over time.
The goal isn't to teach every word.
The goal is to teach the speech system how to learn new words more successfully.
Drop us a comment below to share how you have been most effective in helping parents understand why we practice a small set of target words!
