# DEMSS

### At-a-glance

##### Tool name
Dynamic Evaluation of Motor Speech Skill (DEMSS)

##### Use to evaluate
Children who have significant speech impairment

##### Age Range
Children ages 3+

##### Completed By
Speech-language pathologists regularly engaged in differential diagnosis of speech sounds disorders

##### Time Commitment
30 minutes or less

Designed to help with differential diagnosis of speech sound disorders in children with severely impaired speech production.

Developed by one of the leading experts on (CAS) and an expert on test development, the Dynamic Evaluation of Motor Speech Skill (DEMSS) is an efficient way to assess children who have significant speech impairment, especially reduced phonemic and/or phonetic inventories, vowel or prosodic errors, poor speech intelligibility, and/or little to no verbal communication.

### Benefits

- Developed by one of the leading experts on CAS and an expert on test development
- Diagnoses severe speech sound disorders in children 3 and older
- Facilitates, confirms, or rules out a diagnosis of CAS
- Estimates the severity of a child’s disorder and what their prognosis might be
- Informs the development of treatment goals
- Helps you make decisions about the most effective methods of cueing during treatment

### Developers
[Edythe A. Strand, Ph.D., CCC-SLP](https://products.brookespublishing.com/cw_Contributorinfo.aspx?ContribID=161500&Name=Edythe+Strand,Ph.D.,%20CCC-SLP) [Rebecca J. McCauley, Ph.D., CCC-SLP](https://products.brookespublishing.com/cw_Contributorinfo.aspx?ContribID=5&Name=Rebecca+McCauley,Ph.D.,%20CCC-SLP)

## What You'll Need

### Dynamic Evaluation of Motor Speech Skill (DEMSS) Manual

[View in Store](https://products.brookespublishing.com/Dynamic-Evaluation-of-Motor-Speech-Skill-DEMSS-Manual-P1100.aspx)

#### Includes

Manual

Access to the Brookes Download Hub for video tutorial and free unlimited downloadable DEMSS forms

**DEMSS Manual Excerpt**

Read this excerpt from the Dynamic Evaluation of Motor Speech Skills (DEMSS) Manual to get an introduction to the purpose, roles, and benefits.

[View Resource](/content/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/DEMSS_excerpt.pdf)

**An Independent Review of DEMSS**

Read an independent review from the Speech Sprouts Therapy Blog—Diagnosing Childhood Apraxia of Speech: A Review of the DEMSS from the Trenches.

[View Resource](https://www.speechsproutstherapy.com/2019/02/diagnosing-childhood-apraxia-of-speech.html)

**Interventions for Childhood Apraxia of Speech Webinar**

Learn about interventions for CAS directly from expert Rebecca J. McCauley, co-developer of the criterion-referenced assessment Dynamic Evaluation of Motor Speech Skill (DEMSS).

[View Resource](/content/resource-library/interventions-for-childhood-apraxia-of-speech/index.html)