Assessment and Diagnostic Standards of Childhood Apraxia of Speech in Turkish-Speaking Children: A Scoping Review

Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a motor speech disorder for which assessment and diagnostic standards have been largely informed by studies of English-speaking populations. Evidence related to CAS in Turkish-speaking children remains sparse, is published across both Turkish- and English-language sources, and variable in diagnostic rigor.

This scoping review aimed to map existing evidence on the assessment and diagnostic standards of CAS in Turkish-speaking populations, with a focus on diagnostic approaches, assessment tasks, diagnostic quality, reported clinical features and gaps in the literature.

The review followed the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines. Systematic searches were conducted across thirteen English-and Turkish-language databases for peer-reviewed articles published between 2007 and 2025. Studies reporting on at least one Turkish-speaking child with CAS or suspected CAS were included. Extracted data included diagnostic methods, assessment tasks, reported clinical features and assessor information. Diagnostic quality was evaluated using an established rating framework and findings were synthesised narratively.

Five studies met the inclusion criteria, comprising 45 Turkish-speaking children with CAS or suspected CAS. Diagnostic approaches ranged from reliance on general perceptual judgement to expert-based evaluation and standardized assessment tools, with evidence of improved diagnostic quality over time. Assessment tasks sampled multiple domains, including single-word production, connected speech, speech inconsistency, oral motor skills, diadochokinesis and prosody. Reported clinical features largely reflected language-universal characteristics of CAS, with limited investigation of Turkish-specific patterns.

Although progress in CAS assessment for Turkish-speaking children is evident, gaps remain in diagnostic consistency, psychometric evidence and language-specific research, highlighting the need for further systematic investigation.

What is already known on this subject Assessment and diagnosis of childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) are largely guided by evidence and assessment tools developed for English-speaking populations. Research on CAS in Turkishspeaking children is limited, scattered across languages, and shows wide variability in diagnostic approaches and rigor, making it difficult to draw firm conclusions or guide clinical practice. What this study adds to the existing knowledge This scoping review provides the first integrated synthesis of English- and Turkish-language evidence on the assessment and diagnostic standards of CAS in Turkish-speaking children. It demonstrates a gradual improvement in diagnostic quality over time and shows that reported clinical features largely mirror language-universal characteristics of CAS, while Turkish-specific manifestations remain under-investigated. What are the clinical implications of this study? Clinicians working with Turkish-speaking children should adopt multi-task assessment protocols that sample speech across varied contexts and use standardised tools, such as the DEMSS-TR, to supplement expert perceptual judgement. The findings highlight the need for continued development, validation and clinician training in Turkish-language CAS assessments to improve diagnostic consistency and accuracy.