What is apraxia of speech?

Apraxia is a general term. It can cause problems in parts of the body, such as arms and legs. Apraxia of speech is a motor speech disorder. It is caused by damage to the parts of the brain related to speaking. Other terms include apraxia of speech, acquired apraxia of speech, verbal apraxia, and dyspraxia.

People with apraxia of speech have trouble sequencing the sounds in syllables and words. The severity depends on the nature of the brain damage.

Children can have apraxia, referred to as childhood apraxia of speech.

What are some signs or symptoms of apraxia of speech?

People with apraxia of speech know what words they want to say, but their brains have difficulty coordinating the muscle movements necessary to say those words. They may say something completely different, even made up words. For example, a person may try to say “kitchen,” but it may come out “bipem” or even “chicken.” The person may recognize the error and try again, sometimes getting it right, but sometimes saying something else entirely. This can become quite frustrating for the person. It may be hard to understand a person with apraxia of speech.

Apraxia of speech can be mild or severe. People with apraxia may have

Apraxia can occur in conjunction with dysarthria (muscle weakness affecting speech production) or aphasia (language difficulties related to neurological damage).

How is apraxia of speech diagnosed?

A speech-language pathologist (SLP) can evaluate the individual. Results will determine the nature and severity of the apraxia. The SLP will look to see if there is any evidence of muscle weakness (dysarthria) or other communication or swallowing difficulties. An appropriate treatment plan can then be put in place.

What treatments are available to people with apraxia of speech?

An SLP can work with people with apraxia of speech to improve speech abilities and overall communication skills. The muscles of speech often need to be “retrained” to produce sounds correctly and sequence sounds into words. Exercises are designed to allow the person to repeat sounds over and over and practice correct mouth movements for sounds. The person with apraxia of speech may need to slow his or her speech rate down or work on “pacing” their speech so that he or she can produce all necessary sounds. In severe cases, augmentative and alternative communication may be necessary, such as the use of simple gestures or more sophisticated electronic equipment.