Apraxia of speech is usually caused by:
- Stroke
- Brain tumor
- Dementia
- Trauma
Apraxia of Speech in Adults
Apraxia of speech is a motor speech disorder caused by damage to the areas of the brain that control speech. Usually this damage is caused by a stroke, a brain tumor, dementia, or other type of brain trauma.
People who suffer from apraxia of speech experience difficulty expressing themselves verbally—they know the words they want to say, but have trouble pronouncing the words correctly and consistently or have trouble sequencing sounds. A person with apraxia may be able to say a word correctly one moment, and a moment later he/she may be unable to repeat it the same way, replacing it with either a made-up word or the wrong word. Understandably, apraxia of speech can be frustrating for both speakers and listeners.
Symptoms of Apraxia:
- Groping for the right word
- Having a slow pace of speech
- Being unable to speak at all
- Finding non-speech oral movements (such as wiggling the tongue) difficult
Symptoms of apraxia of speech can range from mild to severe. Mild cases are characterized by a person groping for the right word or having a slow pace of speech. Severe cases prevent a person from making sounds at all. Although there is no definitive test for diagnosing apraxia of speech, a speech-language pathologist can diagnose apraxia of speech when several different symptoms are present and other causes for these symptoms are ruled out.
Treatment of apraxia of speech generally involves treatments for the underlying cause of the disorder as well as speech therapy. Some patients with apraxia of speech are able to significantly improve their speech with treatment and therapy, while others experience little or no improvement.