What Is Apraxia of Speech?
Neurological Motor Speech Disorder
Different from Other Speech Disorders
Neurological Motor Speech Disorder
Apraxia occurs when brain damage disrupts the pathways that carry messages from the brain to the mouth muscles. The brain knows what it wants to say, but cannot properly coordinate the movements needed to produce the sounds.
Motor Planning Inefficiency
Different from Other Speech Disorders
Neurological Motor Speech Disorder
The issue lies in planning and sequencing the precise movements needed for speech, not in muscle strength or intelligence. People with apraxia know exactly what they want to say but struggle to execute the motor movements.
Different from Other Speech Disorders
Different from Other Speech Disorders
Different from Other Speech Disorders
Unlike aphasia (language difficulty) or dysarthria (muscle weakness affecting speech), apraxia specifically impacts the brain's ability to coordinate the complex movements required for accurate speech production.
Symptoms and Clinical Features
Inconsistent Errors
Speech errors vary inconsistently—Sometimes pronouncing a word correctly, then struggling with the same word moments later. This inconsistency is a hallmark feature that helps distinguish apraxia from other disorders.
Sound Distortions
Difficulty pronouncing words correctly, with sounds or syllables being distorted, substituted, or omitted entirely. The person may struggle particularly with starting words or connecting sounds together.
Prosody Issues
Speech often sounds robotic with abnormal rhythm, stress patterns, and intonation. The person may speak very slowly with unusual pauses between syllables or words as they mentally plan each sound sequence.