Apraxia is a motor speech disorder that makes it hard to speak. It can take a lot of work to learn to say sounds and words better. Speech-language pathologists can help.
APRAXIA OF SPEECH
To speak, messages must go from your brain to your mouth. These messages tell the muscles how and when to move to make sounds. When you have apraxia of speech, the messages do not get through correctly, due to brain damage. You might not be able to move your lips or tongue the right way to say sounds. Sometimes, you might not be able to speak at all.
Apraxia of speech is sometimes called acquired apraxia of speech, verbal apraxia, or dyspraxia. It is a motor speech disorder. You can also have apraxia in other parts of your body, like in your arms or legs. This is called limb apraxia.
How severe your apraxia is depends on what type of brain damage you have. Apraxia can happen at the same time as other speech or language problems. You may have muscle weakness in your mouth. This is called dysarthria. You could also have trouble understanding what others say or telling others what you are thinking. This is called aphasia.
Children can also have apraxia. This is called childhood apraxia of speech.
SIGNS OF APRAXIA OF SPEECH
If you have apraxia of speech, you will have problems saying sounds correctly. This may cause you to say something very different than what you meant. You may even make up words. For example, you may say "chicken" for "kitchen." Or, you may say something that might not make sense, like "bipem." You may know that what you say is wrong and try to fix it. Sometimes you will get it right, but sometimes you will still say something else. This can be very frustrating.
If you have apraxia, you may:
- Have trouble imitating and saying sounds on your own. You may add new sounds, leave sounds out, or say sounds the wrong way.
- Be able to say something the right way one time but the wrong way the next time.
- Move your tongue and lips to get them into the right place as you try to say sounds. This is called groping.
- Speak more slowly.
- Be able to say things that you say all the time—like "Hello" or "How are you?"—without much trouble. This is called automatic speech.
- Not be able to say any sounds at all. This may happen in severe cases.
CAUSES OF APRAXIA OF SPEECH
Damage to the parts of the brain that control how your muscles move causes apraxia of speech. Any type of brain damage can cause apraxia. This includes stroke, traumatic brain injury, dementia, brain tumors, and brain diseases that get worse over time.
TREATMENT FOR APRAXIA OF SPEECH
The SLP can work with you to improve how you say sounds and put sounds into words. Treatment will focus on getting your muscles to move correctly. You may need to retrain your muscles to make sounds. Repeating sounds over and over and practicing correct mouth movements can help. You may need to slow down or pace your speech so that you can say the sounds you need to say. In severe cases, you may need to find other ways to answer questions or tell people what you want. These may include simple hand gestures, writing, pointing to letters or pictures, or using a computer. This is called augmentative and alternative communication.
It is important to get help if you have apraxia of speech. Talk to your doctor about seeing an SLP, or look for an SLP in your area by visiting ProFind.
