Improving Verbal Apraxia
with Intensive Therapy

All individuals affected by verbal apraxia have the same desire:
To improve their speech skills.

Daily professional instruction is the key to their success.

As speech pathologists, we will provide you with a complete understanding of verbal apraxia. Then we will introduce the latest technique in effective home speech therapy:

Professional speech therapy on DVD and VHS.

What is Apraxia?

Apraxia is a disorder that affects voluntary muscle movement. It is caused by damage to parts of the nervous system responsible for planning and carrying out motor (muscle) movement.

The ability to carry out a sequence of muscle movements is impaired, however; significant muscle weakness is not present.

Is Apraxia the same as Dyspraxia?

Both, apraxia and dyspraxia tend to be used to describe the same disorder. Although similar, there is a significant difference:

Apraxia is the lack of ability to plan and carry out muscle movement.

Dyspraxia is an impaired ability to plan and carry out muscle movement.

By definition, apraxia represents a more severe motor disorder.

What is Verbal Apraxia?

Verbal apraxia (also known as, Apraxia of Speech or AOS) is a disorder that affects the muscles involved with producing speech. These muscles include the jaw, lips, tongue, respiratory system (lungs), and vocal folds (vocal cords).

People with verbal apraxia have difficulty initiating, coordinating, or sequencing the muscle movements necessary to speak. They what they want to say, but cannot transfer the message from their brain to the oral muscles.

How does this "Message Transmission" work?

The process begins by thinking of what you would like to say. The brain then sends this information to your lips, tongue, and jaw muscles. These messages inform the oral muscles on how to move.

If the messages are received the oral muscles carry out their job and create a sequence of sounds that will form a spoken sentence.

However, when afflicted with verbal apraxia, these messages are "interrupted" which causes the affected person to struggle for the right oral movements necessary to articulate meaningful sounds and words.

It is important to note that this affliction is a planning/programming disorder. The oral muscles involved with producing speech are not affected by any weakness.

Planning Muscle Movement

The primary difficulty with any apraxia is in the thinking of what to do as opposed to a reflex response. This is often an area of confusion for some caregivers.

Caregivers frequently ask, "Why is my husband/wife able to curse when they are angry without any difficulty at all, but when I ask them a question they have trouble answering me?"

The answer reflects the cause of verbal apraxia:

The cursing is an automatic response (like pulling your hand away from a hot surface - you don't have to think about it). However, answering a question requires voluntary planning on how to move the oral muscles - which is where the difficulty lies.

Simply put, the message sent from the brain for an automatic response (like cursing) is so well-learned that no "thinking" is necessary. On the other hand, attempting to choose which muscles to move, as well as what order to move them in is an act that takes planning.

This is why individuals with verbal apraxia have much more difficulty using intended speech.

What is Oral Apraxia?

Oral apraxia involves the oral muscles, but it is not related to the act of speaking. It is the inability to voluntarily move the oral muscles (jaw, lips, and tongue) on command.

For example, an individual with oral apraxia would have difficulty pursing their lips if told to do so. However, pursing their lips to kiss someone could be carried out automatically.

Oral apraxia and verbal apraxia frequently appear together, although they may both occur in isolation.

Verbal Apraxia or Dysarthria?

Dysarthria is a neurological disorder that affects the strength or tone of the oral muscles (oral motor weakness). The ability to plan and carry out oral muscle movement is not affected.

The key difference between verbal apraxia and dysarthria is in the speech errors they present:

• An individual with verbal apraxia will demonstrate inconsistent speech errors.

  For example, if they were asked to say the sentence, "Let's go shopping," three separate times, each attempt could produce a different set of errors.

  They might say, "Let's row stopping," then, "Let's go chopping," and finally, "Net go mopping."

  Every attempt creates a new set of errors as they struggle to plan and correct the muscle movement needed for each sound.

• An individual with dysarthria will demonstrate consistent speech errors.

  Since the underlying difficulty is muscle weakness, when they attempt the sentence, "Let's go shopping," it might sound like, "Wet no soppin."

  If they repeated that sentence ten times in row, each attempt would sound the same.

Dysarthria can exist with verbal apraxia and oral apraxia, though each disorder may appear independently.

What can be done to rehabilitate
Verbal Apraxia?

Speech-language pathologists are the qualified professionals that help individuals afflicted with verbal apraxia. There are a variety of professional techniques employed to remediate the symptoms of verbal apraxia as well as oral apraxia.

Because oral apraxia often accompanies verbal apraxia, a successful therapeutic approach used to improve control over oral movement is called, oral-motor therapy.

Oral-motor therapy consists of a variety of specialized exercises used to improve the strength, coordination, and control of the oral muscles (the jaw, lips, tongue, and vocal folds).

Consistent practice of these exercises has been traditionally successful at improving voluntary control in individuals experiencing oral apraxia and verbal apraxia.

The therapeutic approach used to treat the articulation difficulties in this disorder is known as, traditional speech therapy.

Depending on the severity level of verbal apraxia, exercises will begin at each patient's specific level of functioning. Successful speech therapy has helped many verbal apraxics effectively learn to:

• Articulate vowel and consonant sounds
• Speak words varying in syllable length
• Verbalize common phrases
• Articulate sentences ranging from easy to complex
• Fluently engage in spontaneous conversations
• Use intonation and verbal inflection appropriately

The sequence of exercises is designed to have individuals become successful at the lowest level before moving on to the next, more challenging level.

As individuals progress through therapy their speech improves by building one layer of success upon another.

For example, as they master one syllable words they will move on to two syllable words, then three, and so forth. This proven method has been traditionally successful in treating verbal apraxia.

With consistent practice improvements start to take hold. Slowly at first. Then as your success continues you begin to develop a higher level of skill each time you practice.

How much Therapy is Necessary?

Research has shown that intensive therapy can make a significant difference in the level of improvements acquired by verbal apraxics. Intensive therapy means practicing at least five days each week.

Making improvements involves developing an effective practice routine. Like learning a musical instrument or how to play golf, the more you practice the better you get.

In other words, practice is your key to greater improvements.

An Opportunity to Practice Everyday ...

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Bringing these successful exercises and professional techniques into your home was the innovative concept of our team of experienced speech-language pathologists.

Through direct contact with the adult population affected by verbal apraxia, we realized the significance of a home program that would offer individuals the opportunity to practice on a daily basis.

Increasing your exposure to speech therapy and having the opportunity to practice each day can make a vital difference in your speech improvements.

Discover the benefits of beginning an effective routine of professional oral-motor and speech exercises by following the link below ...

Improve Verbal Apraxia with Speech Therapy on Video