Apraxia of Speech: An overview

Abstract

Apraxia of speech (AOS) is a motor speech disorder that can occur in the absence of aphasia or dysarthria. AOS has been the subject of some controversy since the disorder was first named and described by Darley and his Mayo Clinic colleagues in the 1960s. A recent revival of interest in AOS is due in part to the fact that it is often the first symptom of neurodegenerative diseases, such as primary progressive aphasia and corticobasal degeneration. This article will provide a brief review of terminology associated with AOS, its clinical hallmarks and neuroanatomical correlates. Current models of motor programming will also be addressed as they relate to AOS and finally, typical treatment strategies used in rehabilitating the articulation and prosody deficits associated with AOS will be summarized.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the McBean Family Foundation, The Sandler Foundation, the John Douglas French Alzheimer's Association, the National Institute on Aging (5P01 AG019724–02 and 1 P50 AG-03–006–01), the California Department of Health (DHS 04–35516), the UCSF General Clinical Research Center (M01 RR00079) and the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke (R01 NS50915).