We're a speech therapy software company making evidence-based treatment for adults with stroke, brain injury, and other conditions more accessible.
👅 Apraxia made easy
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Patients with apraxia of speech (AOS) often have aphasia too. So they finally break through the word-finding wall ("I know the word I want!") only to hit a second one: motor planning. They know what they want to say, but the same word comes out three different ways – or not at all. Apraxia of speech is frustrating for your patients, and it can be intimidating to treat, but it's a lot more manageable with the right tools. 🧰 Quick Clinical Tips📋 The Apraxia of Speech Rating Scale (ASRS-3.5) is a free 13-item scale that notes the presence/absence of AOS features, as well as severity. This is a great alternative if you don't have access to the Apraxia Battery for Adults (ABA-2). 👄 Reminder about differential diagnosis: features like groping, trouble initiating, and self-correction show up in aphasia without apraxia too. The confirmation signs you need to watch for are:
📘 Duffy (2019) also notes that sequential motion rates (/pəˈtɑːkə/) tend to be harder than alternating rates (/pəpəpə/) for people with AOS. Want the deep dive? The What SLPs Need to Know: Apraxia of Speech article walks you through assessments, treatment options, and how to choose between them. Read it → 🏋 Motor Learning PrinciplesA few findings that are easy to forget in the moment:
If you want ready-to-go exercises guided by these principles, check out these treatments in the Virtual Rehab Center. 👇 Repeating Short Words, Repeating Long Words, and Repeating Phrases are articulatory-kinematic treatments, the most-researched approach for apraxia of speech, with support across all severity levels, including the chronic phase. Motor learning also requires a lot of repetition, and home practice can make all the difference. In the Virtual Rehab Center, you can assign unlimited home practice. This is included in your membership and free for your patients. 🙌 Plus, homework data is automatically collected for you, so you can see (and celebrate!) your patient's progress between sessions.
Apraxia takes patience, but the impact on your patient's quality of life can be huge. I hope a few of these ideas make your next session easier! All the best, P.S. Be sure to check out the apraxia treatment flowchart, patient education sheet, step-by-step integral stimulation guide, and more in the Virtual Rehab Center's Handout Vault, all part of your free 21-day trial! |
Tactus Therapy
We're a speech therapy software company making evidence-based treatment for adults with stroke, brain injury, and other conditions more accessible.
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When someone has aphasia, it might seem like they're forgetting the words. You might be tempted to explain word-finding difficulty as a "memory problem." But aphasia is a bit more complicated. When a word won't come out, it's still there. It's not forgotten. The problem is retrieval: pulling it out on demand, under time pressure, or in a specific moment. Our brain has to go through several steps to say a word, and any part of that process can be disrupted by aphasia. Let's take the word...
A lot of word-finding therapy leans on confrontation naming: show a picture and have your patient say what it is. But what about your higher-level aphasia patients? The ones who breeze through picture naming, but stall in real conversation, hunting for the word they know they know. Or your cognitive-communication patients, where the goal isn't really naming at all... it's reasoning, retrieval, and executive function all working together. A few things worth keeping in mind for these patients:...