{"id":8637,"date":"2019-08-01T13:33:02","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T13:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.io\/?p=8637"},"modified":"2021-06-17T18:19:46","modified_gmt":"2021-06-17T18:19:46","slug":"16-most-common-signs-symptoms-of-apraxia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.io\/16-most-common-signs-symptoms-of-apraxia\/","title":{"rendered":"16 Most Common Signs & Symptoms of Apraxia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Apraxia is a speech problem that involves motor difficulties rather than an interference with cognitive function. When people have difficulty speaking, it is because of damage to the brain or to the vocal cords or the tongue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aphasia is caused by damage to the brain in the area that affects language comprehension and the person suffering from it may not understand what is being said. Apraxia arises from problems in the brain in the area affecting the motor function of the muscles and areas controlling speech. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A person with apraxia may understand what is said but may be unable to reply because of problems with speech mechanics. Many cases of apraxia develop in childhood and can interfere with speech development. Other cases can arise from a stroke or a brain injury in adulthood and can cause an abrupt interference of speaking abilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following are tips to spot apraxia. 
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1. Speech Delay<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the earliest signs of apraxia in children is a significant speech delay<\/a>. There are many other factors that can put off the onset of speech in young children. For instance, if a child grows up surrounded by several languages, they may not speak their first words as early as others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mild autism may also cause speech delays, but in most cases, speech delays are not caused by any deep underlying problem. However, a child not saying his or her first words early enough, however, is one sign of apraxia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are usually other warning signs, such as hindered motor function, general awkwardness, and difficulties eating and swallowing. When a child with apraxia does begin to speak, his or her vocabulary will be limited. Many people think that the speech delay is caused by cognitive difficulty rather than a motor problem, which is the case with apraxia. 
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2. Stress the Wrong Syllables<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

People with apraxia <\/a>have difficulties speaking and there are hallmark signs of speech problems that are specific to apraxia. Someone with apraxia will consistently put stress on the wrong syllable. They may stress every single syllable or not put stress on any syllable and let the words string along. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, people with apraxia will not say words the same way, but one time will put the stress on one syllable and at other times will put the stress on another syllable. Even though cognitively people with apraxia may seem coherent, they may not be able to incorporate corrections when they are told they are putting the stress on the wrong syllable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They may understand they should do it but may be unable to. Syllable stress requires the kind of motor skills that other aspects of speech may not. 
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3. General Problem with Motor Skills<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many people with apraxia may have specific problems with speech but may be able to engage normally in other activities. Others may have general problems with motor functions. They may know how to do something but may be unable to get their bodies to move the correct way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not because of damage to the muscles themselves, but that their muscles<\/a> may not get the message from the brain to move in a certain way. A person may be able to move well one moment, but may be clumsy the next. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a kind of inconsistency in the movements of someone with general apraxia. In addition, the person with apraxia may not be able to swallow easily or may have difficulty moving facial movements to make facial expressions or moving their tongues. If a child has other motor delays, such as crawling and walking, they may also come to have problems speaking. 
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4. No Comprehension Problems<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned above, many speech problems involve issues with comprehending words or ideas. However, apraxia <\/a>specifically deals with motor difficulties in actually forming words, phrases and sentences. One way to tell whether a speech a problem has to do with motor abilities or comprehension issues is if the person shows that they absolutely understand what is being said, but cannot form coherent verbal responses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, someone with apraxia may be able to text flawlessly or write notes back and forth, but they will not be able to tell you verbally what they are thinking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, people with damage to the brain that affects their ability to comprehend will not show signs of understanding in addition to not being able to respond verbally. People with apraxia can be highly functioning because of their ability to understand provided that they can communicate in other ways, such as typing. 
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5. Exaggerated Mouth Movement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When someone is trying to speak with apraxia, they may overcompensate by moving their tongue<\/a>, lips and face more than they would usually need to in order to speak. To understand this, one may think of a long jumper in a track event taking a running start to make sure they jump as far as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

People with apraxia have a greater difficulty speaking than the average person–it would be like the effort of a long jumper required to simply take a step. They will instinctively move their lips and mouth in an exaggerated fashion to try to get a \u201crunning start\u201d on speaking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some cases, the person with apraxia can\u2019t control the way they move their mouth and their tongue, which can also be a sign of damage to the motor section of the brain. In addition, some people with apraxia may find that they drool because the tongue cannot keep the saliva from exiting the mouth. 
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6. Slower Speech<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the first signs of apraxia is slowed speech<\/a>. Some types of speech disorders may create inconsistent speech, and some people may even speak faster rather than slower, but apraxia sufferers consistently have speech that is at a much slower pace than average. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is true if the person with apraxia is a child or if it is acquired apraxia in an adult, although it can be harder to spot in a child since young children often speak more slowly anyway. One way to detect it in a child is if your child is speaking much more slowly than expected for his or her age, and this can be confirmed by a pediatrician. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If an adult consistently spoke at an average pace or quickly and started speaking slowly, that could be one sign of apraxia. One way of confirming it is the adult can\u2019t control the speed of his speech and it is fully involuntary. 
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7. Difficulty Swallowing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since apraxia is a motor problem rather than a cognitive disorder, there may be other activities besides speech that may be affected. If a person has difficulty forming words, they may also have complications with other movements created by the same muscles in the mouth<\/a> and throat, including swallowing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Problems with swallowing are one of the first symptoms of apraxia in children. He or she may make choking or gurgling sounds when they are trying to eat or may avoid eating altogether until they are very hungry because of problems with the muscles involved with eating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swallowing problems can be specific to eating or can be a sign of a dysfunction of the entire area of muscles around the throat and the mouth. It may be hard to know how the speech will be affected before a child forms his or her first words, but a delay is a sign of possible apraxia. 
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8. Inconsistency<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since apraxia involves the muscles and not with language processing, there may be inconsistency with speech. The reason for this is that the person with apraxia keeps trying to say the correct word and sometimes succeeds, whereas those who can\u2019t process language can\u2019t make correct attempts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, someone with apraxia may occasionally put the stress on the correct syllable of a given word, but just as often or more often, the stress will be on the wrong syllable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Someone who does not understand that the person has apraxia may be frustrated that they have corrected the other person, they seem to have gotten it and said the word correctly, and the next time they say the word, they will make the same mistake again. That is why it is important that friends and loved ones of people with apraxia understand the source of their problem. 
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Apraxia is a condition that affects the muscles associated with speech rather than thinking and language processing. A person may have no apparent damage to their tongue, throat and facial muscles, but the problem lies in the sections of the brain that affect motor abilities<\/a> related to speech. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A person with apraxia may understand something but will not be able to imitate the sound. Apraxia in children may be evident in speech delays, difficulties eating and swallowing and exaggerated movements of the mouth and the tongue while speaking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

People with apraxia tend to speak more slowly than average and put the stress on the wrong syllable. Those who suffer from apraxia may have other motor difficulties such as tripping and problems with moving. In addition, errors in speech may be inconsistent, and there may be times when they are able to speak correctly.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\r\n

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