What kind of “speech” difficulties can co-exist with aphasia?
There are two primary types of “speech” problems that can occur with or without the language impairment of aphasia. They are: dysarthria and apraxia. Dysarthria is a speech disorder caused by weakness or incoordination of the muscles that control speech (i.e. breathing, voice and articulation). A person with dysarthria could have slurred speech or a weak, breathy quality. Apraxia is a motor planning deficit that affects a person’s ability to say sounds that they intend to. a mix up in the signal from the brain to the mouth can make the sound be distorted, absent or replaced by another sound. A person with apraxia may appear to grope for the correct position for sounds and can often verbalize automatic speech (counting, singing, prayers, etc.) with ease.
Dysarthria and apraxia of speech are the two primary types of speech problems that can co-exist with aphasia. Dysarthria is a speech disorder caused by weakness or lack of coordination of the muscles that control speech (i.e. breathing, voice, and articulation). A person with dysarthria could have slurred speech or a weak, breathy quality. Apraxia is a motor planning deficit that affects a person s ability to say sounds that want. There is a problem between when the brain sends a message to the mouth and what the mouth receives. A person with apraxia of speech will make distorted sounds or replace one sound for another. A person with apraxia may appear to grope for the correct position for sounds and can often verbalize automatic speech (counting, singing, prayers, etc.) with ease. How many people have aphasia? There are approximately one million people in the United States with aphasia. A stroke, or brain attack , is the leading cause of aphasia. A stroke occurs when a blood clot bloc
