Apraxia (called "dyspraxia" if mild) is a neurological disorder characterized by loss of the ability to execute or carry out
skilled movements and gestures, despite having the desire and the physical ability to perform them. Apraxia results from dysfunction
of the cerebral hemispheres of the brain, especially the parietal lobe, and can arise from many diseases or damage to the
brain.
There are several kinds of apraxia, which may occur alone or together. The most common is buccofacial or orofacial apraxia,
which causes the inability to carry out facial movements on command such as licking lips, whistling, coughing, or winking.
Other types of apraxia include limb-kinetic apraxia (the inability to make fine, precise movements with an arm or leg), ideomotor
apraxia (the inability to make the proper movement in response to a verbal command), ideational apraxia (the inability to
coordinate activities with multiple, sequential movements, such as dressing, eating, and bathing), verbal apraxia (difficulty
coordinating mouth and speech movements), constructional apraxia (the inability to copy, draw, or construct simple figures),
and oculomotor apraxia (difficulty moving the eyes on command). Apraxia may be accompanied by a language disorder called aphasia.
Corticobasal ganglionic degeneration is a disease that causes a variety of types of apraxia, especially in elderly adult.
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
(ASHA) 2200 Research Boulevard Rockville, MD 20850 actioncenter@asha.org http://www.asha.org Tel: 800-638-8255 Fax: 301-571-0457 |
National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC) 4200 Forbes Boulevard Suite 202 Lanham, MD 20706-4829 naricinfo@heitechservices.com http://www.naric.com Tel: 301-459-5900/301-459-5984 (TTY) 800-346-2742 Fax: 301-562-2401 |
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Last updated October 17, 2008