Verbal dyspraxia is a neurological disorder that disrupts the transmission of messages between the brain and facial muscles, affecting speech. It can be developmental or caused by brain damage and may coexist with other conditions. Treatment can be intensive and tailored to the individual.
Verbal dyspraxia has a negative impact on speech and is characterized as a motor and neurological disorder in which the transmission of certain messages between the brain and the muscles of the face is disrupted. Difficulties moving the tongue, lips, or jaw properly exacerbate the condition. The production of sounds and syllables is therefore hampered.
Verbal dyspraxia, also known as speech apraxia or articulatory dyspraxia, develops due to a neurological problem. The disruption of messages transmitted between the brain and certain muscles forms the basis of dyspraxia. In the case of verbal dyspraxia, several muscles around the mouth and jaw that together coordinate speech are suppressed. Individuals can be born with the brain impairment, which is why some call it developmental verbal dyspraxia. Traumatic brain damage sustained at any age can also ease the condition.
Speech abnormalities comprise most of the symptoms of developmental dyspraxia. The individual may have difficulty saying a word correctly or putting sentences into sequence in the correct order. Therefore, much of the attempted verbal communication may not be understandable. This is a form of ideanational and ideomotor dyspraxia, because, while the speech muscles themselves are not impaired, the ability to plan and execute their movements is impaired. In some cases of dyspraxia, difficulty breathing or feeding may occur.
Delay in achieving common developmental communication milestones may signal verbal dyspraxia in children. The ability to speak may be completely non-existent, especially if the condition develops before speech can be initiated. If speech is present, difficulty pronouncing vowel sounds correctly may be a particularly common sign of infantile dyspraxia. Babies may also say a word or play repeatedly while trying to communicate something else, which is a symptom called persistence. Slow and limited vocabulary and word fumbling are also frequent indicators of verbal dyspraxia in both children and adults.
Verbal dyspraxia may be symptomatic of a larger degree of developmental dyspraxia in which movement and coordination of various parts of the body suffer. Learning or memory impairments may coexist with the condition, although dyspraxia may be present in the absence of other conditions. Studies also indicate that males may be more susceptible to dyspraxia than females. Regardless of gender, dyspraxia is often a lifelong condition.
Ironically, when a verbal dyspraxic individual becomes frustrated, speaking can improve. When you aren’t thinking about words, producing them becomes a more automatic response. Dyspraxia may not inflict as easily on such naturalized speech, as action is less dependent on complex brain commands.
Treatment of verbal dyspraxia can take years of effort. The treatments are intensive and a specialist can try many options before finding a protocol that works for a specific individual. In some cases, computer programs, sign language, or image-oriented communication can help patients. Speech therapists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists can cater to the specific needs of each patient.
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