Apraxia of Speech (AOS) is a motor speech disorder
It affects an individual’s ability to control the muscles necessary for speaking. This occurs because the brain’s messages to the mouth are disrupted, making it difficult to move the lips or tongue correctly to produce different speech sounds. While the muscles themselves are often intact, the control over them is compromised, leading to challenges in initiating and sequencing the sounds that form words.
There are other types of apraxia too. Oral apraxia involves the inability to voluntarily control the muscles used for non-speech tasks, such as smiling or sticking out the tongue when prompted. These movements can be performed spontaneously but not on command. Additionally, another form of apraxia can impact a person’s ability to perform tasks such as dressing, washing, or other actions requiring specific muscle groups. The type of apraxia a person experiences depends on which parts of the brain are damaged.
