Saturday, February 7, 2009

Types of Apraxia

From the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
  1. buccofacial or orofacial apraxia - the inability to carry out facial movements on command such as licking lips, whistling, coughing, or winking
  2. limb-kinetic apraxia - the inability to make fine, precise movements with an arm or leg
  3. ideomotor apraxia - the inability to make the proper movement in response to a verbal command
  4. ideational apraxia - the inability to coordinate activities with multiple, sequential movements, such as dressing, eating, and bathing
  5. verbal apraxia - difficulty coordinating mouth and speech movements
  6. constructional apraxia - the inability to copy, draw, or construct simple figures
  7. oculomotor apraxia - difficulty moving the eyes on command
Once again, while reading the OT Exam Review Guide, I came across a question with answers I am not well-versed in. Based on these definitions, I'm still a bit confused. The question involves a man who can put dentures in his mouth but has difficulty applying denture cream to the right places and replacing the top to the denture cream by applying it either backwards or on the wrong end. He has constructional apraxia. The other 3 choices are (1) ideomotor apraxia, (2) dressing apraxia, and (3) unilateral neglect.

Constructional apraxia seems like the best answer, but I probably would have chosen ideational apraxia if it were a choice. The problem I'm having with many diagnoses, including apraxia, is that I need to SEE it. So far, YouTube does not have a video devoted to "constructional apraxia".

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