What type of errors are more characteristic of AOS: consistent phoneme substitutions or distorted/segmented articulations with groping?

• A. Consistent phoneme substitutions.
• B. No errors occur.
• C. Only rate-related errors.
• D. Distorted articulations with groping and inconsistent errors.

Answer: (D)

Apraxia of speech arises from a motor planning and programming deficit for speech. Because the plan for how to move the articulators is flawed, productions are labored and inconsistent, with the speaker often groping to find the right position and producing distorted sounds and broken transitions between sounds. Errors vary from attempt to attempt rather than staying the same, which is a hallmark of the condition. It’s not just about rate or speed, and fixed, consistent substitutions point to a different type of speech disorder. So the combination of distorted articulations with groping and inconsistent errors best captures what AOS looks like.