Health Information

The word apraxia originates from the Greek word praxis, which means to act or work. The “a” in apraxia is a prefix meaning without. Apraxia literally means without act or deed. Apraxia is one of the thousands neurological disorders that can be detected right few months after a child is borm. This medical condition is characterized an individual’s lack of ability to carry out a task or even fail to execute normal movements. Individuals with apraxia seem to lose the ability to do familiar movements even if they are physically capable to do so. It is basically a dysfunction in a person’s locomotive planning which can be related to incoordination, loss of comprehension or sensory loss.

Types and Symptoms of Apraxia
A person with apraxia may have the inability to make facial expression. They also do not have the capability to do simple gestures like licking their lips, winking, or coughing. This type of apraxia is also commonly called as buccofacial. Another type of apraxia, limb-kinitec apraxia, is characterized with the inability to make arm or leg gestures. Ideomotor apraxia, on the other hand, is the lack of the ability to response, in terms of movement, whenever a person has given out a verbal command. The inability to do things in sequential order, like dressing or eating, is termed as ideational apraxia. When an individual does not have the ability to draw or construct simple things, then he is said to have constructional apraxia. Apraxia can also cause the eyes to be immobile even at command, this condition is called oculomotor apraxia.

Treatment for apraxia
The only known treatment for apraxis is occupational theory. An individual with apraxia should be given proper attention and medical care at all times. Therapy sessions should include physical and speech exercises. If apraxia is related to other health conditions, then that underlying disorder should be treated as soon as possible.