Differentiating AOS + Other Disorders

Question 1

You observe a patient with poor SMRs but AMRs that are quite regular, is it ataxia or AOS?

(SMRs = PTK, AMRS = 1 sound repeatedly)

Answer 1

AOS

AMRs are usually irregular in ataxic dysarthria

Question 2

What would be different between a patient who had AOS and aphasia?

Answer 2

AOS: slower rate - more errors with increased rate, long vowel durations, distortions, dysprosody, drill helps

Aphasia: normal rate - can increase rate without errors, may have substitutions but they won’t be distorted, drill won’t help

Question 3

What would be different between a patient who had AOS and ataxic dysarthria?

Answer 3

AOS: regular AMRs, islands of effort-free speech (more common), attempts to self-correct, groping, automatic speech is good, may see evidence of difficulty in other motor planning tasks (e.g. making handsigns)

Ataxic dysarthria: irregular AMRs, not likely to have islands of effort-free speech, automatic speech no different than volitional speech, rarely grope for and do not attempt to self-correct articulatory gestures