Progress in Global aphasia stereotypies and apraxia


In global aphasia with severe apraxia, what someone says may be the same words or phrases over and over. In this example, the client says "I know" and "all right" as his stereotypies using varying intonation. (It has different emphasis and tone based on the situation). While this client was five years post-stroke, he learned several new words and phrases in intensive aphasia treatment. Intensive treatment was important to 'break' the stereotypie cycle, because you can't learn a new speech pattern if the old, overlearned pattern keeps getting in the way. The client must become more aware of what he wants to say and notice what he's saying. He learned to stop himself when he noticed he wasn't saying what he wanted to say. Making progress with global aphasia with severe apraxia is a multi-step process that takes specific practice over a short and then longer period of time.