Non-Standardized Assessment of Apraxia
Gesture Production
Various types of gesture production can be used as a non-standardized way of testing for the presence of apraxia (from Table 8.4 found in Quintana, 2008, 249).
1) Gesture to command.
1) Gesture to command.
- Including both transitive gestures (which involve tools) and intransitive gestures (which are sociocultural) (Tempest & Roden, 2008).
- Transitive Gesture Example: "Show me how you would brush your hair, using this brush."
- Intransitive Gesture Example: "Show me how you would wave goodbye."
- Example: therapist produces a gesture and asks the client to "Do it the same way I do it."
- Example: Therapist shows client a toothbrush and says "Show me how you use this."
- Proximal Gesture Example: "Show me how you bounce a ball"
- Distal Gesture Example: "Show me how you put on make up"
- Example: Therapist shows client object representing an incomplete action (task: sawing, shown a partially cut piece of wood), client must choose the correct tool from 3 options (one of which is a saw)
- Example: Therapist makes a gesture and asks client "Is this the correct way to ... use this pair of scissors?".
- Example: Therapist make a gesture and asks client "Tell me what I am doing" or "What tool am I using?"
- Example: Client given hammer and asked to "Show me how you would use this".
- Example: Therapist tells client to "Fold a letter, put it in an envelope, seal the envelope, and place a stamp on it" or "Put batteries in a flashlight and turn it on".
Watch this video for an example of gesture production testing: |
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Differentiating between Ideomotor and Ideational Apraxia
Consider these questions (taken from Gillen, 2009, p.118)
- "Does the client have an idea of what to do (ideation)?"
- "Does the client know which objects to use (ideation)?"
- "Does the client know how to perform or how to use the objects (ideation)?"
- "Do the movements appear to be clumsy (motoric)?"
- "Can the client adjust their grasp according to altered requirements during object use (motoric)?"
- "Are there problems with sequencing and organization of activity steps (ideation)?"
- "Are there problems with sequencing of movements (motoric)?"