ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the speech and language disorders that result from neurological damage. Students of neurogenic communication disorders must accept the fact that, despite identification of the localization of brain damage, it is not always possible to identify precisely the type of aphasia that will occur. Language disorders in adults are generally associated with aphasia, right hemisphere brain damage, traumatic brain injury, or dementia. Each of these disorders affects speech and language function in varying ways. Motor speech disorders include the dysarthrias and apraxia. Individuals with apraxia of speech (AOS) have lost the ability to exercise volitional control over the positioning of speech. The sequences of movements for speech are also often affected, as are the sequence of phonemes in words. Unlike the dysarthrias, individuals with AOS do not have significant problems with muscle weakness, slowness, or coordination when producing automatic and reflexive movements.
