Acquired Apraxia of Speech: The Relationship Between Awareness of Errors in Word Productions and Treatment Outcomes

Purpose: Awareness of errors has been considered a clinical feature of acquired apraxia of speech (AOS). However, there is limited research examining error awareness in speakers with AOS. The purpose of this investigation was to examine awareness of errors and explore the relationship between awareness of errors and treatment outcomes in speakers with AOS. Method: Twenty speakers with AOS and aphasia produced mono-and multisyllabic words in a repetition task. Following each production, speakers were asked to judge the accuracy of their production (i.e., correct or incorrect). Then, speakers received Sound Production Treatment. Results: Judgment accuracy of productions for the group ranged from 20% to 96%. There was a weak relationship between judgment accuracy and probe performance at posttreatment (r = .47) and a moderate relationship between judgment accuracy and probe performance at follow-up (r = .53). Conclusion: Findings indicate that speakers with AOS varied in their ability to judge the accuracy of their productions. For some speakers, the ability to judge the accuracy of their productions did not coincide with their production accuracy of treatment stimuli at posttreatment and at follow-up. Further research is needed to explore the relationship between error awareness and treatment outcomes.