Differentiation of the presence and severity of apraxia of speech in English and Spanish speakers

As the Spanish speaking population in the U.S. increases, the number of individuals with AOS presenting with symptoms of AOS will increase. Assessment and treatment of AOS in Spanish is critical to allow individuals with AOS to receive appropriate speech and language services. A current assessment tool, the Apraxia of Speech Rating Scale (ASRS-V1), was developed for use with English-speaking individuals (Strand, Duffy, Clark, & Josephs, 2014). No clinical assessment exists that quantifies the presence or absence, relative frequency, and severity of characteristics associated with AOS in Spanish speaking individuals. The purpose of this report is to explore the linguistic differences between English and Spanish as they relate to the presence and severity of characteristics associated with AOS in English and Spanish monolingual and English-Spanish bilingual speakers.