This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Butler, J A Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Butler, J A Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

How comparable are tests of apraxia?

Oxford Brookes University, School of Health Care, Headington, Oxford OX3 7PE, UK; jabutler{at}brookes.ac.uk

Objective: To compare commonly used tests for the diagnosis of apraxia. Measures: People with unilateral left hemisphere lesions, diagnosed with apraxia, were compared in their scoring on commonly used tests for apraxia (n = 17).

Setting: Rivermead Rehabilitation Centre, Oxford, England, a specialist inpatient neurological unit.

Results: Production moment correlations were low, or did not reach signi"cance level between three tests for ideomotor apraxia (r = 0.46 p < 0.05 one-tailed test, r = 0.005 NS, r = –0.23 NS, df = 15). Six of the seventeen apraxic patients scored above cut-off point on one test, but below cut-off point on others, indicating that commonly used tests for apraxia may not be reliable for diagnosis if used singly. Internal consistency within tests was also variable (Cronbach’s a 0.72, 0.85, 0.85).

Conclusion: The commonly used tests for apraxia may identify different people as ‘apraxic’, possibly by eliciting different aspects of apraxia and identifying potential subtypes of the condition. The use of multiple tests is, therefore, recommended in order to identify people with apraxia. The need for repeat reliability studies for apraxia assessments, together with a search for a ‘gold standard’ test is apparent.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Collicutt McGrath Fear of falling after brain injury Clinical Rehabilitation, July 1, 2008; 22(7): 635 - 645. [Abstract] [PDF]

				A. Zwinkels, C. Geusgens, P. van de Sande, and C. van Heugten Assessment of apraxia: inter-rater reliability of a new apraxia test, association between apraxia and other cognitive deficits and prevalence of apraxia in a rehabilitation setting Clinical Rehabilitation, July 1, 2004; 18(7): 819 - 827. [Abstract] [PDF]