What is a key symptom of apraxia of speech during articulation?

A key symptom of apraxia of speech during articulation is the presence of consistent groping attempts. This groping behavior occurs as individuals struggle to coordinate the movements necessary for speech. They may exhibit visible actions in which they attempt to find the correct position of the articulators (lips, tongue, etc.) but are unable to produce the sounds accurately. This reflects the underlying motor planning difficulties characteristic of apraxia, where the brain struggles to send the appropriate signals to the muscles involved in speech production.

In contrast, rapid speech production is typically not associated with apraxia; rather, patients often struggle to initiate or produce speech in a smooth manner. Also, while difficulties in maintaining stress on syllables might be seen in other speech disorders, it is not a defining feature of apraxia of speech. Similarly, effortless articulation is an indicator of a fluent speech disorder, which is fundamentally different from the difficulties seen in apraxia, where speech is often slow and laborious.