Which statement correctly differentiates AOS from aphasia?

Which statement correctly differentiates AOS from aphasia?

• A. AOS has consistent errors; aphasia's errors are inconsistent
• B. AOS has inconsistent errors; aphasia's errors are consistent
• C. Both disorders have identical error patterns
• D. AOS and aphasia are unrelated to speech production errors

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is how errors behave when the same word or utterance is attempted again and again. In apraxia of speech, the difficulty is in planning and programming the movements for speech, so the wrong articulation tends to repeat in a stable, recognizable way across trials—errors are consistent. In aphasia, the trouble lies in language formulation, so the errors can shift from one attempt to the next—different paraphasias or word-finding failures appear on repeats. This contrast—consistent errors in AOS versus variable errors in aphasia—makes the chosen statement the best fit. The other notions clash with how motor planning versus language processing contribute to speech errors.

The main idea here is how errors behave when the same word or utterance is attempted again and again. In apraxia of speech, the difficulty is in planning and programming the movements for speech, so the wrong articulation tends to repeat in a stable, recognizable way across trials—errors are consistent. In aphasia, the trouble lies in language formulation, so the errors can shift from one attempt to the next—different paraphasias or word-finding failures appear on repeats. This contrast—consistent errors in AOS versus variable errors in aphasia—makes the chosen statement the best fit. The other notions clash with how motor planning versus language processing contribute to speech errors.