Rehabilitation in Severe Ideomotor Apraxia Using Sensory Stimulation Strategies: A Single-Case Experimental Design Study

Abstract

This study was designed to evaluate the treatment of a young head-injured woman with ideomotor apraxia. An ABA (baseline, intervention, baseline) single-case experimental design was employed to evaluate the impact of sensory stimulation on motor performance, using a range of measures including a simple timed task and active finger and hand movements measured by goniometry. A key finding was the extent of variance in performance day by day in both the baseline and intervention phases, although a reduction in that variability was achieved in the intervention phase of the study. Improvements were noted in motor performance across all the measures in the intervention phase of the study, although such improvements could not be attributed to sensory stimulation procedures alone. Improvements in motor performance were found immediately following sensory stimulation procedures, but no carryover was noted from one day to the next. This study suggests that practice in motor performance could enhance specific actions in people with ideomotor apraxia.