Abstract
This paper reports the process of acquisition of gesture performance in a severe aphasic patient with apraxia due to subcortical lesions, reports on the factors facilitating gesture production, and discusses the relation of gesture disturbance and apraxia of this case.
The task required in training is to describe actions or objects illustrated in cards using gestures. The patient acquired gesture performance in the following processes: (1) Appearance of voluntary movement in a trial and error manner; (2) Use of body as cue for facilitating gesture production; (3) Acquisition of gross motor patterns; (4) Flexible use of gesture. In this sequence, the next stage seemed to be acquired gradually based on the previous stage. During the acquisition process, verbal cues which have direct connections with gesture had a strong effect on facilitating gesture production. But abstract cues, for example “What do you do with this?”, also have a certain effect on gesture production. This observation suggests that the problem of gesture disturbance of the patient lies not only at the motor level but also at the planning level.
