Effect of Apraxia on the Ability to Learn One-Handed Shoe Tying

Abstract

This study examined the ability of participants with left-hemisphere cerebrovascular accident (LCVA) damage to learn one-handed shoe tying. Participants with LCVA with and without apraxia and control participants were taught how to tie their shoes with one hand. Retention was assessed after a 5-minute interval during which participants performed other tasks. All groups differed significantly in regard to the number of trials to learn the task. However, on the retention task, the control adults and participants with LCVA without apraxia required similar numbers of trials while the participants with LCVA and apraxia required significantly more trials than the other two groups. All groups required fewer trials on the retention task than the learning task.