Alternating Motion Rates (AMRs) are a measure of how rapidly and steadily a person can repeat the same syllable aloud, such as saying “pa-pa-pa” as fast as possible. Clinically, AMRs are used to evaluate the speed and coordination of articulators (lips, tongue, jaw) during rapid alternating movements, often as part of a diadochokinetic rate assessment in motor speech exams. Research shows that AMR tasks are useful for examining motor speech disorders of varying severity, helping to characterize conditions like dysarthria or apraxia of speech.
SLPs use AMRs to assess speech motor control; slow, irregular, or imprecise AMRs can indicate neurological speech deficits and guide diagnosis and therapy for motor speech disorders.
Kim, Yunjung. “Characteristics of AMR in Apraxia of Speech: A Case Study.” Communication Sciences & Disorders 8 (2003).
Wang, Yu-Tsai, Ray D. Kent, Joseph R. Duffy, Jack E. Thomas, and Gary Weismer. “Alternating Motion Rate as an Index of Speech Motor Disorder in Traumatic Brain Injury.” Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics 18 (2004).
