Dysarthria

Table adapted with permission from Duffy, J. R. (2013). Motor speech disorders: Substrates, differential diagnosis, and management. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier. Dysarthria Type Distinguishing Perceptual Speech Characteristics Distinguishing Physical Characteristics Flaccid • continuous breathiness • diplophonia • audible inspiration or stridor • nasal emission • short phrases • hypernasality • rapid deterioration and recovery with rest • imprecise alternating motion rates (AMRs) • weakness • flaccidity • atrophy • fasciculations • hypoactive gag reflex • facial myokymia • rapid deterioration and recovery with rest • synkinesis • nasal backflow while swallowing Spastic • slow rate • strained or harsh voice quality • pitch breaks • slow and regular AMRs • pathologic oral reflexes (sucking reflex; snout reflex; jaw jerk reflex) • lability of affect • hypertonia • hyperactive gag reflex Ataxic • irregular articulatory breakdowns • excess and equal stress • distorted vowels • excessive loudness variation • irregular AMRs • dysmetric jaw, face, and tongue AMRs • head tremor Hypokinetic • monopitch • monoloudness • reduced loudness and stress • tendency for rapid or accelerated rate • inappropriate silences • rapidly repeated phonemes • palilalia • rapid, "blurred" AMRs • masked facial expression • tremulous jaw, lips, tongue • reduced range of motion on AMR tasks • resting tremor • rigidity Hyperkinetic • prolonged intervals • sudden forced inspiration/expiration • transient breathi...

In this post, you’ll find dysarthria exercises, strategies, and treatment ideas for your adult speech therapy patients. As always, we include functional materials and step-by-step instructions for you to use during treatment. Bookmark this post to open during treatment or copy and print the resources. For pre-made handouts and materials, visit • When treating dysarthria, focus on the underlying impairment. • Ask yourself these questions: • What signs and symptoms am I seeing in my patient? • Would speech therapy improve their ability to communicate more effectively, efficiently, or naturally? • What subsystem(s) can treatment focus on to help them communicate best? • Should I refer out to ENT or a voice specialist? • Encourage daily homework and encourage caregivers to follow through with listener strategies, including reminding the patient to use their strategies. • Above all, remember that the ultimate goal of dysarthria therapy is to improve the patient’s quality of life—which you can only identify by listening to their wants and needs. Let that guide your decision-making! Treat articulation by using a hierarchy of speech sounds (see examples below). Practice the sound groups that your patient is having difficulty with. During articulation treatment, provide: • Articulatory placement cues • Biofeedback (a mirror, etc.) • Modeling • Encouragement! (“great effort”, “almost there”, “excellent work”) For more articulation exercises and materials, visit Hierarchy of Speech S...

Overview Dysarthria occurs when the muscles you use for speech are weak or you have difficulty controlling them. Dysarthria often causes slurred or slow speech that can be difficult to understand. Common causes of dysarthria include nervous system disorders and conditions that cause facial paralysis or tongue or throat muscle weakness. Certain medications also can cause dysarthria. Symptoms Signs and symptoms of dysarthria vary, depending on the underlying cause and the type of dysarthria. They may include: • Slurred speech • Slow speech • Inability to speak louder than a whisper or speaking too loudly • Rapid speech that is difficult to understand • Nasal, raspy or strained voice • Uneven or abnormal speech rhythm • Uneven speech volume • Monotone speech • Difficulty moving your tongue or facial muscles When to see a doctor Dysarthria can be a sign of a serious condition. See your doctor if you have sudden or unexplained changes in your ability to speak. Causes In dysarthria, you may have difficulty moving the muscles in your mouth, face or upper respiratory system that control speech. Conditions that may lead to dysarthria include: • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease) • Brain injury • Brain tumor • Cerebral palsy • Guillain-Barre syndrome • Head injury • Huntington's disease • Lyme disease • Multiple sclerosis • Muscular dystrophy • Myasthenia gravis • Parkinson's disease • Stroke • Wilson's disease Some medications, such as certain sedatives an...

Dysarthria is a collective term for a group of speech disorders that occur as a result of muscle weakness. People with dysarthria have neurological damage that weakens the muscles necessary for speech. The neurological damage underlying dysarthria may occur as a result of a Dysarthria shares many of its symptoms with other types of neurological disorders, such as aphasia, dysphasia, and apraxia. Aphasia and dysphasia affect a person’s ability to understand or produce language. These disorders result from damage to the language centers within the brain. Apraxia affects a person’s ability to produce speech and results from damage to the part of the brain that plays a role in planning speech. Dysarthria is a distinct speech disorder that specifically involves muscle weakness. Read on to learn more about the causes, types, and symptoms of dysarthria, as well as the treatment options available. Share on Pinterest A person with dysarthria may find it easier to communicate in a quiet place. Dysarthria occurs when damage to the nervous system weakens the muscles that produce speech sounds. It may affect the muscles in one or more of the following areas: • face • lips • tongue • throat • upper respiratory tract The neurological damage that causes dysarthria can occur due to: • neurological conditions, such as • brain tumors • trauma from injuries to the head or neck, as well as repeated blunt force impacts to the skull • inflammatory conditions, such as autoimmune diseases, • vascu...

2 years ago by Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder that has a significant range in terms of its severity. There are actually 7 different classifications of dysarthria and we will discuss the clinical implications of each. Additionally, we will look at how dysarthria differs from other motor speech disorders. What is Dysarthria? Dysarthria is caused by muscle weakness or the inability to control the muscles related to speech. Speech appears slurred or unintelligible to the listener. Dysarthria can mildly affect the way speech is understood or it can be quite severe, making it difficult to understand one’s speech. Dysarthria can also impact the coordination of movement that involves respiration, phonation, resonance, and prosody. These are all components that contribute to the way that one speaks and communicates oral messages. • Respiration - the air we breathe in and out; the power for speech production • Phonation - the air we produce that vibrates the vocal cords • Resonance - the air shaped by the oral and nasal cavities • Prosody - the rhythm and intonation of speech Causes of Dysarthria Dysarthria causes speech muscles (sometimes called articulators - lips, tongue, cheeks, etc.) to be weak, in addition to difficulties with the components mentioned above. This is secondary to neuromuscular disturbance/damage to the brain. Dysarthria does not occur alone, meaning an individual has dysarthria as a result of something. It can be congenital (present at birth) or occur fo...

Dysarthria is a speech disorder caused by muscle problems. It can make it hard to talk. People may have trouble understanding what you say. Speech-language pathologists, or SLPs, can help. On this page • • • • • • • We use many muscles to talk. These include muscles in our face, lips, tongue, and throat—as well as muscles for breathing. It is harder to talk when these muscles don’t work well. Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder. This happens when brain or nerve damage changes the way your muscles work. It can be mild to severe. Children and adults can have dysarthria. There are many reasons people have trouble talking. Dysarthria can happen with other speech and language problems. You may have If you have dysarthria, you may experience any of these symptoms • Your speech sounds different than before you had any damage to your brain or nerves. • You say words in a way that is hard for others to understand. • You "slur" or "mumble" when you talk. • You talk too slowly or too fast. • You talk to softly or too loudly. • You have problems moving your tongue, lips, and jaw. • You sound "robotic" or "choppy." • You sound hoarse or breathy. • You sound like you have a stuffy nose or are talking out of your nose. Changes in the brain and nerves cause dysarthria. It can happen at birth or after an illness or injury. Anything that causes brain or nerve damage can cause dysarthria, such as • amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS • brain injury • cerebral palsy • Huntington's disease...