Dysarthria

Dysarthria is a group of motor speech disorders resulting from weakness, paralysis, or impaired coordination of the muscles used for speech production. It can affect any or all of the speech subsystems: respiration, phonation, resonance, articulation, and prosody. Dysarthria is caused by damage to the central or peripheral nervous system and can result from stroke, traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease, ALS, multiple sclerosis, or other neurological conditions.

The presentation of dysarthria varies depending on the type and location of neurological damage. Individuals may present with slurred or imprecise articulation, breathy or strained vocal quality, hypernasality, reduced loudness, abnormal speech rate, and monotone prosody. In severe cases, speech may be unintelligible, requiring augmentative communication strategies.

Speech-language pathologists assess and treat dysarthria using a subsystems approach, addressing specific areas of weakness or impairment. Treatment may include strengthening exercises, compensatory strategies to improve intelligibility, prosthetic devices, and AAC when speech alone is insufficient for functional communication.