Motor Speech Disorders
Our ability to speak clearly requires the coordination of breathing, voicing, articulation and several other subsystems of speech. Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder that commonly occurs following damage to the nervous system as a result of stroke or other head trauma, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions.
In dysarthria, speech muscles can be weakened, move slowly or else not work together, making speech sound unnatural and difficult to understand. The speech of a person with dysarthria may sound too soft, muffled, slurred, slow or choppy. For others, speech may be loud and harsh sounding. Voice may have a nasal quality or change in pitch. This can affect a person’s ability to be understood, resulting in isolation and frustration.
Speech therapy can help individuals learn strategies to be understood better by others. It can target the subsystems of speech to improve their function and overall coordination. In some cases, alternative communication devices (e.g., amplifiers; letter boards; speech generating devices, etc.) can help to improve outcomes.