Diagnosis & Tests
Either a doctor or a certified speech-language pathologist will be called in to diagnose a possible case of dysarthria. At a typical exam, the patient will give a health care provider their medical history, which should include a list of all medications currently being taken. A physical exam will then be conducted to determine the problem and its severity. A speech-language pathologist would look at the movement of several muscles and structures involved in speech such as the tongue, lips and face. They would also look at the diaphragm and breath support that might be affecting voice quality. Other procedures, like a laryngoscopy in which a tube is placed in the throat to observe the voice box, may be undergone to determine …show more content…
Treatment will be tailored to the individual’s own specific case of dysarthria, depending on the cause of the condition and severity of the symptoms. Occasionally surgery may be justified to fix certain problems, but often it’s a simple matter of speech therapy. Some skills must be learned or relearned. Speech therapy will involve repetition of sounds so that specific mouth movements can be learned and involved muscles can be strengthened. Individuals will learn to avoid conversations when they are tired, chew or swallow a certain way, improve breath support so they can speak with more volume, slow down speech and leave pauses to see if listeners have understood, and deal with frustration while attempting to communicate. In serious cases, some individuals will have to learn alternative forms of communication using computers or hand gestures. It’s also important that people with dysarthria learn to teach others how to communicate with them. They should teach listeners to reduce distractions and try to find a quiet environment, observe the speaker while they talk, pay close attention, inform the speaker of any difficulties with understanding, repeat the parts they did understand, and ask the speaker to write what they mean to say if they still can’t
Either a doctor or a certified speech-language pathologist will be called in to diagnose a possible case of dysarthria. At a typical exam, the patient will give a health care provider their medical history, which should include a list of all medications currently being taken. A physical exam will then be conducted to determine the problem and its severity. A speech-language pathologist would look at the movement of several muscles and structures involved in speech such as the tongue, lips and face. They would also look at the diaphragm and breath support that might be affecting voice quality. Other procedures, like a laryngoscopy in which a tube is placed in the throat to observe the voice box, may be undergone to determine …show more content…
Treatment will be tailored to the individual’s own specific case of dysarthria, depending on the cause of the condition and severity of the symptoms. Occasionally surgery may be justified to fix certain problems, but often it’s a simple matter of speech therapy. Some skills must be learned or relearned. Speech therapy will involve repetition of sounds so that specific mouth movements can be learned and involved muscles can be strengthened. Individuals will learn to avoid conversations when they are tired, chew or swallow a certain way, improve breath support so they can speak with more volume, slow down speech and leave pauses to see if listeners have understood, and deal with frustration while attempting to communicate. In serious cases, some individuals will have to learn alternative forms of communication using computers or hand gestures. It’s also important that people with dysarthria learn to teach others how to communicate with them. They should teach listeners to reduce distractions and try to find a quiet environment, observe the speaker while they talk, pay close attention, inform the speaker of any difficulties with understanding, repeat the parts they did understand, and ask the speaker to write what they mean to say if they still can’t