Dysarthria

DYSARTHRIA WHAT IS DYSARTHRIA? Speech production is a complex process involving the co-ordinated contraction of a large number of muscles controlled by the nerve impulses originating in the motor areas of cerebral cortex. The organs that are involved in speech production are the lips, the tongue, the vocal folds and the diaphragm. When these organs don’t function efficiently, the speech tends to be unclear. One such condition which results owing to the malfunctioning of the speech organs is Dysarthria. Dysarthria can be defined as ‘an impairment in the movement of the muscles of the organs that are concerned with speech production. This is because, the part of the brain that controls these organ movements do not work effectively.’ It is…

As I stroll along the beach I can feel the smooth, damp sand beneath my feet. I am taken in by the soothing atmosphere that encircles me. I close my eyes, letting myself absorb the warm rays of the sun. The glowing horizon slowly fades as it descends into the waves. I am comforted by the sounds of the ocean; the rhythmic pounding of the endless sea. I look into the cloudless cerulean blue sky and see the perfection of life. As I stare into the horizon and watch every wave crash, I am reminded of…

Susan’s main areas of difficulty involve motor speech, which affects her intelligibility. Particularly relating to the larynx, use of the tongue in speech and coordination of the lips and palate. This indicates that Susan is likely experiencing mixed spastic-ataxic dysarthria due to lesions on the upper motor neurone pathway (Wilkinson and Lennox 2005) in the corticobulbar tract which innervates the cranial nerves and the cerebellum (Bethoux et al 2013). Lesions on the upper motor neurone…

Scenario 1 The concerns that I have about this scenario is that CDA has been instructed by their supervising SLP to work on the patient’s speech output due to the severe nature of the patient’s dysarthria, while working on this they are also asked by a different specialty to monitor and document the patient’s ability to drink fluids during the session. It is not noted whether or not a swallowing assessment has been done by the SLP to determine if the patient should be even drinking fluids.…

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…

Sullivan et al. (2000), found that 78% of children who have been diagnosed with CP have speech disorders, which caused delay in their speech development (BOOK). The primary speech impairment of CP patients is dysarthria, a neurologically based speech disorder which is the result of damage to the primary motor function area of the brain (frontal lobe). Dysarthria effects the patient’s speech muscles in speed, strength, steadiness, coordination, precision, tone, and range of motion. There are…

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease that involves motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. ALS is considered to be one of the most common progressive neurological diseases, affecting approximately 20,000 individuals in the United States in a given year (Fried-Oken et al., 2006). Etiology of ALS remains unknown; however, there appears to be an existing genetic component associated with this disease. Changes in speech are first seen in patients with bulbar onset…

According to Palmer (2000), “dietary modification” and “compensatory maneuvers” are all appropriate treatments for dysphagia that is secondary to MS. Depending on what type of MS the patient currently has and the severity level, I would do my best to work on compensatory maneuvers first in an effort to allow the patient to still be able to enjoy life as again, many of life’s moments is centered around food. Also depending on type of MS as well as the severity level, dietary modification and…

CSD 3150: Hyperkinetic Dysarthria of Huntington’s disease Huntington’s disease is a disorder that can be inherited through a defect in a gene in which there is a progressive degeneration of the brain cells. A person’s motor will become impaired, with many moments of uncontrolled involuntary movements such as jerking, imbalance and posture issues, as well as speech and swallowing issues. However, the severity of this disease varies with different stages (asha.org). Cognition is also an issue,…

Spastic CP is caused by brain damage to the upper motor neurons within the pyramidal tract. The cardinal symptoms are stiff muscles that result in difficulty with muscle movement. These patients have both gross and fine motor deficits as well as communication impairments. Spastic dysarthria is seen in 35% of children with spastic CP (Hustad et al., 2010). Their speech and voice is characterized by hypernasality, breathy voice quality, monotonous speech, reduced loudness, and uncontrolled rate…