Dysarthria

Question 1

What is Dysarthria?

Answer 1

Motor speech disorder (range in mild to severe), muscle weakness (face, lips, tongue) due to brain damage, speech impairment due to neuromuscular impairment, caused by paralysis (weakness of the speech musculature), most commonly associated with cerebral palsy in children.

Question 2

What are some characteristics of Dysarthria?
(respiration, artic, phonation, resonance, prosody)

Answer 2

respiration - low volume slow rate of speech, rapid rate of speech,

phonation- hoarseness and/or breathiness.

• articulation - slurred or mumbled speech, educed lingual, labial and mandibular movement,

resonance: hypernasality or hyponasality

prosody: slow rate of speech, rapid rate of speech, monotone

Question 3

What is the etiology of dysarthria?

Answer 3

Stroke, brain injury, tumors, parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (or ASL), Huntington’s disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy.

Question 4

What are the types of dysarthria?

Answer 4

Flaccid dysarthria
Spastic dysarthria

Question 5

What is flaccid dysarthria?

Answer 5

weakness, lack of muscle tone, hypernasality, imprecise consonants, nasal emission, breathiness

Question 6

What is spastic dysarthria?

Answer 6

Spasticity, weakness, limited range of movement, imprecise consonants, monopitch, reduced stress, reduced speech rate, harsh voice, strained phonation)

Question 7

What is the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment approach?

Answer 7

It is a treatment approach for dysarthria. (LSVT): (THINK LOUD, SPEAK LOUD) speech treatment designed for individuals with Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions (cerebral palsy).

Question 8

How does the LSVT approach work?

Answer 8

Studies indicate improvement in vocal loudness, intonation, and voice quality.
Improves respiratory, laryngeal and articulatory function.
Speak LOUD
Treatment occurs in 16 sessions in a month (4 sessions a week)

Question 9

What is the Speech Systems Intelligibility Treatment approach?

Answer 9

It is a motor treatment approach for dysarthria

Question 10

How does the Speech Systems Intelligibility Treatment approach work?

Answer 10

systems-based approach that draws upon the literature on system-based treatments, follow motor learning principles, improved function and co-ordination of the sub-systems of speech (respiration, phonation, resonance, and articulation) are targeted based on the needs of each child.