Dysarthria Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

What Is Dysarthria?

Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder resulting from neurological injury of the motor component of the motor-speech system.

Dysarthria results in weakening of the muscles used for speech and therefore can result in slurry speech.

Causes Of Dysarthria:

Dysarthria can result from a number of conditions, which include the following:

• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease)
• Brain injury
• Brain tumor
• Cerebral palsy
• Guillain-Barre syndrome
• Head injury
• Huntington’s disease
• Lyme disease
• Multiple sclerosis
• Muscular dystrophy
• Myasthenia gravis
• Parkinson’s disease
• Stroke
• Wilson’s disease
• Alcohol intoxication

Symptoms Of Dysarthria:

Some common symptoms may include the following:

• Slurred speech
• Slow speech
• Inability to speak louder than a whisper or speaking too loudly
• Rapid speech that is difficult to understand
• Nasal, raspy or strained voice
• Uneven or abnormal speech rhythm
• Uneven speech volume
• Monotone speech
• Difficulty moving your tongue or facial muscles

Diagnosis Of Dysarthria:

The following tests and exams help in diagnosing Dysarthria:

• Blood tests for toxins or vitamin levels
• Imaging tests

1. MRI
2. CT scans

• Nerve conduction studies and electromyogram to check the electrical function of the nerves or muscles
• Swallowing study, which may include x-rays and drinking a special liquid
• Laryngoscopy
• Neuropsychological tests.
• Brain biopsy
• Lumbar puncture (spinal tap)

Treatment Of Dysarthria:

The only treatment available for Dysarthria is speech and language therapy.

Skills learnt in this therapy include:

• Safe chewing or swallowing techniques, if needed
• To avoid conversations when you are tired
• To repeat sounds over and over again so you can learn mouth movements
• To speak slowly, use a louder voice, and pause to make sure other people understand
• What to do when you feel frustrated while speaking

By : Natural Health News