Dysarthria, caused by damage to the brain that can occur as early as birth, is a disorder that results in impaired motor speech.
Muscles Affected by the Condition
Muscles that are integral to the proper production of speech include the tongue, lips, diaphragm and vocal folds; the impairment of any of these particular muscles, depending on the unique severity and variation of the condition, can result in a unique manifestation of symptoms that indicate the influence of the condition.
Signs of the Condition
In addition to speech that has either become sluggish or slurred, there are number of different symptoms that may also indicate its presence; some of these key signs include a hastened speech rate, a limited range of motion in the lips and jaws, an unusual pitch or rhythm in the speech pattern, or abrupt tonal changes.
Potential Causes
The cause of the condition is generalized as significant damage localized to the brain, which can result from a number of different sources. In a number of cases, the root of the condition stems from inherited muscular dystrophy or cerebral palsy.
Common Comorbid conditions
Some of the notable nervous system-afflicting conditions that can result in the emergence of the condition include multiple sclerosis, Huntington’s disease, Lou Gherig’s disease, Parkinson’s, tumors, strokes, and various forms of miscellaneous brain injuries.
Prevalence
Currently, there is not a sufficient-enough pool of data to determine just what the exact prevalence of the condition is in the general population. The difficulty of determining just how prevalent the condition is in the general population stems from the highly diverse range of different variations in which the condition may possibly manifest in different individuals.
Examinations to Determine the Condition’s Presence
In order to diagnose the condition accurately, a certain evaluation needs to be conducted in order to assess the functionality of a person’s speech capabilities. The evaluation used to examine the working order of speech production in those who may have the condition is carried out by a speech-language pathologist (SLP).
In their evaluation, the SLP’s main areas of examination will be the tongue, face, lips, and the level of support of speech provided by the patient’s natural breathing rate. In order to draw a conclusion with the most confidence, the SLP will test the patient’s speech capability within a range of unique conditions with small contextual differences.
Treatment
The variety of different potential treatments for any one case of the condition will largely depend on the nature of how the condition has uniquely manifested. The treatment that the SLP determines to be the most beneficial for their patient will have to be determined as an accurate fit of the particular severity level of the symptoms.
Ideally, the treatment for the condition can result in breath support improvement, better movement of the tongue and lips, a superior clarity in speech production, potential enhancement of muscle strength, and a host of other potential benefits as well.
Conclusion
Dysarthria can emerge with different levels of severity for different reasons within a diverse range of people, making it one of the more difficult conditions to apply universal answers for. Nevertheless, with the right treatment from a properly-informed SLP, significant speech production improvement is possible.
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