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Difficulty in talking
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What Are Talking Problems?
Speech disorders can affect the way a person creates sounds to form words. Certain voice disorders may also be considered speech disorders.One of the most commonly experienced speech disorders is stuttering. Other speech disorders include apraxia and dysarthria.
Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder in which the muscles that are used to produce speech are damaged, paralyzed, or weakened. The person with dysarthria cannot control their tongue or voice box and may slur words. There are strategies to improve communication.
Common causes of dysarthria include nervous system disorders and conditions that cause facial paralysis or tongue or throat muscle weakness. Certain medications also can cause dysarthria
What are the types of dysarthria?
The type of dysarthria depends on the part of the nervous system affected:
- Central dysarthria:Â Caused by damage to the brain.
- Peripheral dysarthria:Â Caused by damage to what the organs needed for speech.
Symptoms
- 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
How is dysarthria treated?
Your healthcare provider will create a treatment plan for you based on the severity of your symptoms. People with dysarthric speech benefit from speech therapy to improve communication. Speech-language pathologists can also work with your family and loved ones to help them learn how to better communicate with you.
During speech therapy sessions, you can learn:
- Exercises to strengthen mouth muscles.
- Ways to slow down speech.
- Strategies to speak louder, such as using more breath.
- Ways to say sounds clearly.
- Movements to chew and swallow safely.
- Different communication techniques, such as gestures or writing.
How is dysarthria diagnosed?
Your healthcare provider will ask you about your medical history and do a physical exam. A speech-language pathologist may also evaluate you to help figure out how severe the problem is. These providers will check your ability to breathe and move your lips, tongue and face.
- Blow out a candle.
- Count.
- Repeat words and sentences.
- Sing.
- Stick out your tongue.