Motor Speech Disorders

Apraxia of Speech and Dysarthria

         
   
  • Apraxia and dysarthria are motor speech disorders that impact intelligiblity of speech sounds. 
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  • An individual may have apraxia, dysarthria, or both of these diagnoses.  
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  • Differential diagnosis is important as treatment varies depending on the underlying problem.
    
   

 

Apraxia of Speech is a neurological speech disorder which causes a breakdown in the motor planning required for speech production.  That is, the patient may know what he or she wants to say, but when attempting verbal production the sounds do not project as the individual expected.  Muscle weakness is not a significant concern in those who have a sole diagnosis of apraxia.  Muscles prove to be healthy and strong during involuntary movements such as sneezing and chewing.  The breakdown in ability is seen during tasks that are voluntary, or executed on command.  Sound errors tend to be inconsistent, and a person who has apraxia is commonly difficult to understand.  If left untreated, the individual can become frustrated and even refuse to try speaking.

    
         
    Dysarthria is diagnosed when a patient presents with weakness of his or her articulators.  This problem can affect all aspects of articulation including respiration (breathing) and phonation (use of voice).  Sound errors tend to be consistent with dysarthria and the quality of speech is slurred as though the person is speaking with marbles in the mouth.    
         
   
  • Both of these motor speech disorders can be treated and improved through specialized therapy provided by a qualified speech-language pathologist. 
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  • For children, the younger a child starts treatment the better. 
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  • Early intervention can help remediate these problems to the fullest.
    

 

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