Difficulty Speaking (Dysarthria)

Dysarthria result from a variety of neurological disturbances and can range from mild difficulty enunciating words to sounding like speaking with marbles in one’s mouth. Speech can sound garbled, and unclear.

Weakness, spasticity, and ataxia of the muscles of the lips, tongue, mandible, soft palate, vocal cords and diaphragm can all contribute to this problem. It may present as slow or garbled speech, difficulty with voice volume and projection, or difficulties chewing and even swallowing. Dysarthria may also present in episodic occurrences that recur up to several times a day for short periods of time.

Management

A speech and language pathologist may be able to assess and suggest interventions to improve communication ability.

Key Healthcare Professionals

• Speech language pathologist