DYSARTHRIA

Question 1

Dysarthrias:

Answer 1

Group of related motor speech disorders characterized by impaired muscular control over the speech mechanism as a result of central or peripheral nervous system damage.

Question 2

Primary contributors to decreased intelligibility in dysarthrias:

Answer 2

• Distorted or omitted consonants and vowels.
• Prolonged phonemes.
• Erratic articulation performance.

Question 3

4 basic approaches to dysarthria therapy:

Answer 3

1. Behavior modification
2. Prosthetic devices
3. Medical and surgical procedures
4. Augmentative/alternative devices

Question 4

6 major types of dysarthrias:

Answer 4

1. Flaccid
2. Spastic
3. Ataxic
4. Hypokinetic
5. Hyperkinetic
6. Mixed

Question 5

4 motor speech subsystems that can be impaired in dysarthrias:

Answer 5

1. Respiration
2. Phonation
3. Resonance
4. Articulation & Prosody

(Dysarthria is an impairment that may affect ALL motor speech subsystems. Treatment is generally based on the hierarchical organization of these subsystems.)