Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Health Service: Caring for a healthier community

Your health: Acquired speech disorders (dysarthria)



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A speech difficulty is characterised by slow, weak, imprecise or uncoordinated movements of the speech muscles (i.e. the lips, tongue, cheek and hard/soft palate). This is also called "dysarthria".

What is an acquired speech disorder?

A speech difficulty is characterised by slow, weak, imprecise or uncoordinated movements of the speech muscles (i.e. the lips, tongue, cheek and hard/soft palate).

A person with a speech disorder will usually have no difficulty understanding what is said and will know what they are trying to say. It is for this reason, that sufferers can sometimes become frustrated.

What causes an acquired speech disorder?

It results from damage to parts of the nervous system which are responsible for moving the muscles of speech. Different causes include:

  • Stroke, head injury and tumours
  • Neuromuscular diseases such as Cerebral Palsy or Parkinson’s Disease)
  • Developmental speech conditions (present from birth)

How does this affect communication?

One’s speech loses clarity and becomes harder to understand. There are differences in the types and severity of the disorder and so there are many different ways that a person may sound. These include:

  • Slurred speech
  • Slow, effortful speech
  • Changes in the pitch, rhythm and loudness of speech
  • Speech that sounds nasal
  • Voice that sounds breathy or harsh

What are the consequences of an acquired speech disorder?

  • Difficulty getting message across
  • Being perceived as ‘less intelligent’ than they were prior to the disorder
  • Difficulty in social situations can cause social relationships to be affected
  • Poor quality of life

How can a Speech Pathologist help?

The main goal of treatment is to help the person with the speech disorder communicate as clearly and efficiently as possible. This may include:

  • Providing strategies to enhance a person’s ability to make themselves understood, such as talking in short sentences or taking more breaths
  • Providing exercises to assist with strengthening the affected muscles
  • If dysarthria (acquired speech disorder) is severe, assisting the person in using alternate forms of communication, e.g. use of gesture, sign language or communication aids, such as picture cards.

Contact details for Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Health Service Speech Pathology are on this website.

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Last updated 11 May 2005

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