Dysarthria: Causes, Symptoms And Treatment
Dysarthria causes a series of difficulties when communicating with other people. Today we will discover what are the causes of this disorder, its symptoms and possible treatments.
Communication disorders, such as stuttering, can be due to different problems. In this case, we are going to talk about dysarthria, a term that you have probably never heard and that refers to a disease in which the muscles that allow sounds to be articulated are compromised.
Dysarthria has different causes and symptoms that it is important that we know how to identify. Thus, the sooner this disease is diagnosed, the sooner we can start a treatment that allows us to work with this disorder and improve it.
Causes of dysarthria
To expose the causes of dysarthria, we will take as a reference the article Dysarthria . In it different experiences appear that can cause the appearance of this disorder. We are going to classify them as follows:
- Parkinson’s disease : slowing and slowing of movement, as well as the tremor that occurs at rest, can cause monotonous articulation of sounds, decreased volume of the voice, and a lack of accentuation of words.
- Brain Injury : A head injury can cause a brain injury that causes dysarthria with a nasalized voice, frequently interrupted word articulation, or a disturbance in word stress.
- Other diseases : degenerative diseases and also tumors that can form in the brain can cause a distortion when pronouncing consonants, slowness when talking to other people and a voice that comes out with difficulty.
These are some of the causes of dysarthria but there are many more. A stroke, cerebral palsy or Huntington’s disease can cause some of the symptoms that we have already seen, but which we will discuss in a much more extensive way below.
The most characteristic symptoms
We have seen in the previous section some of the symptoms that can manifest in dysarthria. However, we are going to see them in a much more extensive way, some are collected in the article Characteristics of speech, language and swallowing in Huntington’s disease .
- Speak in whispers : the person with dysarthria is unable to raise his voice and is unable to speak in a normal tone.
- Nasalized voice : without being constipated, or having any other problem that prevents the passage of air through the nose, the person with this disorder tends to speak with a nasalized voice, in addition, in a very obvious way.
- Stammering when speaking : the sounds of the place words are changed or even suppressed.
- Irregular rhythm : the person with dysarthria can speak very fast, making it very difficult to understand what he is saying. You can also alternate this with a very slow pace.
- Monotony in speech : either to ask or to show surprise, the voice always maintains the same tone.
This symptomatology needs to be brought to the attention of a doctor who, after performing the tests that he considers appropriate, will determine if he is facing a case of dysarthria. Once this is conclusive, there are different ways to approach this disorder.
Treatment of dysarthria
Treatments for dysarthria will depend on the causes and what the doctor considers best for the successful outcome of the patient. However, there is a professional who usually has a fundamental intervention such as speech therapists.
These work with various exercises to improve communication (breathing, phonation, prosody, relaxation, etc.), which allows reducing babbling, correcting the rhythm as much as possible and reducing monotony when communicating.
Also, psychologists usually intervene, since people with dysarthria can become isolated and suffer depression due to the symptoms they present. In the event that this disease is of high severity, it may require surgical intervention.
We hope that this article has helped you to learn about a communication disorder that is not so often heard. Also, in the presence of any of the symptoms mentioned above, do not hesitate to go to your trusted doctor.
