A Diagram of a Dysarthric Patient's Brain

What causes Dysarthria?

Dysarthria is a speech impediment caused by problems in one's nervous system. The condition usually comes about with an already existing disease such as:

• Cerebral palsy
• Parkinson's disease
• Lou Gehrig's disease
• Huntington's disease
• Multiple sclerosis

Stroke, brain injuries, tumors, and certain medications can also cause Dysarthria.

http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/DysarthriaCauses.htm

Helpful Journal Articles

These are a few interesting journal articles related to cases about patients experience difficulty in speaking:

Patients' experiences of disruptions associated with post-stroke dysarthria. (COMDISDOME)
International journal of language & communication disorders / Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists, 2008 Mar-Apr, 43(2):135-53

**This article aims toward investigating the physical and psychological effects that dysarthria has on victims of strokes. Researchers found that strokes not only lead to difficulty in speech but also emotional issues and confusion regarding their own social identity.

Listener agreement for auditory-perceptual ratings of dysarthria.(COMDISDOME) Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR, 2007 Dec, 50(6):1481-95

**

Influence of visual information on the intelligibility of dysarthric speech(COMDISDOME) American journal of speech-language pathology / American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2007 Aug, 16(3):222-34

**This article describes a test on whether visual information along with auditory information actually helps individuals who are inflicted with Parkinsons disease and Dysarthria. To help these individuals, researchers found that both auditory and visual information is essential in the rehabilatation of dysarthric patients.

What is Dysarthria?

"Partial loss of the ability to vocalize words as a result of an injury to the part of the brain that is responsible for controlling the larynx or "voice box." The larynx contains the "vocal cords," which allow us to generate the normal sounds of speech. Rarely, dysarthria can also be the result of an injury outside of the brain, that affects the nerves that control the vocal cords, or that affects the vocal cords themselves." (http://stroke.about.com/od/glossary/g/dysarthria.htm)