Dysarthria Vs Other Conditions
What characteristics are typically preserved in a person with dysarthria?
Auditory comprehension and reading comprehension are preserved. There are typically no word-finding difficulties.
What are the clinical characteristics of flaccid dysarthria?
Weakness, Hypotonia and Reduced Reflexes, Atrophy, Fasciculations and Fibrillations, & Progressive Weakness with Use
What are the characteristics of Spastic Dysarthria?
Spasticity, slowness, and weakness in vocal-tract muscles.
What nonspeech oral mechanism does Glossopharyngeal Nerve Lesions affect?
Reduced gag reflex and affects swallowing
Which of the two can co-occur?
Mild dysarthria with aphasia? Or apraxia and dysarthria?
BOTH!
Is it true or false that the site of lesion will help you in distinguishing between aphasia and dysarthria?
True
What causes flaccid dysarthria?
Impairment of lower motor neurons in the cranial or spinal nerves because of damage to the peripheral nervous system.
What are 2 conditions that causes bilateral damage to the direct and indirect pathways?
Strokes, Degenerative diseases, Traumatic head injury, Infections of brain tissue, Tumors
Name 3 ways Vagus Nerve Lesions impact speech?
Breathiness, aphonia, hoarseness, reduced loudness, diplophonia, reduced pitch, pitch breaks, short phrases, inhalatory stridor
What is a condition often associated with facial nerve lesions in flaccid dysarthria?
Bell's Palsy
Dysarthria Vs Apraxia
Dysarthria: Issues with motor execution
Apraxia of Speech: Issues with motor planning
Name at least 3 causes of flaccid dysarthria
Degenerative diseases, Trauma, Muscle Disease, Vascular Disorders, Tumor, Neuromuscular Junction Disease, Infectious Processes, Demyelinating Disease, Anatomic Anomalies
Is it true or false that articulation, phonation, resonance, and prosody are affected more than respiration?
True
What can Spinal Nerve Lesions affect?
It can affect respiration, leading to issues with shallow breathing and restrictions in chest wall & abdominal expansion.
What may people with spinal cord lesions be unable to do?
They may be unable to hold their breath.
What are the types of Dysarthrias?
Flaccid, Spastic, Ataxic, and Unilateral upper motor Neuron, hypokinetic, hyperkinetic (dystonia and choreoathetosis), and mixed.
What are the nonspeech characteristics of a trigeminal nerve lesion?
Jaw deviation when opened (unilateral). The jaw hangs open at rest, and there may be difficulty closing or moving the jaw (bilateral). Decreased sensation of the face, cheek, tongue, teeth, or palate (bilateral).
What is the neurological basis for spastic dysarthria?
There is bilateral damage to upper motor neuron tracts of pyramidal/extrapyramidal neural pathways.
What are the effects of a hypoglossal nerve (CN XII) lesion?
Tongue weakness, atrophy, deviation, and fasciculations lead to imprecise articulations.
Speech Characteristics of Flaccid Dysarthria are:
- Slow-labored articulation
- Marked degrees of hypernasal resonance
- Hoarse-breathy phonation
- Slow speech rate
What factors are considered when differentiating dysarthria from apraxia of speech?
- Site of the lesion
- Speech characteristics
- Pattern and type of articulatory errors
- Movement deficits
What are the nonspeech oral mech characteristics associated with unilateral facial nerve damage?
At rest, there is sagging on the affected side, an unwrinkled forehead, drooped eyebrow, the eye open and unblinking, and drooling. When the person smiles, the face retracts toward the intact side.
What can result from damage to the pyramidal and extrapyramidal systems?
Pyramidal damage results to weak/slow skilled movements.
Extrapyramidal system damage results in weakness, increased muscle tone (spasticity), and reflexes that are abnormal.
How does Accessory Nerve Lesions impact bilateral damage?
There is shoulder weakness that is significant. Also, head drooping leads to indirect and mildly affected respiration, phonation, and resonance.
What are the key evaluation tasks for flaccid dysarthria?
Conversational speech and reading, Alternate motion rates (AMRs), Prolonged vowel, and Speech stress test.