Dysarthria Health Dictionary

Professionally trained speech therapists assist, diagnose and treat the whole spectrum of acquired or developmental communication disorders. They work in medical and education establishments, often in an advisory or consultative capacity. The medical conditions in which speech therapy is employed include: dysgraphia, DYSLEXIA, DYSARTHRIA, DYSPHASIA, DYSPHONIA, DYSPRAXIA, AUTISM, BELL’S PALSY, CEREBRAL PALSY, DEAFNESS, disordered language, delayed speech, disordered speech, DOWN’S (DOWN) SYNDROME, LARYNGECTOMY, LEARNING DISABILITY, MACROGLOSSIA, MOTOR NEURONE DISEASE (MND), malformations of the PALATE, PARKINSONISM, STAMMERING, STROKE and disorders of voice production.

Speech therapists form a small independent profession, most of whom work for the National Health Service in community clinics, general practices and hospitals. They may also work in schools or in units for the handicapped, paediatric assessment centres, language units attached to primary schools, adult training centres and day centres for the elderly.

A speech therapist undergoes a four-year degree course which covers the study of disorders of communication in children and adults, phonetics and linguistics, anatomy and physiology, psychology and many other related subjects. Further information on training can be obtained from the College of Speech Therapists.

If the parents of a child are concerned about their child’s speech, they may approach a speech therapist for assessment and guidance. Their general practitioner will be able to give them local addresses or they should contact the district speech therapist. Adults are usually referred by hospital consultants.

The College of Speech Therapists keeps a register of all those who have passed a recognised degree or equivalent quali?cation in speech therapy. It will be able to direct you to your nearest NHS or private speech therapist.... speech therapy

Jerky, staggering gait and other uncoordinated movements caused by a disease of or damage to the cerebellum. Other features include dysarthria (slurred speech), hand tremor, and nystagmus (abnormal jerky eye movements). Possible causes include stroke, multiple sclerosis, a brain tumour, damage caused by alcohol dependence, and degeneration of the cerebellum due to an inherited disorder.... cerebellar ataxia

A term used if a baby or young child has not achieved new abilities within the normal time range. Normally, new abilities and new patterns of behaviour appear at given ages, and existing patterns of behaviour change and sometimes disappear (see child development).

Delays vary in severity and may affect the development of hand–eye coordination, walking, listening, language, speech, or social interaction. Delay may first be noticed by parents or detected during a routine developmental check.

There are many causes of developmental delay. A child who is late in most aspects of development usually has a generalized problem. This may be due to severe visual or hearing impairment, limited intellectual abilities (see learning difficulties), or damage to the brain before, during, or after birth.

Specific areas of delay may occur in movement and walking. Often there is no serious cause. However, specific causes may include muscular dystrophy and spina bifida. Delay in developing manipulative skills is often due to lack of adequate stimulation.

A lack of response to sound may be due to deafness. Autism is a rare cause of unresponsiveness to the human voice although hearing is normal. A hearing problem may cause delayed speech. Twins are often late talkers. Any generalized difficulty with muscle control can affect speech production; this may occur in children with cerebral palsy. Damage to, or structural defects of, the speech muscles, larynx (voice box), or mouth may also cause speech difficulties, as may any disorder affecting the speech area of the brain (see aphasia; dysarthria; dysphonia; speech disorders). Delay in bladder and bowel control have many possible causes (see encopresis; enuresis; soiling).

A child who shows signs of developmental delay should undergo a full assessment by a paediatrician.... developmental delay

The body system that gathers and stores information and is in overall control of the body.

The brain and spinal cord form the central nervous system (CNS), which consists of billions of interconnected neurons (nerve cells). Input of information to the CNS comes from the sense organs. Motor instructions are sent out to skeletal muscles, the muscles controlling speech, internal organs and glands, and the sweat glands in the skin. This information is carried along nerves that fan out from the CNS to the entire body. Each nerve is a bundle consisting of the axons (filamentous projections) of many individual neurons.

In addition to the nervous system’s anatomical divisions, there are various functional divisions. Two of the most important are the autonomic nervous system, concerned with the automatic (unconscious) regulation of internal body functioning, and the somatic nervous system, which controls the muscles responsible for voluntary movement.

The overall function of the nervous system is to gather and analyse information about the external environment and the body’s internal state, and to initiate appropriate responses, such as avoiding physical danger.

The nervous system functions largely through automatic responses to stimuli (see reflex), although voluntary actions can also be initiated through the activity of higher, conscious areas of the brain.

Disorders of the nervous system may result from damage to or dysfunction of its component parts (see brain; spinal cord; neuropathy; nerve injury). They may also be due to impairment of sensory, analytical, or memory functions (see vision, disorders of; deafness; numbness; anosmia; agnosia; amnesia), or of motor functions (see aphasia; dysarthria; ataxia). ... nervous system

(dysphasia) n. a disorder of language affecting the generation and content of speech and its understanding (it is not a disorder of articulation: see dysarthria). It is caused by damage to the language-dominant half of the brain, which is usually the left hemisphere in a right-handed person. In expressive aphasia there is difficulty in producing language; in receptive aphasia there is difficulty with the comprehension of the spoken word. Aphasia is commonly accompanied by difficulties in reading and writing. —aphasic adj.... aphasia

acute paralysis, dysphagia, and dysarthria resulting from damage to the myelin sheaths of nerve cells in the brainstem. It occurs most commonly as a complication of rapid correction of severe hyponatraemia (low serum sodium).... central pontine myelinolysis

n. difficulty in voice production. This may be due to a disorder of the larynx, pharynx, tongue, or mouth, or it may be *psychogenic. Compare dysarthria; aphasia.... dysphonia

(GPI, general paresis) a stage of tertiary *syphilis characterized by *dementia and spastic weakness of the limbs (paresis). Deafness, epilepsy, and *dysarthria may occur. The infecting organism can be detected in the brain cells and tests for syphilis in blood and cerebrospinal fluid are usually positive. When the symptoms are combined with those of *tabes dorsalis, the resulting condition is called tabo-paresis. The condition is now rare due to widespread treatment of earlier stages with penicillin and other antibiotics.... general paralysis of the insane

an autosomal *dominant condition that is caused by a mutation in the *prion protein gene and resembles *Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Patients present with cerebellar dysfunction (*ataxia and *dysarthria) and later develop dementia. They continue to deteriorate over several years, in contrast with patients with CJD, who deteriorate rapidly over periods of less than 12 months. [J. G. Gerstmann]... gerstmann–straussler–scheinker syndrome

(MS, disseminated sclerosis) a chronic disease of the nervous system affecting young and middle-aged adults. The *myelin sheaths surrounding nerves in the brain and spinal cord are damaged, which affects the function of the nerves involved. The course of the illness is usually characterized by recurrent relapses followed by remissions, but a proportion of patients run a chronic progressive course. The disease affects different parts of the brain and spinal cord, resulting in typically scattered symptoms. These include unsteady gait and shaky movements of the limbs (ataxia), abnormal eye movements (e.g. *nystagmus and internuclear *ophthalmoplegia), defects in speech pronunciation (dysarthria), spastic weakness, and *retrobulbar neuritis. The underlying cause of the nerve damage remains unknown, but an autoimmune process may be involved. Steroid treatment may be used in an acute relapse. *Interferon beta and *glatiramer acetate given by regular self-administered injections reduce the relapse rate by 30% in some patients. Newer monoclonal antibody treatments are also available.... multiple sclerosis

a chronic disease marked by abnormal fatigability and weakness of selected muscles, which is relieved by rest. The degree of fatigue is so extreme that these muscles are temporarily paralysed. The muscles initially affected are those around the eyes, mouth, and throat, resulting in drooping of the upper eyelids (*ptosis), double vision, *dysarthria, and *dysphagia. Myasthenia gravis is an *autoimmune disease in which acetylcholine-receptor autoantibodies bind to cholinergic receptors on muscle cells, which impairs the ability of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine to induce muscular contraction. Treatment with *anticholinesterase drugs and surgical removal of the thymus in younger patients (under the age of 45 years) lessen the severity of the symptoms. Steroid therapy, intravenous immunoglobulin treatment, and plasma exchange may be used to treat the more severely affected patients.... myasthenia gravis