Motor speech disorders

Motor speech disorders are a family of disorders characterized by the body's physical inability to produce speech. These disorders can be caused by a variety of conditions, including neurological disorders, injuries, and diseases. They are typically divided into two main categories: dysarthria and apraxia of speech.

Dysarthria

Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder that results from a neurological injury of the motor component of the motor-speech system. It is characterized by poor articulation of phonemes. In other words, the complexity of the movements required for speech are disrupted.

Apraxia of Speech

Apraxia of Speech is a motor speech disorder where individuals have difficulty with the motor planning to form the complex and precise motor movements of the articulatory apparatus required for intelligible speech.

Causes

Motor speech disorders can be caused by a variety of conditions, including stroke, brain injury, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disease, and Lyme disease.

Treatment

Treatment for motor speech disorders typically involves speech therapy, where a speech-language pathologist works with the individual to improve speech. Other treatments may include medication, surgery, or devices that assist with speech.

See Also

• Speech disorder
• Speech-language pathology
• Neurological disorder
• Stroke
• Brain injury