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Dysarthria

FAQs

What is Dysarthria?

Dysarthria (dis-ar-three-a) is a type of speech disorder and typically includes one or more of the following:

  • Slurred speech
  • Difficulty controlling loudness
  • Nasal sounding speech
  • Monotone voice
  • Effort required to speak more clearly
  • Dysarthria does not affect the ability to understand.

What causes Dysarthria?

Speech involves your lips, tongue and cheek muscles as well as your palate (roof of your mouth) and your voice box. Dysarthria happens because of damage to the nerves that control these muscles.

The nerve damage may be caused by stroke, head injury or other conditions that affect the nervous system eg, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease.

Does anything make it worse?

Speech can become more dysarthric when tired. This is because you have less energy and it takes more effort to make speech clearer.

What treatment is available?

Speech therapy. A Speech and Language Therapist can assess your speech and provide practical suggestions for managing your speech. Your therapist may also recommend exercises.

Is there anything others can do?

Practical suggestions:

  • Respect you as an equal - your intelligence is not affected by your speech.
  • Allow time to get your message across
  • Face you when talking to you
  • Sit/stand close to you when talking together
  • Be honest and say when your speech is difficult to understand.

To return to the Speech and Language Therapy home page click here.

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Update for visitors

Visiting restrictions are in place at our hospitals to stop the spread of norovirus. These restrictions will be in place until further notice.

The following wards are closed to visitors:

There are four exceptions only to the restrictions. These are:

We understand these restrictions can be difficult when a loved one is unwell. The restrictions will be reviewed daily and lifted as soon as it is safe. Thank you for your understanding as we try to reduce the spread of norovirus in our hospitals.