Dysarthria vs Aphasia: Key Differences Explained

Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder that can be either acquired or congenital (present from birth). It results in weakness, paralysis, or poor coordination of the muscles necessary for clear and efficient speech. Individuals diagnosed with dysarthria may experience reduced speech intelligibility, a slower rate of speech, and inadequate control of the speech articulators, such as the tongue, lips, and jaw.

Main Types of Dysarthria

You will be diagnosed with different types of dysarthria, as the specific area of the brain affected correlates with the type of dysarthria you may experience.

• Flaccid Dysarthria: This type is associated with disorders that affect the lower motor neuron pathways and motor units, resulting in weakness and reduced muscle tone.
• Spastic Dysarthria: Spastic dysarthria occurs due to bilateral disorders of the upper motor neuron system, leading to muscle stiffness and tightness that affects speech production.
• Ataxic Dysarthria: Arising from issues within the cerebellar control circuit, ataxic dysarthria is characterized by problems with coordination and timing of speech movements, often resulting in slurred or irregular speech.
• Hypokinetic Dysarthria: This type is linked to disorders of the basal ganglia control circuit, commonly seen in conditions such as Parkinson's disease. It typically features a reduced range of motion in speech.
• Hyperkinetic Dysarthria: Also associated with basal ganglia dysfunction, hyperkinetic dysarthria involves excessive and involuntary movements, leading to erratic speech patterns.
• Mixed Dysarthria: Mixed dysarthria encompasses a combination of various dysarthria types, such as flaccid-spastic.

Symptoms of Dysarthria

Dysarthria affects speech intelligibility, making it difficult for people to understand you due to slurred, low, or mumbled speech that may be too fast or too slow, resulting from weak or uncoordinated muscles used for speaking.

Common symptoms include slurred speech, breathy or increased nasal speech, difficulty controlling and maintaining appropriate speech speed and volume, and a monotone voice.

Symptoms may vary based on the specific type and severity of dysarthria diagnosed.

What Causes Dysarthria?

• Dysarthria can be acquired (from neurological damage), or you can be born with it. Acquired dysarthria can be a result of things such as Traumatic brain injury or stroke.
• Dysarthria may manifest as a symptom of progressive neurological diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease—where individuals frequently exhibit hypokinetic dysarthria—and multiple sclerosis.
• Brain tumors and degenerative conditions that affect muscle control can also lead to dysarthria.

The reasons behind dysarthria can differ greatly based on your unique health history and current condition.

How is Dysarthria Diagnosed?

When beginning speech therapy, the Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) will complete a comprehensive evaluation that includes a combination of both formal and informal assessments to identify the specific type of dysarthria affecting the individual. This provides critical insights that will inform the creation of a personalized treatment plan aimed at managing dysarthria. The evaluation process will unfold in several key steps:

1. Reviewing Detailed Medical History: The SLP will start by thoroughly examining your medical history. This involves discussing any previous medical conditions, surgeries, or treatments that could impact speech and communication, as well as understanding your history with dysarthria.
   
2. Physical Assessments: Following the medical history review, the SLP will conduct a series of physical assessments focused on evaluating muscle strength, movement, and coordination. This may include observing the functions of the lips, tongue, and jaw, as well as assessing the respiratory system, as these factors are crucial in producing clear speech.
   
3. Speech Characteristic Assessment: Finally, the SLP will perform an in-depth analysis of your speech characteristics. This evaluation will look at various aspects such as articulation (how clearly you pronounce sounds), volume (the loudness of your speech), and intelligibility (how easily others can understand you). Through careful observation and testing.
   

Together, these steps will help the SLP gather the necessary information to formulate your personal treatment plan tailored specifically to your needs and goals.

Gathering a detailed past medical history is really important for your treatment. Medical imaging can help identify any differences in your brain activity. This information will help your SLP design the best treatment plan for you!

How is Dysarthria Treated?

As previously noted, there are several types of dysarthria, each with unique characteristics that we will address in speech therapy. In your care plan, your SLP will provide exercises to strengthen the muscles necessary for speech, implement effective compensatory strategies to enhance speech intelligibility, and participate in activities designed to boost your vocal volume.

In some cases, using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) may be the best speech therapy option for you or your loved one. There are various AAC options available, ranging from high-tech to low-tech. One of the speech therapists at Verse will be able to provide a suitable recommendation for your care or the care of your loved one.

At Verse, our dedicated speech therapists for dysarthria treatment will focus on evidence-based practices tailored specifically to your unique needs and the type of dysarthria you have been diagnosed with. We ensure that every speech therapy session is not only effective but also engaging and relevant to your life!

What is Aphasia?

What is Aphasia? The American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) defines Aphasia as being an acquired neurogenic language disorder resulting from an injury (such as Traumatic brain injury or Stroke). Multiple types of Aphasia impair Expressive language (Broca's aphasia, impacted ability to use spoken and/or written language) and Receptive language (known as Wernicke's aphasia, characterized by difficulty with spoken and/or reading comprehension). People who have Aphasia may have trouble expressing their thoughts clearly and efficiently and/or difficulty comprehending or understanding things they hear (in conversation or when reading).

Aphasia is a communication disorder that can greatly affect how we express ourselves. It can influence everything from our spoken words and written messages to our ability to read and engage in conversations.

Main Types of Aphasia

• Expressive Aphasia (Broca’s): Broca's Aphasia is characterized by difficulty producing fluent speech (speech may sound robotic), word finding, and may have difficulty producing grammatically correct speech.
• Receptive Aphasia (Wernicke’s): Wernicke's Aphasia is characterized by having fluent speech, but speech may not make sense (it may be nonsensical or made-up words). The person with Aphasia may not realize what they said did not make sense.
• Global Aphasia: Global Aphasia is characterized by having difficulties in both expressive and receptive language.
• Anomic Aphasia: Anomic aphasia is characterized by having difficulty "finding" the right word, individuals with this type of Aphasia may use vague words or experience "the tip of the tongue" feeling.
• Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA): Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is different from the other types of aphasia because it is not caused by a stroke or other brain injury. PPA results from dementia and is considered a neurodegenerative disease, meaning that the loss of brain tissue, and symptoms get worse over time.
• Mixed aphasia: Mixed transcortical aphasia (also known as isolation aphasia), is similar to global aphasia. However, repetition (the individual can repeat words or phrases) is intact. Individuals with this type of aphasia do not speak unless spoken to, and their verbal output is almost entirely limited to what has been offered by their communication partner, meaning they cannot generate spontaneous speech, but instead can echo or imitate what is said.

Symptoms of Aphasia

Aphasia can affect different language centers, depending on its type. It may impair language comprehension, meaning what we read or hear, as well as expressing oneself verbally or in writing, resulting in difficulties with word-finding and fluent speech.

Key symptoms of aphasia include difficulty finding words, forming grammatically correct sentences, using telegraphic speech (robotic speech), and understanding spoken or written information.

What Causes Aphasia?

The primary causes of aphasia include:

• Stroke
• Traumatic brain injuries or tumors
• Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease
• Degenerative conditions like Primary Progressive Aphasia
  

The type of aphasia an individual presents with is directly related to the specific location of the brain injury.

How is Aphasia Diagnosed?

At Verse, our world-class therapists are well-versed in treating and identifying all types of aphasia by completing a series of formal and informal evaluations.

Obtaining a comprehensive medical history is essential for your aphasia treatment. Medical imaging can play a crucial role in identifying the specific type of aphasia you have, as it helps pinpoint the area of your brain that has sustained damage or has experienced an infarct. This information can help your Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) to develop the most effective treatment plan for you!

Neurologists and Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) team up to design and deliver the most effective and personalized care just for you. Their collaborative efforts ensure that you receive the best support tailored to your needs.

How is Aphasia Treated?

Speech therapy is an amazing tool to improve your speech and language concerns. Individuals with Aphasia can participate in speech therapy in order to regain their speech skills and improve their confidence.

Speech therapy varies based on the type and severity of aphasia. Some exercises include:

• Word retrieval exercises
• Compensatory strategies to improve reading comprehension
• Functional therapy to enhance real-life communication

Feel free to chat with your speech therapist to learn ways to provide practice at home or for tips on improving communication with the individual participating in Aphasia therapy!

Dysarthria vs Aphasia: Key Differences

Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder that affects the muscles involved in speech production, while aphasia involves issues with language processing. Aphasia can impact both expressive language, which is how we articulate our wants, thoughts, and ideas, as well as receptive language, which pertains to our ability to comprehend what we hear or read.

At Verse, our skilled speech therapists can distinguish between aphasia and dysarthria to effectively evaluate, educate, and treat your speech and communication concerns.

People with aphasia and dysarthria can benefit significantly from speech therapy, which provides effective, evidence-based treatment. This will help you boost your confidence and achieve your speech goals.

Verse Therapy provides personalized speech therapy services. Visit our directory page for more information.

How Can Verse Therapy Support You?

The differentiation between dysarthria and aphasia is critical for the effective implementation of speech therapy interventions. Dysarthria is characterized as a motor speech disorder, which impairs the strength and coordination of the muscles utilized in speech production. In contrast, aphasia is a language disorder that affects an individual’s capacity to communicate proficiently, whether in understanding or producing language. Accurately identifying the specific speech disorder is an essential step toward beginning speech therapy.

Working with experienced speech-language pathologists can greatly improve your communication skills, confidence, and quality of life. The Verse SLP network is full of highly qualified speech therapists who are eager to help you reach your goals. Find your therapist today!