The impact that speech impairment or loss can have on a person can be profound. When impairment of speech occurs, a person’s ability to communicate with the world around him does not come easily, and the person and those around him may become frustrated. Some conditions can be so severe that basic communication is extremely difficult. There are many reasons for speech impairments.

• brain tumor
• congenital disorders such as Down syndrome
• emotional or psychological problems
• trauma / injuries to the brain
• injury to the muscles needed for speech
• medication side effects
• muscle weakness or paralysis, which may occur in degenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis
• Parkinson's disease
• profound deafness or other hearing impairments
• stroke
• surgical removal of the tongue or voice box, known as laryngectomy
• throat or tongue cancer

The two most common speech problems are aphasia and dysarthria.

Aphasia

Aphasia is impaired expression or comprehension of written or spoken language. It is always due to injury to the brain such as a stroke, head trauma, brain tumors or infections. This term is used for adults who already had communication skills, not children or people who have never developed communication skills. Aphasia can be a temporary or a permanent condition.

Treatments can include orientation reminders, a calm environment and other people speaking in a normal tone / volume and using communication aids. The speech pathologist works in conjunction with doctors, nurses, neuropsychologists, etc., to give the patient an evaluation and treatment plan for his specific condition, which may include drills and exercises to improve specific language skills, group therapy for practicing conversations or exercises to strengthen speech muscles, reports the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Dysarthria

Dysarthria is best described as difficult or poorly articulated speech. If the person sustains a brain injury, sometimes the muscles of the mouth, face and respiratory system are weakened, stop moving or move slowly. A brain injury can include stroke, trauma, tumors, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis as well as others.

Symptoms of dysarthria include the following.

• slurred speech
• speaking softly or barely able to whisper
• slow rate of speech
• rapid rate of speech with a mumbling quality
• limited tongue, lip and jaw movement
• abnormal intonation (rhythm) when speaking
• changes in vocal quality (“nasal” speech or sounding stuffy)
• hoarseness
• breathiness
• drooling or poor control of saliva
• chewing and swallowing difficulty

Dysarthria treatment will depend on the type, cause and severity of the symptoms and should be evaluated by a speech pathologist. The speech pathologist may use treatments such as improving breath support; increasing mouth, tongue and lip movement for more clear speech; muscle strengthening exercises; and slowing down speech, reports the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

If you develop any of the above symptoms, contact your doctor or local speech pathologist right away.

The information in this article does not substitute advice or information from your physician. Please consult your doctor for further information on specific medical conditions or symptoms.