Speech impairment (adult)

Definition

Speech impairment may be any of several speech problems, particularly the following:

• Aphasia is a problem with expressing or understanding written or spoken language.
• Dysarthria is difficult, poorly pronounced speech, such as slurring.

Dysarthria is sometimes confused with aphasia. It is important to distinguish between a difficulty in pronouncing words and a problem producing language. These problems have different causes.

Alternative Names

Considerations

DYSARTHRIA

Dysarthria is generally apparent in daily conversation. A person will have difficulty expressing certain sounds or words.

APHASIA

Aphasia is loss of communication skills that were previously learned. It commonly occurs following strokes, or in people with brain tumors or degenerative diseases that affect the language areas of the brain. This term does not apply to children who have never developed communication skills.

In some cases of aphasia, the problem eventually corrects itself, but in others the condition is irreversible.

Causes

DYSARTHRIA

• Alcohol intoxication
• Dementia
• Diseases that affect nerves and muscles (neuromuscular diseases), such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), myasthenia gravis, or multiple sclerosis (MS)
• Facial weakness, such as Bell's palsy or tongue weakness
• Head trauma
• Nervous system (neurological) disorders that affect the brain, such as Parkinson's disease or Huntington's disease (more common in dysarthria than aphasia)
• Poorly fitting dentures
• Side effects of medications that act on the central nervous system, such as narcotics, phenytoin, or carbamazepine
• Stroke
• Transient ischemic attack (TIA)

APHASIA

• Alzheimer's disease
• Brain tumor (more common in aphasia than dysarthria)
• Dementia
• Head trauma
• Stroke
• Transient ischemic attack (TIA)