Don’t Let Dysarthria Symptoms Stop You: A Speech Impairment App May Be the Solution
Dysarthria is a condition that occurs when the muscles you use for speech are weak or you have difficulty controlling them. It often causes slurred or slow speech that can be difficult for others to understand.
Other symptoms may include uneven speech volume, uneven speech rhythm, rapid speech that’s difficult to understand, or monotone speech.
Causes of Dysarthria
There are many possible causes of dysarthria. Common causes include conditions that cause facial paralysis or tongue or throat muscle weakness such as
- A brain injury or brain tumor,
- Stroke,
- Parkinson’s disease,
- Cerebral palsy,
- Huntington’s disease,
- Multiple sclerosis, or
- Muscular dystrophy.
Some medications, such as certain sedatives and seizure drugs, also can cause dysarthria.
Treatment for Dysarthria
There are two main categories of treatment for dysarthria: restorative or compensatory.
Restorative treatment is aimed at improving or restoring impaired function by treating the underlying cause of the dysarthria. Treatment must be individualized to address the specific areas of need identified during assessment.
For example, for dysarthria caused by prescription medications, changing or discontinuing the medications may help.
Speech therapy may also be helpful to facilitate the efficiency, effectiveness, and naturalness of communication.
Compensatory approaches, on the other hand, are aimed at compensating for deficits that aren’t amenable to retraining or compensating for deficits temporarily while the person is undergoing retraining.
One of the most effective dysarthria compensatory strategies involves use of AAC devices and speech assistance apps.
Challenges to Daily Life
Because of the communication problems dysarthria causes, there are a variety of complications that can interfere with everyday life.
For example, many people suffer from social difficulties because their communication problems affect their relationships with family and friends. For some people, dysarthria might eventually lead to social isolation and even depression.
And it’s not only social situations that are impacted by dysarthria. Many people suffering from dysarthria find the day-to-day communications required by their jobs to be especially challenging.
One recent site visitor who owns his own wood flooring installation company expressed his frustration that he needed to be able to talk with customers about their flooring options and his dysarthria was making those conversations difficult.
He pleaded, “Help me to be able to keep my business.”
While these kinds of situations are heart-breaking, there IS hope. Whether the person dealing with dysarthria is undergoing restorative treatment or not, using a speech impairment app can make certain challenging communication situations go much more smoothly.
APP2Speak, with its text-to-speech capabilities, is a perfect fit for such situations. The text-to-speech feature allows users to quickly program and access phrases they use frequently, meaning conversations can flow naturally and effortlessly.
You can also customize the app with your own photos and create an unlimited number of custom phrases to use in your conversations.
If you’re struggling with dysarthria, check out our How It Works page to learn more.
Or to schedule your personal virtual demonstration, just reach out. We’re ready to help!