I know we talk a lot about language here at Tactus, but today I'd like to focus on SPEECH!

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Have you ever thought about what it takes to produce speech? Our bodies need to coordinate 5 processes during speech production. They are...

1. RESPIRATION 🫁 provides the air from the lungs. Without air, you'd only be mouthing the words.
2. PHONATION 🔈 occurs when that air vibrates your vocal folds (aka voice box) to produce sound. Without sound, you would be whispering all the time.
3. ARTICULATION 👄 shapes the air into consonants and vowels depending on the shape of your lips, tongue, and jaw opening. Without shape, you'd just be saying "ahh".
4. RESONANCE 👃 controls the nasal tone of each sound by raising or lowering the velum (aka soft palate). Without some nasal tones, you would sound stuffed up.
5. PROSODY 🎶 helps convey meaning or emotion by changing the stress and intonation or melody of what we say. Without variation in tone, you might sound like a robot.

If one component along this system is disrupted, then it can result in a speech impairment or voice disorder! Knowing which one or ones are impaired will help the SLP know what to treat in therapy to make it better.

Dysarthria: A Common Speech Disorder

Dysarthria is the most common speech disorder for adults who have acquired a brain injury, like a stroke, or have a progressive disease, such as Parkinson's. Often speech is slurred, too fast, or too quiet. Speaking loudly, slowly, and clearly can be learned and practiced to improve how well a person is understood by others.

Learn more about dysarthria in the Dysarthria section of our website. You'll find:

• ​What is Dysarthria - guide for patients/families with tips for speakers & listeners
• ​Using Apps to Treat Dysarthria - app-by-app guide to using Tactus apps for speech
• ​10 Ways AAC Can Improve Slurred Speech - an evidence review about letter boards
• ​9 Ways to Improve Speech in Parkinson's Disease

And there is a BRAND NEW 3-PAGE PDF HANDOUT for our What is Dysarthria article:

• Definition - what it is, and what it isn't
• Signs & Symptoms - what you might notice
• How You Can Help - tips for the listener
• Treating Dysartria with Apps - our top 3 tools
• The 5 Components of Speech - as seen above
• 6 Types of Dysarthria - the most common symptoms & diagnoses

Thanks for downloading and sharing with people who need this information.

All the best,

Megan

P.S. If you're a speech-language pathologist who likes to learn about evidence-based practice, there's a 3-day, 6-hour ASHA CEU workshop coming up next week you should check out! I highly recommend this affordable and balanced look at patient needs, research, and clinical experience for the best outcomes. #affiliate

P.P.S. I had never heard of UUMN dysarthria when I started treating stroke survivors with speech disorders, but now it's the most common dysarthria I see. Learn more about it in the free PDF handout!