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Dealing With Dysarthria and CAS: Disclosures
Dealing With Dysarthria and CAS: Disclosures
CASANA webinar
October, 2013
Ruth Stoeckel, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Disclosures
Nonfinancial: CASANA Professional Advisory Board
Financial: CASANA DVD and speaker fees
Objectives of this course:
1. Identify characteristics that help to differentiate impairment in motor execution from
motor planning/programming
2. Explain how speech subsystems can be affected in children with dysarthria
3. Demonstrate knowledge of how principles of motor learning inform decision‐making in
treatment for dysarthria
Introduction
There are interactions among cognitive, language, and speech development (Nip, Green &
Marx, 2010)
We need to discern the relative contribution of various factors in children with communication
disorders
Today, discussion will center on identification and treatment of an impairment in motor
execution (dysarthria) when it occurs in conjunction with an impairment of motor planning and
programming (Childhood Apraxia of Speech)
Diagnosis can be challenging: Speech sound disorders do not occur in isolation
Phonologic Disorder
The primary factor is thought to be linguistic rather than motor
Etiology is most often unknown
Childhood Apraxia of Speech
The primary factor is thought to be praxis: planning/programming movements
No obvious weakness or impaired ability to move articulators
Can be acquired (e.g., stroke, TBI) or “developmental”
Dysarthria(s)
Difficulty with execution of movements
Weakness, paralysis, or abnormal tone resulting in decreased range of motion,
decreased speed, or impaired movement of the articulators
Usually caused by impairment in the central or peripheral nervous system
The term “dysarthria” may be used as a general term by some people
“dys” = partial impairment of
“arthria” = speaking
SLPs use the term in a more specific sense
• Usually differentiated by the site of neurologic damage, the observed impairment of the
speech muscles, and the characteristics of speech production
• Disturbances in strength, speed of movement, range of movement, and timing, which
disrupt accuracy
• Depending on the type of condition causing the dysarthria, one or more muscle groups
may be affected, meaning difficulty with respiration, phonation, resonance, articulation
and/or prosody
• The nature and severity of neuromuscular dysfunction can vary across muscle groups
within a child
• Classifications are based on adult acquired dysarthrias
• May not fully account for issues related to disruption in the system of a child
who is still developing speech and language skills
Differential Diagnosis
There is no published test that is adequate to give a definitive diagnosis of dysarthria
(McCauley & Strand, 2008)
Assessment procedures are used to
• determine the relative contribution of linguistic/phonologic and/or motor
impairments
• assist in planning treatment
• “A significant research challenge is to determine the diagnostic boundaries between CAS
and some types of dysarthria with which it may share several speech, prosody, and
voice features.” ASHA Technical Report, 2007
History
• Birth history
• Family history
• Developmental milestones
• First words,word combinations
• Motor milestones
• Co‐existing problems
• Sensory function issues
• Seizures, hearing loss, learning issues
• Feeding history, abnormal reflexes
• Dysarthria and CAS can be either congenital or acquired
• Dysarthria is often a part of a more general motor disorder, e.g., cerebral palsy or
genetic disorders
• Clumsiness
• Oral hypo‐ or hypersensitivity
• With dysarthria, muscle control is generally disrupted for both nonspeech (swallowing,
chewing, blowing, etc.) and speech movements
• With CAS, there may have no problem or there may be different difficulties with
nonverbal oral‐motor skills (e.g., overstuffing vs trouble swallowing)
Structural‐Functional Examination
These are subjective observations
• Structures
• Function of each structure
• Range of motion
• Coordination
• Strength
• Ability to vary muscular tension
• Speed
• Muscle tone refers to the degree of muscle contraction or tension at rest
• Damage to upper motor neuron system is usually related to spasticity, lower
motor neuron system to hypotonia
• It is not the same as weakness, although a child with low tone may be weak
• Hypotonia may be seen in structures at rest, but does not always affect
movement
• Muscle weakness occurs when not enough muscle fibers are contracting. May be due to
• Too few fibers available (muscle atrophy)
• Disruption of the pathway so the muscle fibers are not activated
• Inadequate levels of activation
• Ability to vary muscular tension
• Very little strength required
• Needed for precise differentiation of sounds within a sequence (e.g. “man”
vs”pan”)
Observations of Physiologic Functioning
Observed in spontaneous output and as part of the motor speech exam
• Respiration
• Articulation
• Phonation
• Resonance
• Prosody
Articulation: Speech Sound Inventory
• Phonetic Inventory (Independent analysis)
• What sounds is the child producing spontaneously?
• What types of errors? Consistent?
• Error Inventory (Relational analysis)
• How does the child’s sound system map onto adult forms? Distortions?
Articulation: Speech Motor Skills
• Observations regarding
• Precision and consistency of movements
• Ability to vary rate and/or loudness
• Slower rate may improve accuracy for both CAS and dysarthria
• Ability to vary muscular tension
• Accuracy with increasing length or phonetic complexity of utterances
Phonation
• Difficulty initiating phonation (also in CAS)
• Difficulty controlling loudness (also in CAS)
• Reduced loudness/breathy voice
• Reduced pitch or loudness range
Resonance
• Hypernasal resonance (also in CAS, possibly due to timing)
• Hyponasal resonance
• Nasal emission or nasal assimilation
Prosody
• Reduced pitch/loudness range
• Poor regulation of breath support for lexical or phrasal stress (expressiveness)
No weakness, incoordination or paralysis Decreased strength and coordination of No weakness, incoordination or paralysis
of speech musculature speech musculature that leads to of speech musculature
imprecise speech production, slurring and
distortions
No difficulty with involuntary motor Difficulty with involuntary motor control No difficulty with involuntary motor
control for chewing, swallowing, etc. for chewing, swallowing, etc. due to control for chewing and swallowing
unless there is also an oral apraxia muscle weakness and incoordination
Inconsistencies in articulation
performance‐‐the same word may be Articulation may be noticeably "different" Consistent errors that can usually be
produced several different ways due to imprecision, but errors generally grouped into categories (fronting,
consistent stopping, etc.)
Errors include substitutions, omissions, Errors are generally distortions Errors may include substitutions,
additions and repetitions, frequently omissions, distortions, etc. Omissions in
includes simplification of word forms. final position more likely than initial
Tendency for omissions in initial position. position. Vowel distortions not as
Tendency to centralize vowels to a common.
"schwaa"
Number of errors increases as length of May be less precise in connected speech Errors are generally consistent as length of
word/phrase increases than in single words words/phrases increases
Well rehearsed, "automatic" speech is No difference in how easily speech is No difference in how easily speech is
easiest to produce, "on demand" speech produced based on situation produced based on situation
most difficult
Receptive language skills are usually Typically no significant discrepancy Sometimes differences between receptive
significantly better than expressive skills between receptive and expressive and expressive language skills
language skills
Rate, rhythm and stress of speech are Rate, rhythm and stress are disrupted in Typically no disruption of rate, rhythm or
disrupted, some groping for placement ways specifically related to the type of stress
may be noted dysarthria (spastic, flaccid, etc.)
Generally good control of pitch and Monotone voice, difficulty controlling Good control of pitch and loudness, not
loudness, may have limited inflectional pitch and loudness limited in inflectional range for speaking
range for speaking
Age‐appropriate voice quality Voice quality may be hoarse, harsh, Age‐appropriate voice quality
hypernasal, etc. depending on type of
dysarthria
Compiled by members of the Advisory Committee of the Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America (CASANA) Can be found at
www.apraxia-kids. org
Intervention
• There is a lack of clinical research addressing effective treatment approaches for
childhood dysarthria (Cochrane database review, 2010)
• Understanding the child’s neurologic status and prognosis will be important
• Use a team approach that promotes caregiver involvement
• Childhood dysarthrias will likely be chronic, with goals adapted over the course of the
child’s development
• Introduction of AAC early in treatment will be important to support language
development and social interaction
Intervention: Dysarthria and CAS
Similarities
• Consider cognitive and linguistic needs of the child
• Functional stimuli
• Incorporate principles of motor learning
• Address nonspeech skills as appropriate (remembering that muscle activation is task‐
specific)
Differences
• Principles of motor learning applied to different skills
• CAS may be “resolved”, dysarthria is chronic
• Some children with CAS have no impairment of nonspeech skills, all children with
dysarthria do
Intervention: Best Available Evidence
• What may need to be added when dysarthria co‐occurs with CAS:
• Stabilize respiratory support and control of phonation
• Control speech rate
• Control phrase length and number of syllables per breath
Stimuli
• Stimulus choices should include consideration of how to:
• promote early success in therapy
• promote generalization of learning
• improve movement gestures for accurate production of targets or best
approximations
• encourage good prosody
• increase effectiveness of verbal communication
Functional Stimuli for *speech* needs
Increase sound repertoire ‐‐‐ new sounds in existing syllable shapes
Increase syllable repertoire – existing sounds in new syllable shapes; expand phrases
Improve prosody – lexical and phrasal stress
Functional Stimuli for *language* needs
Vocabulary – nouns, verbs, conceptual vocabulary
Grammar/Syntax – length and complexity of utterances; grammatical morphemes
Social Interaction – Greeting; requesting/directing; commenting
Principles of Motor Learning Summary Chart:
Summary
There is overlap in treatment techniques for CAS and dysarthria, but there are also differences
due to presumed difference in motor processes involved
• Treatment for dysarthria may emphasize respiratory support and control of rate and
phonation
• Motor speech intervention also needs to take into account cognitive and linguistic
factors
References
ASHA (2007). Childhood Apraxia of Speech. Technical Report
Caruso, A. J., & Strand, E. (1999). Clinical Management of Motor Speech Disorders in Children.
New York: Thieme Publishing Co.
Hodge, M. (2002). Nonspeech oral motor treatment approaches for dysarthria: perspectives on
a controversial clinical practice. Neurophysiology and Neurogenic Speech and Language
Disorders Special Interest Division 2 Newsletter
Maas, E., Robin, D., Austermann Hula, S., Freedman, S., Wulf, G., Ballard, K, & Schmidt, R.
(2008). Principles of Motor Learning in Treatment of Motor Speech Disorders. American
Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 17, 277-298
McCauley, R.J., and Strand, E.A. (2008). A review of standardized tests of nonverbal oral and
speech motor performance in children. American Journal of Speech-Language
Pathology, 17, 81-91
Nip, I.S., Green, J.R., Marx, D.B. (2010). The co-emergence of cognition, language, and speech
motor control in early development: A longitudinal correlation. Journal of Communication
Disorders