Dysarthria in adults: physiologic approach to rehabilitation

A case study is used to illustrate a physical approach to the speech rehabilitation of adults with dysarthria. The approach emphasizes the component-by-component analysis of the peripheral speech mechanism, where the selection and sequencing of treatment procedures follow directly from the physiologic nature and severity of involvement in each component. The selection and sequencing of procedures also are conditioned by the inherent physical interdependencies of these component parts. Several biofeedback procedures of our own are incorporated that have not been reported previously. The case illustration is of a young man injured in an auto accident whose speech intelligibility improves from approximately 5-10% to 95% during the rehabilitation period. Effects of treatment upon individual components of the speech mechanism are illustrated.