Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists Clinical Guidelines: 5.11 Dysarthria
Taylor-Goh, S. (ed). (2005).
Bicester (United Kingdom): Speechmark Publishing Ltd., 93-96.
This guideline provides recommendations for the assessment and management of dysarthria in children and adults. This guideline is primarily intended to be used by speech-language pathologists (SLPs).
Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists (United Kingdom)
<p>A perceptual assessment is necessary to provide a description of the speech and musculature for individuals with suspected dysarthria. The assessment should consider</p><ul> <li>orofacial musculature;</li> <li>respiratory function (particularly control and coordination for speech);</li> <li>phonation;</li> <li>resonance;</li> <li>articulation;</li> <li>prosody;</li> <li>intelligibility; and</li> <li>rationale (Grade B Evidence; p. 93).</li></ul>
"When speech alone is insufficient to meet the individual's communication needs, a variety of augmentative strategies should be used" (Grade B Evidence; p. 96).
It is important to consider the knowledge and perspectives of the client and family regarding dysarthria and it's impact on daily life (Grade B Evidence). "An evaluation of the emotional, psychological and psychosocial impact of the dysarthria should be made for both the individual and the family" (Grade C Evidence; p. 95).
"Where the aim is to minimize the effect of the overall disability and promote intelligibility, various compensatory approaches should be used. These may occur separately or in combination with a compensatory and/or augmentative approach" (Grade B Evidence; p. 96).
The speech-language pathologist should provide an "explanation of the normal anatomy and physiology of the orofacial tract and speech production" and explain possible causal and maintaining factors and factors to the client with dysarthria (Grade C Evidence; p. 95).
A complete communication skills profile should be carried out including the communicative strengths and weaknesses of the individual, communication use across typical environment and environmental impacts, and skills of communication partners (Grade C Evidence; p. 94).
"A good quality audio recording is beneficial. Access to additional instrumentation for the measurement of respiratory and vocal parameters such as aerodynamics, pitch, intensity resonance, vibratory cycle and/or other aspects of vocal quality is recommended" for individuals with suspected dysarthria (Grade C Evidence; p. 94).
"Where the aim is to reduce the degree of impairment or increase the physiological support for speech, a physiological approach may be appropriate. This may occur separately or in combination with either or both a compensatory and/or augmentative approach" (Grade A Evidence; p. 96).
Communication partners should be identified and their skills and experience with communicative interaction should be evaluated.
