Dysarthria occurs when the part of the brain that controls speech production is damaged. When this happens, the muscles needed to make certain sounds may become weak or paralyzed. Someone with dysarthria may have trouble coordinating the lips, tongue, palate, jaw, and vocal chords. This can cause speech to be slurred, breathy, jerky, strained, and hard to understand.

Dysarthria is sometimes confused with apraxia of speech. Unlike apraxia, however, the speech errors that occur with dysarthria are highly consistent from one time to the next.

Symptoms of dysarthria may include:

* Speech that’s slurred, jerky, or garbled and difficult to produce and/or understand
* Problems controlling pitch, loudness, and rhythm when speaking
* Slow speech or rapid, mumbled speech
* Speaking softly or barely able to whisper
* Limited ability to move the tongue, lips, and jaw
* Changes in the voice quality (nasal, hoarse, or stuffy)
* Chewing and swallowing problems
* Drooling or poor control of saliva

Dysarthria is caused by many different conditions that involve the nervous system. These include:

* Stroke
* Brain injury
* Brain tumors
* Degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, Huntington's, and Lou Gehrig's disease/ALS, multiple sclerosis, and cerebral palsy
* Excessive use of alcohol or drugs
* Long-term use or some medications

Answered by Alok , an ibibo Master, at 12:45 PM on November 03, 2008

Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder. The muscles of the mouth, face, and respiratory system may become weak, move slowly, or not move at all after a stroke or other brain injury. The type and severity of dysarthria depend on which area of the nervous system is affected.

What are some signs or symptoms of dysarthria?

A person with dysarthria may experience any of the following symptoms, depending on the extent and location of damage to the nervous system:

* "Slurred" speech
* Speaking softly or barely able to whisper
* Slow rate of speech
* Rapid rate of speech with a "mumbling" quality
* Limited tongue, lip, and jaw movement
* Abnormal intonation (rhythm) when speaking
* Changes in vocal quality ("nasal" speech or sounding "stuffy")
* Hoarseness
* Breathiness
* Drooling or poor control of saliva
* Chewing and swallowing difficulty

Source Site:
http://www.asha.org/public/s peech/disorders/dysarthria.htm

Answered by Dinesh , an ibibo Master, at 7:46 AM on November 03, 2008

Slur in speech is caused by inability to exercise control over the speech nerves/muscles(as u call it).The reasons could be stroke, some injury or temporary weakening of facial muscles.It may be due to excessive use of drugs. But not in all the cases. Traditionally in our families, children are prohibited to chew cloth or paper. When little one year old kids do that, it is believed that speech gets blurred. The problem continues for a long time but eventually gets automatically cured at the age of 10-12 , when the child had learnt all kinds of communication. One great Greek orator , known for his public speeches (Euclid or what) had this problem of stammering. He rolled his tongue over a sugar candy as he practiced his speech and got over his stammer. Nay, became a beautiful stage speaker too. So if u have a will, u have a way.

Answered by Vida Writer , an ibibo Master, at 3:42 PM on November 02, 2008

Dysarthria refers to slow and distorted speech, such as slurring. It results from the inability to control or coordinate the muscles used in speaking. Common causes of dysarthria include:
Stroke
Traumatic brain injury
Brain tumor
Degenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and multiple sclerosis
Conditions that cause facial paralysis or weakness, such as Bell's palsy

Another cause of dysarthria is excessive use of alcohol and certain medications, such as sedatives or narcotics.

Treatment of dysarthria is directed at the underlying cause when possible, which may improve speech. Speech therapy often helps people with dysarthria regain normal speech. If dysarthria is caused by prescription medications, talk to your doctor about the possibility of changing or discontinuing such medications.

source:http://www.m ayoclinic.com/health/dysarthria/HQ0 0589

Answered by Mohd Saqib , an ibibo Master, at 1:02 PM on November 02, 2008