Speech Therapy for MS Patients
Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is a disorder characterized by the formation of lesions on the brain and spinal cord. Some of those lesions, either directly or indirectly can affect speech. With as many as 40% of those with multiple sclerosis experiencing some type of speech impairment, the need for speech therapy services is common among MS patients.
How does MS impact speech?
MS can affect patients differently, and even among the group that experiences speech impairments, there is not just one cause. Here is a look at several categories under which MS-related speech impairments are classified.
Dysarthria
Speaking is a complicated process, from a physiological point of view. Everything from breathing to voice production in the vocal cords to coordinating the movements of the lips, tongue, jaw and soft palate to produce specific sounds must work in concert.
Dysarthria results from abnormalities in the muscles that control speech, ranging from weakness or paralysis to damage to portions of the brain making it difficult to move the muscles in the right way.
Speech will often become slurred or nasally, and the patient may have difficulty controlling volume and pitch.
Three basic types of Dysarthria are associated with MS:
- Spastic: Muscle stiffness causes slow, harsh speech with some poor articulation
- Ataxic: The loss of muscle movement control can cause a vocal tremor or changes in volume and weak articulation.
- Mixed (most common in MS): Combines features of both, leading to difficulties controlling volume, pitch, and articulation.
Dysphonia
Related to dysarthria, dysphonia is an impairment of the voice.
Those suffering from it might have difficulty controlling volume or talk in a monotonous voice. They might also mispronounce or fail to complete words.
This is sometimes caused by weakness in the affected muscles used to speak.
Cognitive difficulties
While Dysarthria and Dysphonia are caused by issues with the muscles used to speak, another set of conditions stem from an inability to produce speech mentally rather than physically.
Dysphasia or aphasia are two such disorders. In these cases the difficulty speaking might manifest itself in the speaker having difficulty recalling words or translating thoughts into phrases.
These disorders are rarer with MS than Dysarthria.
How Speech Therapy Can Help With MS
For those patients with Dysarthria, as with most conditions involving muscles, exercises can help at least control the symptoms.
Exercises can help strengthen and coordinate the muscles in the throat, jaw, tongue, mouth, lips, vocal cords and other parts of the body that impact speech.
Patients can also learn how to adapt, whether it be slowing their speech, overly articulating words or using shorter, easier to say words.
Comprehensive Rehab is here to help
If you are dealing with speech problems caused by Multiple Sclerosis in the Eastern Iowa area, Comprehensive Rehab offers speech therapy at its locations in Clinton and Maquoketa. Call us for more information or to schedule an appointment.
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