Dysarthria is best described as a speech defect caused by?

Dysarthria is best described as a speech defect caused by?

• A. Motor deficits
• B. Vocal cord problems
• C. Damage to the cortex
• D. Psychotic disorder

Answer: (A)

Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder, meaning the problem lies in the neuromuscular control of the muscles used to speak. When the speech muscles (tongue, lips, palate, larynx) are weak, poorly coordinated, or slow to move, speech becomes slurred, slow, or imprecise. This is why it’s described as caused by motor deficits—the issue is in the execution of movement for speech, not in the vocal cords themselves or in language processing. Vocal cord problems would mainly affect voice quality rather than articulation. Damage to the cortex can disrupt planning or language use (like aphasia or apraxia of speech) but dysarthria specifically refers to execution by the speech muscles. Psychotic disorders do not account for motor impairment of speech.

Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder, meaning the problem lies in the neuromuscular control of the muscles used to speak. When the speech muscles (tongue, lips, palate, larynx) are weak, poorly coordinated, or slow to move, speech becomes slurred, slow, or imprecise. This is why it’s described as caused by motor deficits—the issue is in the execution of movement for speech, not in the vocal cords themselves or in language processing.

Vocal cord problems would mainly affect voice quality rather than articulation. Damage to the cortex can disrupt planning or language use (like aphasia or apraxia of speech) but dysarthria specifically refers to execution by the speech muscles. Psychotic disorders do not account for motor impairment of speech.