Dysarthria is best described as which of the following?

• A. A laryngeal pathology causing hoarseness due to vocal fold nodules.
• B. A cognitive deficit leading to language formulation issues.
• C. A group of neurologic speech disorders caused by impaired strength, speed, accuracy, range, tone, and coordination.
• D. A speech-language pathology technique that improves articulation through imitation.

Answer: (C)

Dysarthria is a group of neurologic speech disorders arising from impaired neuromuscular control of the speech muscles. Because the brain or nerves that drive the muscles used for speaking can be weak, slow, imprecise, limited in range, tense, or poorly coordinated, speech becomes slurred or unusually effortful. This captures why the problem is about execution of speech movements, not about thinking of what to say (cognition) or about voice problems from the vocal folds themselves, nor about a therapy technique. The impairment can affect multiple speech subsystems—breath support, voice production, articulation, resonance, and prosody—leading to a range of articulation and intelligibility difficulties.