Motor speech impairment following traumatic brain injury in childhood: a physiological and perceptual analysis of one case

Abstract

The physiological and perceptual characteristics of persistent dysarthria exhibited by a 14 year-old boy, following a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) were investigated. The subject's speech and motor speech mechanism were comprehensively evaluated both perceptually and physiologically, and the findings were compared with those of a non-neurologically impaired control subject, matched for age and sex, and a number of control groups from previous studies. Overall, the assessments indicated that the major motor speech deficits demonstrated by the subject included severely reduced tongue function, and moderately impaired lip, laryngeal, and velo-pharyngeal function. Respiratory function was found to be mildly impaired. Perceptual assessments indicated that the subject's speech was severely impaired in relation to rate, pitch variation, and consonant precision, with a moderate impairment in overall intelligibility. The effects of a severe TBI on the functioning of the child's motor speech mechanism were discussed. The clinical implications for the assessment and treatment of dysarthria in childhood following severe TBI were highlighted.

Key Words:

• dysarthria
• traumatic brain injury
• physiological analysis