Perceptual Analysis of the Speech in Ataxic Dysarthria

Abstract

The perceptual speech characteristics of ataxic dysarthria have been described by various authors, and reflect impairment in the speech production processes of articulation, phonation, and prosody. No study, however, has systematically compared the speech of ataxic dysarthrics with that produced by an appropriately matched non-clinical population of normal speakers, to determine whether, and to what extent, the perceptual characteristics of speech produced by ataxic dysarthric speakers differs from that produced by normal speakers. The present study, therefore, compared the perceptual speech characteristics of a group of 16 ataxic dysarthrics with those of a normal non-neurologically impaired control group matched for age and sex. The ataxic dysarthric group were significantly less intelligible than the control group, the most prominent deviant speech dimensions relating to disordered prosody and articulation. Deficits were also noted in the processes of respiration and phonation.