Cerebral Palsy Dysarthria

Speaking and forming words requires a complex muscle movement that most people without disabilities take for granted. Unfortunately, some children with cerebral palsy endure neurological brain damage at birth that impairs motor function and control over their vocal cords, resulting in their speech coming out slurred or unclear. This condition is known as dysarthria.

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Babies and young children with cerebral palsy who suffer from dysarthria can face many physical and social challenges. The goal of this page is to help parents understand the challenges of this cerebral palsy symptom and how treatment and therapy plans should be devised to assist with it.

Over the past three decades, the nationally recognized team of birth injury attorneys at Miller Weisbrod Olesky have established a proven track record of delivering justice for children and families who have unfairly suffered from the consequences of birth injury negligence. Our firm is staffed with registered nurses and nurse attorneys to begin assisting your child with their treatment and therapy immediately.

We are prepared to meticulously investigate the circumstances of your case, gather crucial medical records, consult with top medical experts, and fight tirelessly to secure the compensation you deserve for your child’s injury, all at no upfront cost to you.

We represent families and their children in numerous service areas throughout the United States. You can contact us today to schedule your free legal consultation by calling our toll-free line at (888) 987-0005 or by filling out our online request form. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you won’t pay any legal fees unless we win your case. We only receive payment once you do.

Dysarthria is a speech disorder stemming from some degree of paralysis affecting the muscles required to produce sounds and formulate words.

Dysarthria is a common symptom for all types and classifications of cerebral palsy.

Children with cerebral palsy undergo neurological brain damage at birth that weakens their ability to control muscle movement, and this can extend to the muscles used for speech like the tongue, vocal cords, voice box (larynx), and the jaw.

It’s important to note that dysarthria doesn’t prevent children from understanding speech. Oftentimes children with dysarthria will know exactly what they want to say and how to say it, but they simply don’t have the motor control to get the words out properly.

Like with cerebral palsy causes, dysarthria in children stems from birth trauma to the brain. This can occur as the result either during pregnancy or during birth from labor and delivery complications like birth asphyxia or a birth-related head injury.

Dysarthria can also be caused by a spinal cord injury at birth, which can happen from complications like shoulder dystocia or the misuse of forceps and vacuum extractors during an assisted delivery. There is more than one type of dysarthria. Each type will affect the sound of the child’s voice in distinct ways, depending on the location of the brain and the injury that’s causing it. These types include:

• Flaccid Dysarthria: This type of dysarthria stems from motor damage to the lower motor neurons, which are part of the peripheral nervous system. It causes the child’s speech to sound overly breathy and nasally. Children with flaccid dysarthria will typically be diagnosed with either spastic cerebral palsy or a mixed type.
• Spastic Dysarthria: Spastic dysarthria occurs when the upper motor neurons in the brain are damaged. These motor neurons are part of the central nervous system, and it can cause the child’s speech to sound raspy, harsh and/or strained when they are harmed. As the name implies, this type of dysarthria is associated with spastic cerebral palsy.
• Ataxic Dysarthria: Just like with ataxic cerebral palsy, this type of dysarthria stems from damage to the cerebellum (a part of the brain that helps to coordinate muscle movement). Children with this type of dysarthria have extra difficulty placing emphasis on the right parts of words when they speak.
• Hypokinetic Dysarthria: Stemming from damage to the basal ganglia, hypokinetic dysarthria can cause a child’s speech to sound monotone, rigid, and slower in cadence than average. Along with hyperkinetic dysarthria, this type is commonly observed in children with dyskinetic cerebral palsy.
• Hyperkinetic Dysarthria: The inverse of hypokinetic dysarthria, hyperkinetic dysarthria also stems from basal ganglia damage and causes a child’s speech to sound fast and unpredictable. Along with hypokinetic dysarthria, this type is commonly observed in children with dyskinetic cerebral palsy.
• Mixed Dysarthria: Mixed dysarthria is diagnosed when a child’s speech symptoms resemble more than one of the other types. It typically coincides with a mixed cerebral palsy diagnosis when multiple parts of the brain are damaged at the same time.

Medical professionals will need to use neuroimaging technology such as an MRI or cranial ultrasound to identify the type of brain injury that’s causing a child’s dysarthria.

Dysarthria itself is not painful to the child, but it can cause muscle spasms in the mouth that are uncomfortable. Additionally, dysarthria is commonly accompanied by a swallowing disorder known as dysphagia which can be painful.

When a baby has dysphagia, it can complicate their ability to feed and may necessitate a newborn G-tube insertion. The baby may need to receive food, fluids, and medications through the G-tube until they are old enough to start treatments to fix it.

Babies with swallowing disorders will also have a more difficult time breathing on their own and may require additional monitoring and assistance with ventilation so they don’t go into respiratory distress.

While respiratory distress syndrome is more commonly observed in premature infants with underdeveloped lungs, babies with dysphagia are also at risk for hyperventilating when they are unable to control the muscles in their throat to take in sufficient airflow.

Young children with dysarthria will likely show delayed developmental milestones when it comes to communication. They likely will be slower to say their first words and may have trouble communicating their needs.

These communication struggles can progress into later childhood. Speech language pathology research has shown that children with dysarthria are less likely to participate in social settings due to their inability to fully express their thoughts and feelings like their peers can.

This can lead to psychological challenges and feelings of sadness and discontent at school and other social settings.

Dysarthria is typically not diagnosed at birth but later in early childhood. If the child is diagnosed with a brain injury at birth like hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, healthcare providers should inform the parents of the potential risk of a later cerebral palsy diagnosis and the complications that can come with it.

A child’s cerebral palsy symptoms will become more visible as they get older. This can include signs like the inability to control certain muscle movements or refraining from saying their first words and sentences.

If a child’s communicative developmental milestones stay delayed, it will signal to parents and healthcare providers that they may need to see a specialist.

A licensed speech-language pathologist will be able to conduct a physical examination of the child to diagnose dysarthria. They will examine the child’s breathing, their voice, and their facial features such as the lips, tongue and face.

They may ask the child to make facial expressions like smiling, sticking out their tongue, or puckering their lips. They will also examine the sound and cadence of the child’s speech by making them read or repeat certain sounds, words, and sentences.

Medical professionals are also able to use neuroimaging technology such as an MRI, CT scan, or a cranial ultrasound to identify exactly which part of the brain is damaged and is causing dysarthria. This can help to diagnose which specific type of dysarthria the child has.

They may also conduct swallowing tests to identify and diagnose any possible swallowing disorders that accompany dysarthria. The most common diagnostic test for this is the videofluoroscopic swallowing study test, which will provide X-ray images of the esophagus for a specialist to evaluate.

The most prevalent and effective treatment for a child’s dysarthria is speech therapy.

Speech and language therapy can help children with cerebral palsy strengthen the muscles involved in speech and oral motor skills, improving their ability to communicate, chew, and swallow.

Specialized therapy can help children with birth injuries to express themselves more clearly, enabling them to have more enriching relationships with others and giving them a greater sense of independence, confidence, and self-esteem.

For dysarthria specifically, the primary focus will be to strengthen and exercise control over the muscles involved in speaking. This will include drills to strengthen the tongue, the lips, and the jaw muscles. It may also include strategies to improve breath control and incorporating nonverbal communication signals like gesturing and writing.

For some children, however, their dysarthria may be too severe to regain control over these muscles. In these cases, the specialist may recommend using augmentative and alternative communication devices to help facilitate speech.

These tools, such as manual and electronic communication boards or voice output communication aids (VOCA), can be incredibly helpful for children (and especially young children) with dysarthria who are unable to clearly express their needs at a given time.

While the use of these alternative communication devices may not be permanent, they can be helpful aids for the child while they practice strengthening their oral motor skills in speech therapy.

When a baby is born with signs of brain damage at birth, it is important for the healthcare provider to prepare the family’s expectations that their child may require these types of birth injury treatment later in life. When they fail to explain this, or if they fail to properly assess and refer a family to a specialist who can provide this treatment, it can constitute medical malpractice.

A child diagnosed with a brain injury that causes cerebral palsy will likely face a number of different physical challenges and disabilities throughout their life. Dysarthria is a common cerebral palsy symptom that can complicate a child’s communication development. Parents deserve to know when complications like dysarthria are the result of an injury that was caused or amplified by medical mistakes.

Medical negligence, such as missing pregnancy complications, failing to properly monitor fetal heart rates, or needlessly delaying C-sections, can all play a role in a child’s brain injury that leads to dysarthria. Negligence can also occur after birth, with healthcare providers missing the signs of birth complications or failing to refer a family to a specialist.

If a family believes that any of these mistakes contributed to their child’s current condition, legal support may be an option. A specialized birth injury attorney can review the medical records and circumstances to assess whether a viable claim for medical malpractice exists.

Parents whose children suffer from the long-term effects of birth complications, especially cerebral palsy and the complications that come with it, deserve to know whether it could have been prevented. Our dedicated birth injury lawyers want to help you find those answers and obtain the funds necessary to improve the quality of life for your child.

Sometimes families are hesitant to reach out to a medical malpractice attorney or law firm. They may feel overwhelmed by their circumstances or are worried that a law firm will not be able to help them. But the only way to find out if you have a case is to talk to an attorney who understands how birth injuries can lead to developmental delays and other birth complications that require long-lasting medical support.

A statute of limitations (SOL) is a law that sets a time limit on how long an injured person has to file a lawsuit after an accident. It is essential to understand that statutes of limitations vary based on the type of case and the state where it is filed. For instance, the deadline for birth injury claims is typically different from other claims, such as injury to personal property, fraud, contract disputes, and collection of debts.

Generally, the clock starts ticking on the date the injury occurred. However, there are exceptions to this rule, and in some cases, the statute of limitations starts when a person discovers or reasonably should have discovered an injury. When dealing with government agencies, SOLs can become even more complex.

For example, if the party that injured you was:

• A federal employee
• Employed by a military hospital, Veterans Administration facility, or a federally funded medical entity

You may need to file a birth injury claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). In FTCA cases, claimants must go through certain administrative procedures before filing a lawsuit. In some states, if the negligent party was a local or state government hospital or the doctors and medical providers are employees of a governmental entity, the time period in which you must give "notice" may be shorter.

If your case is filed outside of the statute of limitations, it will typically be dismissed, and you will not be eligible to recover compensation for your injuries. Determining when a statute of limitations begins on your case can be tricky. If you're considering pursuing compensation for a birth injury, contacting an attorney as soon as possible is in your best interest.

It takes a detailed expert review of the facts and circumstances of your pregnancy and your child's birth before determining whether their cerebral palsy diagnosis and related complications of dysarthria came as the result of medical malpractice.

Our Process

At Miller Weisbrod Olesky, a team of committed birth injury malpractice attorneys, nurses and paraprofessionals uses our detailed medical negligence case review process to assess your potential birth injury case. We start by learning more about you and your child and the status of meeting/missing developmental milestones. Then we gather medical records to determine what happened before, during, and after your delivery.

We call in skilled medical experts who review your records and let us know if they think medical errors could have caused your child's injuries.

If we feel medical negligence caused or contributed to the brain injury that led to your child’s cerebral palsy, we meet with you to discuss how you can receive compensation from the medical professionals who made the errors.

At no point in our legal intake process will we ask you to pay anything. The medical review of your case and the consultation are free. We only receive payment once you do. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we can begin investigating your case and gathering the evidence needed to support your claim.

We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you won't pay any legal fees unless we win your case. Contact us today to schedule your free legal consultation by calling our toll-free line at (888) 987-0005 or by filling out our online request form.