Speech Changes Following Stroke, Brain Injury, or as a result of Progressive Neurological Conditions
Speech changes can make it difficult to communicate clearly, even when you know exactly what you want to say. Following a stroke, traumatic brain injury, brain tumour or other neurological condition, the muscles used for speech or the brain's ability to plan speech movements may be affected.
At Kent Neuro Therapy, I provide specialist assessment and therapy for adults experiencing speech difficulties across Kent and East Sussex. Therapy is tailored to your individual goals, helping you communicate with greater confidence in everyday situations.
Two common speech disorders following neurological injury are dysarthria and apraxia of speech. Although they can sound similar, they affect speech in different ways and require different treatment approaches.
What Is Dysarthria?
Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder caused by weakness, reduced coordination or changes in muscle control affecting the lips, tongue, voice or breathing used for speech.
People with dysarthria may experience:
- Slurred or unclear speech
- A quiet or weak voice
- Speech that sounds slow or effortful
- Difficulty controlling breathing while speaking
- Changes in voice quality
- Reduced changes in tone or pitch
- Reduced speech intelligibility, particularly when tired
Although speech may sound different, language and thinking skills are often unaffected.
What Is Apraxia of Speech?
Apraxia of Speech is a difficulty planning and coordinating the movements needed for speech. The muscles themselves are not necessarily weak, but the brain has difficulty sending the correct movement plans to produce words accurately.
Common signs include:
- Difficulty starting words
- Inconsistent speech errors (getting words or sounds wrong but in different ways each time)
- Searching for the correct mouth movements
- Speech that becomes harder with longer or more complex words or phrases
How Speech and Language Therapy Can Help
Therapy begins with a detailed assessment to identify the type of speech difficulty and how it affects everyday communication. Treatment is then personalised to your goals and daily life.
Therapy may include:
- Strategies to make speech easier to understand
- Techniques to improve breath support and voice
- Practice producing sounds and words accurately
- Developing confidence in conversations
- Training family members to support effective communication
Sessions are evidence-based, practical and focused on improving communication in meaningful real-life situations.
Who Can Benefit?
Speech therapy for dysarthria and apraxia of speech may benefit adults following:
- Stroke
- Traumatic brain injury
- Brain tumour
- Parkinson's disease
- Multiple sclerosis (MS)
- Motor neurone disease (MND)
- Other neurological conditions affecting speech
Therapy may be beneficial whether speech changes are recent or have been present for many years.
Family and Carer Support
Speech changes affect not only the individual but also family, friends and carers. I work with communication partners to develop practical strategies that support successful conversations and reduce frustration for everyone involved.
Therapy can take place in your home, in some cases online, or in community settings where communication skills can be practised in everyday situations.
Speech Therapy Across Kent
Kent Neuro Therapy provides specialist speech and language therapy for adults with dysarthria and apraxia of speech throughout Kent and East Sussex following stroke, brain injury and other neurological conditions.
Get in Touch
If you or a family member are experiencing changes to speech following a neurological condition, I would be happy to discuss how specialist speech and language therapy may help. Please get in touch to arrange an initial conversation or assessment.