Impaired articulation due to muscle weakness is called which term?

• A. Speech rate
• B. Dysarthria
• C. Apraxia of speech
• D. Aphasia

Answer: (B)

Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder caused by weakness or incoordination of the muscles used to talk (lips, tongue, palate, larynx, and related muscles). This muscle shortcoming leads to slurred, slow, or imprecise articulation. It shows up with neurologic conditions that affect neuromuscular control. By contrast, apraxia of speech involves difficulty planning or programming the movements for speech, so errors are more variable and not due to muscle weakness. Aphasia is a language disorder affecting understanding or producing language, not a problem with the speech muscles themselves. So when articulation is impaired specifically because of muscle weakness, the correct term is dysarthria.