Dysarthria is a medical disorder where the muscles your child uses for speech are seriously weakened. It can make your child’s speech difficult to understand due to slurring and unusually slow speech. Dysarthria can have a variety of causes, including nervous system or neurological disorders, brain injury, and facial paralysis. You might suspect your child of having dysarthria if they show additional symptoms such as:
- Monotone speech patterns
- Rapid, difficult to understand speech
- An inability to speak above a whisper
- Difficulty controlling their facial muscles
- Difficulty moving or controlling their tongue
An attorney can help you uncover the underlying cause of your child’s dysarthria. Fill out the contact form or call the Birth Injury Lawyers Group at 1-844-908-0346 to connect with a birth injury lawyer for childhood dysarthria in your state. A birth injury lawyer can help you file a lawsuit or negotiate a favorable insurance settlement.
Consult a Birth Injury Lawyer for Childhood Dysarthria
When you schedule a consultation to discuss your child’s current diagnosis and ongoing needs, your attorney can help you file a comprehensive claim for financial recovery. Your attorney can also support your lawsuit and help you gather the proof you need by doing the following:
- Assigning liability
- Negotiating a settlement
- Navigating the legal system
- Meeting applicable state timelines
- Compiling complete medical records
- Obtaining an expert review of your records
If you want the opportunity to discuss the merits and potential outcome of your case, call the Birth Injury Lawyers Group at 1-844-908-0346. An attorney can help you determine the medical error and assign liability. Your attorney can also help you meet the statute of limitations and other filing deadlines in your state.
Simply complete the contact form to be connected with a birth injury lawyer for childhood dysarthria in your state who can help you build a successful lawsuit. You can also call 1-844-908-0346 to file a lawsuit that will help you provide the medical care and treatments your son or daughter needs and deserves.
A Birth Injury Lawyer Can Help You File a Timely Lawsuit
Your birth injury lawsuit can be severely impacted by the statute of limitations in your state. The statute of repose and the legal principle of tolling for minors can also affect your lawsuit. Each state has a statute of limitations and other rules. A lawyer who is familiar with the laws in your state can help you to understand these guidelines.
Birth Injury Lawsuits
If your child is experiencing the symptoms of dysarthria, you may qualify to take legal action. Complete the form today and get connected to a birth injury lawyer for childhood dysarthria in your area. Your lawyer will help you compile a strong case to receive the financial settlement you are entitled to. Call the Birth Injury Lawyers Group at
1-844-908-0346 to start compiling your lawsuit and get on the road to receiving the financial relief you need.
What Causes Dysarthria?
Damage to the muscles surrounding the voice box is the main component of what causes dysarthria. A child who may not be able to speak properly or is showing signs of a speech impairment may have dysarthria. The good news is that there are ways to treat or manage this disorder, and the sooner your child gets help with it, the less of a challenge it will be down the road for them to communicate and for you and others to communicate with your child.
HOW DYSARTHRIA HAPPENS
Dysarthria happens when some sort of trauma has occurred to the muscles or organs that help us talk—also known as peripheral dysarthria—or a brain injury has occurred—also known as central dysarthria. This may include damage to the tongue, vocal cords, and upper respiratory system, which may weaken or become useless for a child to be able to produce sounds, articulate words, or form a sentence.
Other known causes of dysarthria in children can include:
- Traumatic brain injury
- Brain tumor
- Cerebral palsy
- Multiple sclerosis
- Muscular dystrophy
- Myasthenia gravis
- Head injury
- Neck injury
- Mouth injury
- Lyme disease
- Wilson’s disease
- Congenital
- Surgery done to the neck, head, larynx, or tongue
If your child is diagnosed with dysarthria, it is important to understand the underlying cause because there may be something more serious going on. Talk to your child’s pediatrician or specialist doctor to discuss what your next steps should be on figuring out what is causing dysarthria in your child and what you can do to fix it.
SIGNS THAT YOUR CHILD MAY HAVE DYSARTHRIA
There are early warning signs that may detect your child has a speech problem. If you notice your child is having problems talking, or you have a hard time understanding him or her, you may want to write down the issues you find concerning.
You child may exhibit dysarthria if they exhibit signs that include:
- Slurred speech
- Poor annunciation
- Talking really slow
- Talking too fast
- Broken speech
- Mumbling
- Unable to control mouth and jaw
- Abnormal voice pitch
- Hoarseness
- Nasally or congested
- Inconsistent speech rhythm
- Inconsistent speech volume
- Monotone
Some of these signs can be seen as clear indicators of a speech impairment like dysarthria, such as the inability to control their mouth or inconsistent speech rhythm. Others may just be characteristics of your child learning how to talk, such as poor annunciation or mumbling. You may want to discuss these concerns with your child’s pediatrician before seeking additional or specialized help.
TREATING DYSARTHRIA IN CHILDREN
Dysarthria is treatable and manageable in children, especially if it is detected early. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states, “the connections in a baby’s brain are more adaptable in the first three years of life.” The nervous system sends signals to the brain through basically what are clusters of neurons known as neural circuits. These circuits will essentially mature and be harder to manipulate as your child ages and therefore, it can be more challenging to reverse or manage an impairment like dysarthria.
Additionally, the type of treatments and their success is dependent on each case, especially when you consider the severity of the disorder. Either way, early detection and intervention are key.
Before treatment begins, your doctor and a speech-language pathologist may conduct a few tests to help diagnose the problem. Tests your child may have to undergo can include an MRI, CT scan, electromyography, electroencephalogram, neuropsychological test, blood tests, urine tests, spinal tap, and brain biopsy. Once your doctor gets the test results, you can discuss a treatment or management plan for your child’s dysarthria.
In less severe cases of dysarthria, speech therapy can be a good treatment option for your child. Your doctor may recommend you to a speech therapist who has the experience and tools needed to aid your child ‘s speech through repetition, language exercises, speech lessons, and other techniques. A speech therapist can also give you and your family support through this time and helpful communication tips and strategies that you can do with your child.
In more drastic cases of dysarthria, your child may not be able to speak and other ways of communication may be warranted. A speech-language pathologist or therapist can help you with this too by giving you tools and suggestions of other ways you can speak to your child and understand them.
WHAT YOU CAN DO IF A BIRTH INJURY CAUSED YOUR CHILD’S DYSARTHRIA
If a birth injury is what caused dysarthria in your child, you may be entitled to compensation. Call the Birth Injury Lawyers Group at (800) 278-9191 to speak with a member of our team who can look into your case to determine if you have a viable claim to pursue.