Motor Speech Disorders

Impairments of speech communication due to a dysfunction of the central and/or peripheral motor system are referred to as motor speech disorders. Actually, these abnormalities rather must be called sensorimotor speech disorders since the motor system is closely interconnected with somatosensory functions as well as—in case of speech—with auditory representations. Proper assessment and treatment of these syndromes, eventually, must draw upon the expertise of several disciplines, including Speech–Language pathology, phoniatrics, neurology, and the language sciences. This entry comprises (1) a brief outline of the mechanisms of speech motor control and (2) an attempt to classify and to further characterize the various kinds of motor speech disorders. Motor speech disorders must be separated, on one side, from higher order language deficits, that is aphasias, and on ...