Salient features: features that contribute most directly to diagnosis

◦Strength: reduced, usually consistently but sometimes progressively

◦ Speed: reduced or variable (except in hypokinetic dysarthria, when it is increased but accompanied by reduced ROM)

Examination of speech mechanism

◦ Range of motion (ROM): reduced or variable

◦Steadiness: unsteady, either rhythmic or arrhythmic

◦ Tremor, hyperkinesias◦ Tone: a normal property of muscle that establishes its

appearance as neither too taut nor too flabby; a constant state of readiness◦ May be increased, decreased, or variable

◦Accuracy: inaccurate, either consistently or inconsistently

Spell: Motor Speech Disorders Quiz 1