Revisiting Dysarthria Treatment Across Languages: The Hybrid Approach

Abstract

Purpose: Ten years after Miller and Lowit's (2014) groundbreaking book providing a cross-linguistic perspective on motor speech disorders, we ask where we are regarding dysarthria treatment across languages in two specific populations: adults with Parkinson's disease (PD) and children with cerebral palsy (CP). Method: In this commentary, we consider preliminary evidence for both language-independent and language-specific approaches to treatment and propose a hybrid approach to speech treatment across languages, centered on the individual with dysarthria who speaks any given language. Conclusions: Treatment research on individuals with dysarthria secondary to PD and CP is advancing, but several areas remain to be explored. Next steps are suggested for addressing the paucity and complexity of cross-linguistic speech treatment research.