A head injury from a car accident is one of the most serious injuries a person can sustain in an accident, and it can be devastating. This type of neurological injury can cause long-term or even permanent damage for car accident victims.
One such potential impact is slurred speech — or dysarthria — a speech disorder caused by a brain injury. This nerve damage drastically affects a person’s communication abilities. In this blog post, Dr. Louis Patino and his team explain what dysarthria is, what symptoms can occur alongside it, what treatment options are available, and how to improve communication, whether you have slurred speech after a head injury or your friend or loved one has dysarthria.
What Is Dysarthria?
In a journal article for the Archives of Community Medicine and Public Health, neurologists Dilip Kumar Jayaraman and Joe M. Das define dysarthria as:
“A neuromotor disorder that results from abnormalities in speed, strength, accuracy, range, tone, or duration required for speech control.”
But what does this actually mean?
Put simply, dysarthria is a speech disorder that affects the muscles we use to speak, often resulting in slurred speech. In severe cases, a person may be unable to control the speech muscles entirely, causing a complete loss of speech. This severe — and, thankfully, rare — form of dysarthria is called anarthria.
Those with dysarthria have no problem with comprehension or memory — it’s the output of those processes (communicating with speech) that’s affected.
This separates dysarthria from aphasia — a language disorder that affects comprehension. While people with aphasia may slur their speech, they will often also struggle to understand language and have trouble reading, writing, and remembering the meanings of words.
What Causes Slurred Speech After a Head Injury?
Dysarthria happens when the parts of the brain that control speech muscles — such as the lips, jaw, and tongue — are damaged, leaving the muscles weak or paralyzed. Several areas of the brain control muscle movement and can lead to slurred speech after a head injury if damaged, including:
- The brain stem, which controls the muscles used for breathing and making sounds.
- The cerebellum, located between the cerebrum (the largest part of the brain, at the top and front of the skull) and brain stem.
- The basal ganglia, which are collections of nerve cells that coordinate movement.
- Neuromuscular junction, which are nerves that connect with muscles.
Dysarthria can happen when degenerative disorders (like Parkinson’s disease) or infections damage the parts of the brain that affect coordination and muscle movement.
But one of the most common causes of dysarthria is a car accident. The brain is incredibly vulnerable — even a slight knock or bump can cause a concussion, which is a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI).
The physical impact of a car accident — which often causes the head to jolt back and forth and the brain to hit the skull — can cause a severe TBI, and the consequences can be life-changing.
While the occurrence and severity of slurred speech after a head injury varies based on the extent of brain damage, dysarthria is fairly common for people with a TBI. One study in The National Library of Medicine states that as much as 65% of people with a brain injury may develop the disorder.
What Are the Symptoms of Dysarthria?
The most common symptom of dysarthria after a head injury is slurred speech, but it’s not the only one.
Other symptoms of the condition can include:
- A strained, hoarse, or breathy voice
- Dysphagia — difficulty swallowing, which can cause persistent drooling and gurgling
- Slowed speech
- Mumbling
- Speaking quietly.
Slurred speech after a head injury can also have a significant emotional impact. Unsurprisingly, dysarthria can be incredibly debilitating, frustrating, and perhaps embarrassing, as those affected might not be easily understood by others. As a result, people with the speech disorder may become withdrawn and avoid socializing. When with others, they may be detached, preferring to stay silent. This can significantly limit their quality of life, robbing them of the confidence to engage in new friendships and relationships or put themselves forward for a job role.
Getting Diagnosed with Dysarthria After a Traumatic Brain Injury
If you are receiving the above symptoms after a car accident that caused a traumatic brain injury or facial trauma, you should see a doctor immediately. After a physical exam and scans, you may see a speech-language pathologist (SLP) who will assess the severity of the speech disorder condition.
During the assessment, you may be asked to
- Stick your tongue out
- Bite your lower lip
- Make various sounds
- Count or repeat phrases
- Talk about a familiar topic
- Read aloud.
Doing these tasks will allow the SLP to examine the movement of your muscles and rule out aphasia.
Other tests alongside a physical analysis can include:
- A Magnetic Resonance Imaging test (more commonly known as an MRI) to measure brain function, show changes in brain structure, and detect any bruising, scarring, or other physical damage.
- An electromyogram (EMG), which evaluates electrical activity in your nerves to determine muscle response.
Treatment for Slurred Speech After a Head Injury
Dysarthria caused by a head injury is non-progressive, which means it won’t worsen over time. And, with the right treatment and support, individuals may see improvements.
Treatment often involves speech therapy with a speech-language pathologist to maximize communication with others.
The exact methods used will depend on an individual’s unique needs. Doctors will examine the type and severity of dysarthria and a patient’s specific speech problems. Based on this, they will create a personalized rehabilitation plan.
The plan may include restorative methods, which focus on improving speech, or compensatory methods, which provide alternative strategies so that individuals can communicate more effectively with others.
Restorative methods include:
- Exercises to improve the volume of speech
- Exercises to strengthen the control of the muscles used in speech
- Repeating specific tasks to enhance neuroplasticity.
Alternative methods include:
- Slowing down while talking.
- Using shorter sentences and avoiding difficult and complicated words
- Gesturing or using images
- Adjusting posture
- Using communication aids, such as an alphabet keyboard.
Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that speech therapy will improve dysarthria. When treatment is successful, it can take time to learn and adjust to new ways of communicating.
Communicating with Others When You Have Dysarthria
Adapting to life after head trauma can be complex, especially when it affects something so vital as your way of communicating. But there are techniques you can use to improve your ability to communicate and gain a normal life after your car accident injuries. You can gain some independence and confidence that allows you to continue to build relationships without fear of being misunderstood.
You may work on these with the support of a speech-language pathologist, and continued practice will make them easier to do over time.
Use Short Words and Phrases
When you have sudden slurred speech after a head injury, it can feel like you have to learn to speak all over again. Start by using smaller, easier-to-say words and phrases so your conversation partner can easily follow you. You can also do this when changing the conversation to another topic. Instead of jumping straight in, it’s helpful to use a short identifier word, such as “food” for discussing dinner or “dog” for talking about your friend’s pet.
Pause Regularly When Speaking
Pausing doesn’t just let you check if your listener can understand you; it also gives you a little break. Because the facial muscles are weaker, talking will tire you out quickly. By pausing often, you’ll be able to enjoy the conversation for longer.
Use Gestures
We all use hand gestures and facial expressions — and, often, more than we realize — so don’t be afraid to rely on these to get your point across. This might be as simple as pointing at an object or as elaborate as acting out a scene or mimicking an action related to your topic.
Have an Alternative on Standby
There’s no shame in having an alternative method of communication on standby when you’re struggling to communicate, your listener has trouble understanding, or you need to give your voice a break. Consider carrying a pen and notebook with you so you can write or draw what you want to say, or use a notes app on your smartphone to type out messages.
Communicating with Someone with Slurred Speech After a Car Accident Head Injury
If you’re communicating with someone with dysarthria, it’s important to remember that they can understand you. The person you speak to is trying their best to speak clearly. Having patience and making small changes to how you talk can make a huge difference.
Reduce Distractions
When you’re in a noisy environment, communication can be difficult at the best of times. Find a quiet place — ideally face-to-face instead of over the phone — where you can speak. Whether you’re talking with friends, a loved one, or employees, an environment with no distractions means you can focus all of your attention on the conversation.
Ask Questions
Don’t worry about asking questions if you’re not sure if you understand slurred speech correctly. It’s not helpful to pretend you do; the person you’re speaking to will appreciate your honesty.
It’s helpful to ask yes or no questions, repeat what you think you heard, and ask them to clarify if you’re correct.
Pay Attention to Visual Cues
One method an individual with dysarthria may use to communicate is gesturing. This might include pointing, signing, using different body movements, or writing things down to convey their thoughts. Keep an eye out for these methods and give them your full attention while speaking.
Listeners Should Resist the Urge to Finish Sentences
When you’re speaking to someone with slurred speech or who seems to find it challenging to regulate their breath, you might think you’re being helpful by finishing their sentences. However, this can make them feel more isolated. It’s important to remember that they are doing their best to communicate to you as clearly as possible. It can be frustrating for someone with dysarthria to be cut off and stopped from expressing what they want to say, so above all, be patient and give them space to communicate.
To sum up, the following tips will really help you talk to someone with dysarthria in the long term:
- Be open to telling the person if you need help understanding their speech.
- When engaged in conversations with the person in a group, keep the person involved in the conversation.
- It’s a useful tip to keep a pencil and paper handy should the person wish to use visuals to express thoughts.
- Stick to closed-ended questions that allow the person to answer “yes” or “no.”
Can You Get Compensation If You Have Slurred Speech After a Head Injury?
If you or a loved one has slurred speech after a head injury, you could recover compensation if the accident that caused your dysarthria happened because of someone else’s negligence.
For example, you might sustain a concussion due to whiplash after being rear-ended by a tailgating driver, or you might hit your head after slipping on a spillage where there was no wet floor sign. If you develop dysarthria as a result of your initial head injury — and you can prove the other party’s fault — you can file a claim to recover your losses.
And, there’s no denying the benefits of getting the compensation you’re rightfully entitled to. You’ll likely need tests, scans, regular doctor’s visits, and ongoing speech therapy, which can be incredibly costly. You might also be unable to work — especially if you work in a public-facing role. This can leave you without a regular paycheck, making the threat of mounting medical expenses more severe.
That’s without considering the emotional impact of your head injury on your life. Being diagnosed with slurred speech can be devastating. You might lose confidence and become withdrawn or depressed. Your relationships might deteriorate, or your head injury could have other consequences beyond dysarthria, such as impacting your memory or ability to concentrate.
A personal injury claim allows you to recover all these losses, from your past and future lost wages and medical expenses to compensation for any emotional distress you have suffered because of your injury.
Our Texas personal injury firm’s experienced head injury lawyers in McAllen and San Antonio will fight hard to protect your interests and secure the compensation you deserve after your wrongful injury. We will guide you through the entire process, from assessing your rights to claim during your free, no-obligation case review to determining who is responsible, gathering evidence to build your case, and negotiating the best possible result.
Contact Patino Law Firm today to speak to a personal injury attorney about your case. You can submit a contact form, call 855-LAW-NINJA, or start a chat. We’re here to help you get the compensation you deserve. Our English and Spanish-speaking team is available 24/7, and you don’t pay fees until we win.
