In this SIG 2 activity, participants explore innovative articles regarding a range of topics in the assessment and treatment of motor speech disorders. The first article describes a case of anarthria in which the speech-language pathologist thoroughly described the patient’s motor speech presentation, thereby contributing to his overall neurologic diagnosis. The second article examines the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a promising method of eliciting behavior change through brain stimulation, on the speech of individuals with Parkinson’s disease. The third article explores the speech and language profiles of children with apraxia of speech as their primary diagnosis, as compared to children with other concomitant diagnoses.

Learning Outcomes
You will be able to:

• identify a few of the challenges associated with characterizing anarthria
• summarize the potential impact of transcranial direct current stimulation on hypokinetic dysarthria in people with Parkinson’s disease
• describe the speech and language profiles of children with apraxia of speech both with and without concomitant diagnoses

Assessment Type
Self-assessment—Think about what you learned and report on the Completion Form how you will use your new knowledge.

Articles in This Course

1. Characterizing Anarthria to Facilitate Neurological Diagnosis: A Case Illustration, published in SIG 2, Volume 6, Issue 6, December 2021
2. Speech Changes After Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Individuals Diagnosed With Parkinson's Disease, published in SIG 2, Volume 7, Issue 2, April 2022
3. Retrospective Case–Control Study of Communication and Motor Abilities in 143 Children With Suspected Childhood Apraxia of Speech: Effect of Concomitant Diagnosis, published in SIG 2, Volume 7, Issue 1, February 2022