Finding Your Voice Again: How Motor Speech Therapy Improves Clarity After Apraxia or Dysarthria

Introduction:
The ability to communicate your thoughts clearly is a fundamental part of your identity and connection to others. For adults with motor speech disorders like apraxia of speech or dysarthria—often resulting from stroke, brain injury, or Parkinson’s disease—this clarity can feel frustratingly out of reach. Your mind knows what you want to say, but the message gets lost in translation to your mouth and speech muscles. At The Speech Therapy Boutique, we specialize in turning that frustration into progress. This post explores how targeted motor speech therapy can help you rebuild the pathway to intelligible speech.

Understanding Apraxia vs. Dysarthria:

• Apraxia of Speech: A planning/programming disorder. The brain struggles to sequence the precise movements needed for speech. Words may come out with inconsistent errors, groping movements, or distorted sounds.
• Dysarthria: A execution/muscle control disorder. The muscles of the lips, tongue, voice box, and diaphragm are weak, slow, or uncoordinated, leading to slurred, slow, or breathy speech.

Our Person-Centered Therapy Method:
Olivia Oro, a bilingual specialist with over a decade of experience, creates a supportive environment where progress is celebrated. Our therapy is never one-size-fits-all.

• Detailed Speech Analysis: We identify the specific characteristics of your speech pattern to tailor our approach directly to your needs.
• Articulation & Precision Training: We use evidence-based drills and exercises to improve the accuracy of individual sounds and sound combinations.
• Prosody and Rhythm Work: Therapy often focuses on the melody, stress, and rhythm of speech, which are crucial for natural-sounding and intelligible communication.
• Strength and Coordination Exercises: For dysarthria, we incorporate exercises to strengthen oral muscles and improve the coordination of breathing with speaking.
• Functional Communication Strategies: We integrate practice with phrases and conversations that matter to you, ensuring therapy is relevant to your daily life.

Clarity is Within Reach.
Improving speech clarity is a journey of consistent, focused practice. Our goal is to make that journey feel manageable, supported, and directed toward the conversations that matter most to you.

Take the First Step Toward Clearer Speech.
If you’re in Miami-Dade or anywhere in Florida, we can help. The Speech Therapy Boutique offers both in-person and teletherapy options. Start with a FREE consultation to discuss your challenges.