The theoretical part of the master’s thesis includes a presentation of the various forms of dysarthria and the effect they have on individual speech functions. It is followed by a collection of assorted methods of work and other activities that follow the guidelines of integral speech therapy for individuals suffering from dysarthria, which includes treatment aimed toward the speaker (correction of posture and relaxation, breathing, phonation, resonance, articulation, prosody and the use of alternative and complementary forms of communication), treatment focused on communication and the field of counselling. Logopedic work in the area of dysarthria has to follow the principle of comprehensive treatment. It is only by doing so that a comprehensive approach to the rehabilitation of communication skills and the empowerment of an individual for reintegration into the wider social environment can take place.
The aim of this master’s thesis was to evaluate the speech function of a gentleman with dysarthria, to accurately describe his problems in the field of speech and communication, and to create a set of working methods in specific areas of speech functioning that had been harmed with the emergence of dysarthria as part of a comprehensive intensive speech therapy treatment with the aim to increase intelligibility of speech and to encourage communication during the period adulthood.
The empirical part presents the case study of a 62-year-old gentleman with dysarthria, who had suffered a traumatic head injury in February 2014. Speech therapy lasted 10 months and was focused primarily on the areas of breathing, phonation and communication. The patient’s speech functions were estimated by means of the Robertson Dysarthria Profile. More specifically, areas of breathing and phonation were monitored with the objective and subjective voice evaluation (acoustic analysis of voice and GIRBAS scale). The results in all monitored areas show: extension of exhalation, adequate coordination of breathing and phonation, softer phonation, a more adequate voice pitch, less voice breaking, the ability to articulate the majority of sounds and a greater degree of self-initiative in communication. The progress does not allow the functional use of speech, which is why speech therapy has been focused on introducing an electronic communication device with the appropriate software.
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