Neuro-Sensorimotor Approaches for the Rehabilitation of Dysarthria: A Theoretical and Analytical Study

Abstract

Dysarthria is a neurological motor speech disorder resulting from injury or dysfunction of the central and/or peripheral nervous system and characterized by impairments in the strength, speed, range, steadiness, tone, or accuracy of the movements required for speech. These impairments may affect the respiratory, phonatory, resonatory, articulatory, and prosodic dimensions of speech and may consequently reduce speech intelligibility and communicative effectiveness. Contemporary rehabilitation increasingly draws on neurological, sensory, and motor perspectives, together with principles of neuroplasticity, sensory feedback, and motor learning. The present theoretical and analytical study aims to examine the theoretical foundations of these approaches, clarify the mechanisms through which they may contribute to dysarthria rehabilitation, and highlight the value of integrating neurological, sensory, and motor perspectives within clinical intervention. A descriptive-analytical approach was adopted through a review of relevant theoretical literature, research findings, and rehabilitation programs. The analysis suggests that an integrated sensorimotor framework can provide a more coherent account of the relationship between neurological impairment, sensory processing, speech motor control, and functional communication. The neurological approach provides the underlying explanatory framework; the sensory approach contributes to the processing and use of auditory, somatosensory, and proprioceptive information; and the motor approach translates these mechanisms into structured, repetitive, functionally oriented practice. Accordingly, rehabilitation should be individualized according to dysarthria type, lesion characteristics, affected speech subsystems, and the person’s communicative needs.