Parameters and types of dysarthria assessment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

ABSTRACT

Purpose

to identify studies regarding the parameters and types of assessment used to evaluate dysarthria in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Research strategy

an integrative literature review study was conducted on the LILACS, SciELO, PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, Scopus, and Cochrane databases using the descriptors “Assessment AND Dysarthria AND Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis” in both Portuguese and English.

Selection criteria

the inclusion criteria consisted of articles that addressed studies on dysarthria assessment in ALS, written in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, which should be available in full, and published from 2015 to 2022. Results: out of the total of 38 studies, only 3 used a single type of dysarthria assessment. Most studies employed more than one type of assessment, ranging from 2 to 4 types. Three assessment types were predominantly used to assess the degree of speech intelligibility: auditoryperceptual assessment (31 studies), acoustic assessment (18 studies), and movement assessment (27 studies).

Conclusion

dysarthria assessment in ALS is conducted through various procedures and with multiple analysis parameters, notably through auditory-perceptual and movement assessments.

Keywords:
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Assessment; Dysarthria; Speech intelligibility; Speech production measurement; Speech acoustics