Dysarthria in Children: Signs, Causes, and How It Differs From Apraxia
Dysarthria is a speech disorder caused by brain or nerve damage that changes how the speech muscles work, so speech may sound slow, slurred, or hard to understand. In children, causes include cerebral palsy and brain injury. Unlike apraxia, a planning problem, dysarthria is a problem carrying out movements.
What dysarthria is
Speaking uses muscles of the face, lips, tongue, and throat, plus the breathing muscles. ASHA explains that dysarthria happens when brain or nerve damage changes how those muscles work, so speech can sound slow, slurred, or hard to understand; it can be mild or severe and can affect children as well as adults. MedlinePlus notes the muscles may be weak, completely paralyzed, or hard to coordinate.1,2
- Slurred or mumbled speech that people struggle to understand.
- Speaking too slowly or too fast, or too quietly or loudly.
- Difficulty moving the tongue, lips, and jaw.
- A robotic or “choppy” rhythm.
- A hoarse or breathy voice, or speech that sounds stuffy or very nasal.
These signs are from ASHA’s consumer guidance on dysarthria.1
Causes in children
ASHA says dysarthria can be present from birth or develop later, after an illness or injury, and lists causes including cerebral palsy, brain injury, tumors, and muscular dystrophy. MedlinePlus lists cerebral palsy among the neuromuscular causes.1,2
In a Swedish population-based study of 129 children with cerebral palsy, more than half had speech difficulties: 21% had a speech disorder and 32% were nonverbal. Speech ability was related to the type of cerebral palsy, gross motor function, cognitive level, and the location of brain lesions.4
Free Speech Milestone Checker
Check your child’s speech and language milestones — in 2 minutes.
Dysarthria vs. childhood apraxia of speech
| Dysarthria | Childhood apraxia of speech | |
|---|---|---|
| Core problem | Executing movements — muscle control | Planning and programming movements |
| Muscle weakness | Often present | Not the cause |
| Shared features | Distorted consonants and vowels, slow rate, voicing errors | The same features can appear |
How the two motor speech disorders differ (ASHA).3
ASHA notes that because the two share several speech, prosody, and voice features, telling them apart is challenging — especially in mild to moderate cases — and misdiagnosis can occur. It recommends referral to a pediatric neurologist when signs such as dysarthria symptoms without a prior neurodevelopmental diagnosis, tremors, or imbalance appear.3
How therapy helps
ASHA describes therapy that depends on the type and severity of dysarthria and may include slowing speech, speaking louder, moving the lips and tongue more, saying sounds clearly in words and sentences, and improving breathing to support speech. When speech is very hard to understand, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) — gestures, writing, pointing to pictures or letters, or devices — can be added. ASHA advises seeing a doctor right away for any new difficulty talking, and emergency care for sudden changes.1
Find a certified SLP through ASHA’s ProFind directory.5
About SpeechStep
SpeechStep is speech-sound practice for ages 4–8 and is not designed for dysarthria. A child with dysarthria needs an SLP’s individual plan.
Frequently asked questions
What is dysarthria?＋
ASHA describes dysarthria as a speech disorder that happens when brain or nerve damage changes the way the muscles for speaking work, which can make speech slow, slurred, or hard to understand. MedlinePlus adds that the muscles may be weak, paralyzed, or hard to coordinate. It can affect children and adults.
What causes dysarthria in children?＋
Anything that damages the brain or nerves controlling speech. It can be present from birth or develop after illness or injury. ASHA and MedlinePlus list cerebral palsy among causes; others include brain injury, tumors, and neuromuscular diseases such as muscular dystrophy.
What is the difference between dysarthria and apraxia?＋
ASHA explains that dysarthria is a deficit in motor execution — carrying out speech movements, often with muscle weakness — while childhood apraxia of speech is a deficit in motor planning and programming. They share features such as distorted sounds and slow rate, so misdiagnosis can happen.
How common are speech problems in cerebral palsy?＋
Very common. In a Swedish population-based study of 129 children with cerebral palsy, 21% had a speech disorder, 32% were nonverbal, and 47% had no speech disorder.
Put this into practice today
Try the free speech milestone checker, or start daily AI speech practice — every child takes one SpeechStep at a time.
References
5 sources from authoritative bodies. Last reviewed October 2026.
- 1.ASHADysarthria — Consumer page.
- 2.MedlinePlus (U.S. National Library of Medicine)Dysarthria — Medical encyclopedia.
- 3.ASHAChildhood Apraxia of Speech — Practice Portal page.
- 4.Peer-reviewedNordberg et al. — Speech Problems Affect More Than One in Two Children With Cerebral Palsy: Swedish Population-Based Study — Population-based study (Acta Paediatrica), 2013.
- 5.ASHAASHA ProFind: Find a Certified Speech-Language Pathologist — Referral directory.