What type of speech disorder involves difficulty with the physical act of producing speech?

Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder resulting from neurological injury that affects the muscles involved in speech production. Individuals with dysarthria often struggle with the physical aspects of speaking, such as controlling the movements of the lips, tongue, vocal cords, and diaphragm. This can lead to slurred speech, difficulty articulating words, inconsistent speech volume, and changes in pitch.

In contrast, other speech disorders, such as resonance disorders and voice disorders, primarily involve issues with sound quality and pitch rather than the physical mechanics of speech production. Feeding and swallowing disorders are related to the processes of eating and swallowing rather than the act of verbal communication itself. Therefore, dysarthria specifically highlights the challenges associated with the physical act of producing speech.