Impaired articulation due to muscle weakness is known as?

• A. Dysarthria
• B. Apraxia of speech
• C. Aphasia
• D. Dysphonia

Answer: (A)

Dysarthria is a motor-speech disorder caused by weakness or poor coordination of the muscles used to produce speech, such as the lips, tongue, palate, and larynx. When these muscles are weak, articulation becomes imprecise and slurred, so speech sounds slowed or distorted even though the person may know what they want to say and have normal language skills. This distinguishes it from other speech disorders:

Apraxia of speech involves trouble with planning and programming the movements needed for speech, not the strength of the muscles. People with apraxia often have effortful speech with inconsistent errors and groping movements, despite preserved muscle strength.

Aphasia is a language disorder arising from brain damage that affects understanding or formulating language; speech may be fluent or nonfluent but the problem lies in language processing, not in the physical execution of movements.

Dysphonia refers to trouble with voice production itself—voice quality, pitch, or loudness—typically due to vocal fold or laryngeal issues, not necessarily the articulation of consonants and vowels.

So when articulation is impaired specifically because of muscle weakness, the correct term is dysarthria.