Communication Difficulty

Individuals with Machado-Joseph Disease (MJD) experience significant speech loss (dysarthria) throughout the progression of the disease. This greatly reduces their ability to communicate verbally and subsequently further reduces the autonomy and quality of life of people who are already seriously physically disabled. Dysarthria, or slow, slurred speech, is often an early clinical sign of MJD, and may ultimately progress to complete loss of speech (anarthria). This medical protocol outlines these symptoms and their prevalence, assessment and treatment.