Dawn Beattie, 55, of Morro Bay, California, advocates passionately for causes she believes in. But when Beattie, who has multiple sclerosis (MS), realized she was writing speeches and then asking other people to deliver them because she had trouble speaking, she knew it was time to seek speech therapy.

Speech disorders (dysarthrias) are fairly common in people with MS, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS), and they often go hand-in-hand with swallowing difficulties (dysphagia). That’s because the same muscles are involved in both actions.

As Beattie recalls, “My brain was still generating good information, but I wasn’t able to project it in a way that would convince people to change their minds.” Not only was Beattie having trouble speaking words correctly, but she was also was less and less able to speak loudly.

“I heard a lot of ‘What did you say? What did you say?'” Beattie says. At the same time, she was having mild trouble swallowing food.

How a Speech Pathologist Can Help

Beattie met with speech language pathologist Yvette Deleo, of Lompoc, California, twice a week for about four months.

Deleo recommended that Beattie use a neuromuscular electrical stimulation machine to deliver small pulses of electricity to certain muscles in her neck. Beattie says she believes the tool made a difference, because she can now speak louder and more clearly. She's swallowing more safely, too. Deleo also worked with Beattie to help her articulate specific sounds that were making her speech difficult to understand.

“I want others to benefit from the success that I had," says Beattie, who serves on the board of the Pacific South Coast chapter of the NMSS. "I want to sing it from the rooftops. When I run into people with MS whose speech is really bad, I just can’t stop telling them about how much success I’ve had."

A Broad Range of Problems … and Solutions

A speech pathologist can help you cope with a wide range of MS problems, says speech language pathologist Patricia Bednarik of the University of Pittsburgh's Institute for Multiple Sclerosis Care and Research. Speech therapists can assist with:

  • Loss of sound volume in speech
  • Poor articulation of sounds
  • Cognitive difficulty forming language
  • Swallowing and chewing

Ideally, you want a speech pathologist who has experience with MS, but Bednarik points out that speech pathologists who work with adults with various neuromuscular conditions and head injuries may also be well-suited to evaluating and addressing the complex speech impairments that may accompany MS.

Therapy for speech and swallowing problems typically starts with testing and evaluation to determine what is causing a person’s difficulties. Testing may include a barium swallow study, in which you drink liquid containing barium — which appears white on X-rays — and a radiologist takes a series of X-rays as you swallow.

Some of the strategies speech pathologists use to improve speech and swallowing include:

  • Oral motor exercises
  • Resistance exercises
  • Range of motion exercises
  • Repetition of specific sounds
  • Supplemental or alternative communication tools

For swallowing difficulties, simple strategies can sometimes make a difference, such as not consuming solids and liquids at the same time, eating more slowly, or changing your posture while eating.

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Because the impact of MS is highly individual, speech therapists often have to use creative problem-solving.

“There is always something we can do to make someone’s life better,” Bednarik says. For example, one of her clients desperately wanted to attend an outdoor summer family reunion. Bednarik realized that heat was making swallowing more difficult for this person, so she recommended wearing a cooling vest and drinking slushy drinks that day. Her plan enabled the client to safely and comfortably participate in an important social event.

In other situations, she says, speech therapists might need to recommend solutions such as picture boards or speech devices that can be used when someone is too fatigued from MS to put energy into speaking.

Choosing a Speech Therapist

Your local NMSS chapter, and word-of-mouth from members of support groups, are good resources for finding speech pathologists with the expertise you need. But don’t delay! Both Bednarik and Deleo say they wish people with MS would start speech therapy earlier in the course of their disease, before their quality of life is profoundly affected by dysarthria or dysphagia.

“People lose who they are … through the loss of communication and social eating,” says Deleo. “You need to find [a speech therapist] who is going to be on your side to encourage you to do the exercises and do the things it’s going to take to [maintain as much function as possible].”