Communicative Participation in Dysarthria: Perspectives for Management

Abstract

Communicative participation is restricted in many conditions associated with dysarthria. This position paper defines and describes the construct of communicative participation. In it, the emergence of this construct is reviewed, along with the predictors of and variables associated with communicative participation in the dysarthrias. In doing so, the features that make communicative participation unique and distinct from other measures of dysarthria are highlighted, through emphasizing how communicative participation cannot be predicted solely from other components of the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), including levels of impairment or activity limitations. Next, the empirical literature related to the measurement of communicative participation and how this research relates to dysarthria management is presented. Finally, the development of robust clinical measures of communicative participation and approaches to management is described from the point of view of the clinician. We argue that communicative participation should be a primary focus of treatment planning and intervention to provide patient-centered, holistic, and value-based clinical interventions which are responsive to the needs of individuals living with dysarthria.