Predicting Speech Intelligibility Based on Spatial Tongue-Jaw Coupling in Persons With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: The Impact of Tongue Weakness and Jaw Adaptation.

Purpose Motor neuron diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), have a devastating effect on speech muscle function that often results in severe communication deficits. Over the course of bulbar disease, tongue and jaw movements are modified, but their impact on speech is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of disease-related changes in tongue-jaw movement coupling on speech intelligibility in persons at different stages of bulbar ALS.