A dysarthria resulting from cerebellar pathway lesions, leading to incoordination of the speech muscles. It produces a distinctive “scanning” speech pattern with slow rate, irregular articulatory breakdowns, and excess or equal stress on syllables (prosodic abnormalities). Patients often sound as if they are intoxicated: speech has erratic timing, distorted vowels, and dysprosody due to disrupted timing of movements (dysdiadochokinesis). These features differentiate ataxic dysarthria from the more consistent errors of other dysarthrias.
Wang, Yu-Tsai, Ray D. Kent, Joseph R. Duffy, and Jack E. Thomas. "Analysis of Diadochokinesis in Ataxic Dysarthria Using the Motor Speech Profile Program™." Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica 61, no. 1 (2009).
