Chunking Utterances
Resolve Speech Therapy · Dysarthria series
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It can be hard to say many words in one breath.
Chunking means breaking a sentence into short groups of words. You pause between each group.
This helps your speech stay clear.
Dysarthria affects the muscles used for speech — the tongue, lips, voice box, and breathing.
- Sounds can blur together
- Words can be less clear
- Speech can speed up or slow down
- Breath may run out before the sentence ends
- Speech can sound flat
- Muscles get tired over time
Think of a long car journey. It feels easier when you break it into smaller stages, with rest stops along the way.
Chunking works the same way. Say one chunk clearly. Then pause and breathe. Then say the next chunk.
Work through each chunk below. Say it aloud. Then pause and breathe before the next one.
Exercise 1
Session observations
How clear did your speech sound?
Record yourself reading a passage, then listen back and rate your intelligibility using chunking.
Clinician intelligibility rating
Rate the client's intelligibility with chunking today.
Which strategies helped most?
Reflect on today's session
Note any situations where chunking helped, or anything you found difficult.
Goals for next session
Note targets or chunk lengths to focus on next time.
📧 Email your session notes
Enter your therapist's email address. We'll open Gmail in a new tab with your notes ready to send.