Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment – Second Edition (FDA-2)
A standardised assessment of motor speech disorder across seven speech subsystems.
By Claire White
- Clinician-administered; about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Seven scored sections and 26 items, covering reflexes, respiration, lips, palate, larynx, tongue, and intelligibility.
- Each item rated a to e, where a is normal for age and e is unable to attempt the task. Total from 0 to 104.
- Assesses dysarthria, which is motor speech, not aphasia, which is language.
What does the FDA-2 measure?
The FDA-2 assesses the motor subsystems that produce speech, one at a time, and then listens to what they add up to. Seven sections carry a score, and an eighth records influencing factors such as hearing, sight, teeth, mood, and posture, which shape performance without being part of the total.
| Section | What it rates |
|---|---|
| Reflexes | Cough, swallow, and dribble or drool |
| Respiration | Breath support at rest and during speech |
| Lips | At rest, spread, seal, alternating movement, and in speech |
| Palate | Handling fluids, maintaining closure, and in speech |
| Laryngeal | Sustained time, pitch, volume, and in speech |
| Tongue | At rest, protrusion, elevation, lateral and alternating movement, and in speech |
| Intelligibility | Single words, sentences, and conversation |
Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder and is distinct from aphasia, which is a language disorder. The FDA-2 is the right instrument when the primary impairment is motor rather than linguistic.
What does an FDA-2 score mean?
Each of the 26 items is rated a to e, where a is normal for age and e is unable to attempt the task. Those ratings convert to numbers from 4 down to 0, with half points allowed between adjacent levels, so the total runs from 0 to 104 and higher is better.
The total is less informative than the shape. A low score confined to the laryngeal section describes a different problem, and a different treatment target, from the same total spread evenly across every subsystem. The profile is what guides treatment planning and decisions about augmentative communication. Norms are published for adults without dysarthria and for patients whose dysarthria has a confirmed medical cause, so the pattern can be compared against those profiles. It is reference information, not a diagnosis.
How the FDA-2 is administered
- Administered by
- A speech-language pathologist or other trained clinician
- Time to administer
- About 20 to 30 minutes
- Equipment
- Examiner's manual, rating forms, and the intelligibility cards
- Cost
- Free to take here.
- Published by
- Pro-Ed
- Age range
- 12 years and up. Norms cover ages 12 to 97.
Which conditions is the FDA-2 used for?
Related instruments
- Frenchay Aphasia Screening Test (FAST)The aphasia screen from the same Frenchay group, for when the words are the problem
- Western Aphasia Battery (WAB-R)The full language battery, when the difficulty is finding words rather than producing sounds
- NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS)Scores dysarthria as a single item during acute stroke assessment
- Mississippi Aphasia Screening Test (MAST)A 5 to 10 minute screen to rule language in or out first
FDA-2 questions, answered
What is the difference between dysarthria and aphasia?
Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder. The person knows the word and has it ready, but the muscles that produce it are weak, slow, or poorly coordinated, so speech comes out slurred, quiet, or strained. Aphasia is a language disorder. The word itself is hard to find, understand, read, or write. They often occur together after a stroke, and they need different assessments and different treatment. The FDA-2 is for the first one.
How is the FDA-2 scored?
Each of the 26 items is rated a to e, where a is normal for the person's age and e is unable to attempt the task at all. For analysis those ratings convert to numbers from 4 down to 0, with half points allowed between adjacent levels, giving a total from 0 to 104. Higher is better.
How long does the FDA-2 take?
About 20 to 30 minutes.
Can the FDA-2 tell you which type of dysarthria someone has?
It supports that judgement rather than making it. The test reports norms for adults without dysarthria and for patients with dysarthria of confirmed medical cause, so the pattern across the seven sections can be compared against those profiles. The pattern informs a differential description. The diagnosis is still the clinician's.
Is the FDA-2 free?
Yes. It is free to take here. The FDA-2 itself is published by Pro-Ed, which is who to approach about administering it in your own practice.
Does the FDA-2 diagnose dysarthria?
It produces reference information about which speech subsystems are impaired and how badly. Diagnosis stays with your clinician.
Evidence, psychometrics and provenance
Created by Pamela Enderby and published in 1980. The second edition, revised with Rebecca Palmer, was published by Pro-Ed in 2008 and added the normative data.
Psychometrics
- Inter-rater reliability
- Acceptable, including between therapists not trained on the test (Enderby, 1980)
- Normative data
- Adults without dysarthria, and patients with dysarthria of confirmed medical cause (Enderby and Palmer, 2008)
References
- 1.Enderby P. Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment. Br J Disord Commun. 1980;15(3):165-173. DOI 10.3109/13682828009112541.
- 2.Enderby P, Palmer R. FDA-2: Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment, 2nd ed. Austin TX: Pro-Ed; 2008. Source of the section list, the kit contents, the price, and the age norms.
- 3.Kawabata A, Wada A, Kawakami M, et al. Characteristics of dysarthria in patients with spinocerebellar degeneration and multiple system atrophy: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study using the Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment Second Edition (FDA-2). Front Neurol. 2026;16:1734012. Source of the item count, rating conversion, and total score range.
This assessment uses a validated instrument and is reference information, not a diagnosis.