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Purpose. Dysarthria in neurological conditions can impact on people's view of themselves as communicators. How views might evolve and how they relate to changes in other variables remains unclear. We investigated patterns of change in self-perception as a communicator in people with Parkinson's disease (PD) and compared outcomes to changes in other clinical measures.

Methods. Thirty-one people with initially early-stage PD completed a 22-item self-administered semantic differential questionnaire aimed at characterising their view of themselves as communicators before they had PD and at two assessment points 3 years apart. Patterns of change across time were analysed, and compared to intelligibility, motor, mood and cognitive measures.

Results. Negative changes in perceptions of self as a communicator occurred, in particular in reactions around competence, adequacy, control and ease in …