What is a speech disorder?

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What is a speech disorder?

There are different types of speech disorder. Have a look at various kinds of speech disorders a person might suffer from:

  1. Stuttering:

    It refers to a speech disorder that interferes with the slow speech. People suffering from stutter suffers following kinds of disturbance:

  2. Repetitions when people unwillingly repeat words, sounds such as well as vowels.

    Blocks are another symptom that occur when people are familiar with what they wish to say, but they face difficulty producing the required speech sounds. Blocks might cause somebody to feel as if their sounds are getting blocked.

    Prolongations primarily denote elongating any particular sounds or words.

    The symptoms of stuttering may vary in person based on the situation. Stress, or frustration or any excitement can make it more severe. In some individuals, some specific sounds or words will make them stutter even more.

    With stuttering, a person can suffer from both physical well as behavioral symptoms like

    • Tension in the face and shoulders.
    • Tremors in lip.
    • Tight fists.
    • The rapid movement of the head.

    Mainly there are two kinds of stuttering:

    • Developmental stuttering:

      It affects predominantly young children in the learning stage. A person’s genetic factors also increase the risk of developing these kinds of stutter.

    • Neurogenic stuttering:

      It occurs when the damage in the brain prohibits the required coordination between various brain regions that regulates speech.

  3. Apraxia:

    It is another speech impediment type. The brain is in control of every single action that person makes that also includes speaking. Maximum involvement of the brain in speech is automatic as well as unconscious. When somebody thinks of telling the brain to send a signal; a different part of the body functions together to make a speech. The brain sends an instruction to these structures about how and when to move to produce perfect sounds.

    For instance, the brain's speech signals open up or close the vocal cords, then make the tongue move and then shape the lips, thereby controlling the air movement through the mouth and throat.

    Apraxia is one of the standard terms that refers to brain damage that destroys a person's motor skills, and it can affect any part of the body. Apraxia of speech primarily denotes injury of motor skills that impacts a person's ability to make sounds of speech entirely. It happens even if the person knew which words are they wish to say

  4. Dysarthria:

    It happens when damage in the brain makes the muscles of the face, throat, lips, chest and tongue weak. Because of these speech problems arises. A person having dysarthria have the following symptoms:

    • Garbled speech
    • Mumbling
    • Too slow or speedy talking
    • Soft or silent speech
    • Difficulty in movement of mouth and tongue.

Also Read : The 10 most common types of speech disorders

What causes speech disorder?

Speech impediment impacts vocal cords, nerves, muscles and other such structures present in the throat. Some of the significant causes of speech disorder are:

  • Damage in the vocal cord.
  • Damage in brain
  • Weakness in muscles
  • Weakness in respiratory structures
  • Polyps in vocal cords
  • Strokes
  • Vocal cord paralysis

People having specific medical or developmental conditions also suffer from speech problems. Some of the common conditions that cause speech disorder are

  • Autism
  • Attention problem
  • Strokes
  • Oral cancer
  • Laryngeal cancer
  • Dementia
  • Huntington's disease

Speech disorder might be because of hereditary factors, and they also develop over time.

What are the symptoms of speech disorder?

Based on the cause of the speech disability, several symptoms might arise. Some of the common symptoms of people with speech impediment are:

  • Sound repetitions
  • Producing additional sounds and words
  • Elongated words
  • Producing jerky movements
  • Blinking of eyes while talking
  • Getting frustrated while making communication
  • Taking many pauses while talking
  • Twisting sounds while talking
  • Voice hoarseness or speaking with a grave sound.

How are speech disorders diagnosed?

There are several tests available for diagnosing speech impediment types:

  1. Denver articulation screening exam:

    IT is a commonly used test to diagnose articulation disorder. It evaluates the clarity in word pronunciation in children between ages 2 and 7. It is a five-minute test that makes use of varied exercises for assessing a child's speech.

  2. Early language milestones scale 2:

    This is a test developed by the neurodevelopmental pediatrician James Copland to determine child language development. With this test, it is easy to recognize speech problems.

  3. Denver articulation screening exam:

    This test weighs a person's capability to speak. The person will first listen to several sounds and select pictures that describe the words. People with severe intellectual disabilities and those who are blind cannot take this assessment.

Also Read : Speech Therapy: What It Is, How It Works & Why You May Need Therapy

How are speech disorders treated?

Mild speech problems might not need any treatment. Some of the speech problems also go away on their own, and some improve with required therapy.

Treatment varies and based on the speech impediment type. In speech therapy, a therapist guides you with the help of exercises that function in strengthening the muscles of your throat and the face. You will slowly learn how to control your breathing at the time of speaking. Some of the muscle strengthening exercises and controlled breathing, also enhance the way your words make a sound. You will also learn various methods of practicing smooth and fluent speech.

Some people having speech problems experience depression, nervousness, depression and embarrassment. Talk therapy helps in these situations. A therapist discusses various ways of coping with different types of speech disorder and conditions for improving the outlook of your case. But when you are suffering from severe depression, then antidepressant medications can help.

Also Read : Get online speech therapy program at home during Pandemic

Where to go for treatment of speech disorder?

For treatment of speech disorder, you can go to a speech therapist who can reduce or eliminate the problem. A speech therapist well recognizes which type of speech disorder you are suffering from and solves it accordingly. For the best speech therapy in Delhi, Book an appointment with Tarang Speech and Hearing Clinics today!

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