Speech Disorders

What are speech disorders?

Speech disorders are conditions that make it hard for you or your child to make the sounds you need when communicating verbally. It can make children feel isolated and frustrated because they have difficulty getting people to understand what they say.

Speech disorders aren't the same as language disorders. A language disorder is a problem a child has with getting people to understand what they mean when they talk (expressive language disorders) or following the information someone is giving them (receptive language disorders).

Speech disorders can develop as a result of a developmental problem, or they might arise for no identifiable cause.

What types of speech disorders are there?

There are several different types of speech disorders, including:

Disfluencies

Disfluencies make you or your child say a particular phrase, word, or sound repeatedly. Stuttering is the most well-known type of disfluency. It can develop because of genetic abnormalities, brain trauma or infection, or due to emotional stress.

Articulation and phonological disorders

These problems mean your child can't make all the sounds they need to, or they leave sounds off sometimes. They can develop because of the shape of the bones and tissues in your child's mouth - having a cleft palate for example can cause articulation and phonological disorders.

Tooth problems can also make it challenging to produce the right sounds. Nerve and brain damage, as is seen in children with cerebral palsy and hearing loss, can also cause these types of speech disorders.

Voice disorders

To produce sounds when you talk air has to pass from your lungs, through your vocal cords, up into your throat, nose, and mouth, and then through your lips. Voice disorders develop when something interferes with this flow of air, such as:

• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• Throat cancer
• Cleft palate
• Damaged nerves in your vocal cords
• Overuse of the vocal cords
• Laryngeal webs or clefts
• Noncancerous growths on the vocal cords

Other types of speech problems include a hoarse or raspy voice, a voice that's breaking or where the pitch suddenly changes, having too soft or too loud a voice, and running out of air before you finish a sentence.

How are speech disorders treated?

In many cases, children outgrow mild speech disorders over time. On the other hand, early intervention when your child has a speech disorder is likely to produce better outcomes. You can discuss your child's treatment needs with the expert team at Celebrations Speech Group.

It's important to identify any underlying cause of a speech disorder, as treating the condition could resolve the speech problem. The treatment required depends on the cause of your child's speech disorder and how severe it is.

Speech therapy can even help with severe disorders and conditions that aren't improving using other methods. Your child's speech-language therapist at Celebrations Speech Group can teach your child different ways to make sounds to overcome their problems.

For expert speech disorder therapy, call their office to find out more or book an appointment online today.