What are speech disorders?
When a person is unable to produce speech sounds correctly or fluently or has problems with his or her voice, then he or she has a speech disorder. Difficulties in pronouncing the sounds or articulation disorders and stuttering are examples of speech disorders.
Speech disorders can affect the way a person creates sounds to form words. Certain voice disorders may also be considered speech disorders.
One of the most commonly experienced speech disorders is stuttering. Other speech disorders include apraxia and dysarthria.
Apraxia is a motor speech disorder caused by damage to the parts of the brain related to speaking.
What causes speech disorders?
Speech disorders affect the vocal cords, muscles, nerves, and other structures within the throat.
Causes may include:
Vocal Cord Damage
Brain Damage
Muscle Weakness
Respiratory Weakness
Strokes
Polyps on Vocal Cords
People who have certain medical or developmental conditions may also have speech disorders. Common conditions that can lead to speech disorders are:
- Autism
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Strokes
- Oral cancer
- Laryngeal cancer
- Huntington’s disease
- Dementia
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease
- Speech disorders may be hereditary, and they can develop over time.
What are the symptoms of a speech disorder?
What are the symptoms of a speech disorder?
- Repeating sounds, which is most often seen in people who stutter
- Adding extra sounds and words
- Elongating words
- Making jerky movements while talking, usually involving the head
- Blinking several times while talking
- Visible frustration when trying to communicate
- Taking frequent pauses when talking
- Distorting sounds when talking
- Hoarseness, or speaking with a raspy or gravelly sounding voice
How are speech disorders treated?
Mild speech disorders may not require any treatment. Some speech disorders may simply go away. Others can improve with speech therapy.
Treatment varies and depends on the type of disorder. In speech therapy, a professional therapist will guide you through exercises that work to strengthen the muscles in your face and throat. You’ll learn to control your breathing while speaking. Muscle-strengthening exercises and controlled breathing help improve the way your words sound. You’ll also learn ways to practice smoother, more fluent speech.
Some people with speech disorders experience nervousness, embarrassment, or depression. Talk therapy may be helpful in these situations. A therapist will discuss ways to cope with the condition and ways to improve the outlook of your condition. If your depression is severe, antidepressant medications can help.
What are the potential complications of speech disorders?
Untreated speech disorders may cause a person to experience a great deal of anxiety. Over time, this anxiety can trigger anxiety disorders or a phobia of speaking in public. Early treatment for anxiety can help prevent the development of anxiety disorders or phobias. Treatment options include talk therapy and antianxiety medications.
What is the long-term outlook?
The outlook improves for people who seek early treatment. Early treatment helps prevent a speech disorder from worsening. The outlook for those with permanent disabilities depends upon the severity of the disability.
Apart from that other disorders that affect an individuals communication are,
- Delayed speech and language development
- Autism
- Mental retardation
- Learning disability
- Cerebral palsy
- Etc.
