Speech disorders describe when a child develops speech and language skills later than the usual age range or when a child’s speech differs from their peers. There are many types of speech disorders that can affect children, some of which we review below.
Childhood Apraxia of Speech
When we speak, messages are translated from our brains to our mouths. These messages tell the muscles in the mouth how and when to move in order to produce the targeted sounds. With childhood apraxia of speech, the messages do not come through correctly. Children with this speech disorder know what they want to say; their brains and mouths are just not transmitting the messages correctly.
Symptoms of childhood apraxia of speech include:
- Not saying the same words the same way each time.
- Putting stress on the wrong syllables or words.
- Distorting or changing sounds.
- Saying shorter words more clearly than longer words.
A speech-language pathologist (SLP) can test for childhood apraxia of speech by looking at your child’s oral-motor skills, speech melody and how they say various words. Once diagnosed, they can begin therapy with your child to help your child say sounds, words and sentences more clearly.
Dysarthria
This speech disorder is caused by muscle weakness that makes it hard to talk. This muscle weakness can occur in the face, lips, tongue, throat and/or lungs. It is often due to brain damage.
Symptoms of dysarthria include:
- Slurred or mumbled speech.
- Speaking slowly or quickly.
- Soft voice.
- Difficulty moving the tongue, lips or jaw.
- Sounding choppy or robotic.
- Changes in voice such as hoarse, breathy or nasal voice.
An SLP can also diagnose dysarthria by looking at how your child moves their mouth, lips and tongue, as well as how they breathe. They will also listen to their speech and test how well they understand. Therapy can be a helpful intervention.
Stuttering
Stuttering means your child gets stuck on certain sounds or words. They may change words to avoid stuttering and may appear tense.
Signs of stuttering include:
- Adding sounds or words.
- Repeating whole words or phrases.
- Changing words in a sentence.
- Not finishing a thought.
- Prolonging certain sounds.
- Blocks or stops during speech.
An SLP can look at the types and numbers of disfluencies, how your child reacts to their stuttering and how their child tries to “fix” their speech. They can help your child’s stutter using direct and indirect strategies that may involve the whole family. For more information about these and other childhood speech disorders or to schedule an appointment with an SLP, call Albany ENT & Allergy Services today.