What is a Speech Disorder?

Definition: All speech sounds are acquired by a specific age (see articulation age of acquisition resource attached below). A child who does not say sounds by the expected ages may have a speech sound disorder. You may hear the terms "articulation disorder" and "phonological disorder" to describe speech sound disorders like this.

Causes: Speech sound disorders may be a result of:

• Developmental disorder, like autism
• Genetic syndrome, like Down syndrome
• Hearing loss, from ear infections or other causes
• Brain damage, like cerebral palsy or a head injury

Treatment: SLPs can help you or your child say sounds correctly and clearly. Treatment may include the following:

• Learning the correct way to make sounds
• Learning to tell when sounds are right or wrong
• Practicing sounds in different words
• Practicing sounds in longer sentences

Resources: Visit the American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association for more information on Speech Sound Disorders

• https://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/speech-sound-disorders/ 

Definition: Apraxia is a motor speech disorder that causes you to produce sounds incorrectly, resulting in saying something very different than what you intended. Apraxia consists of irregular speech patterns. Sometimes you will say something the right way one time but the wrong way the next time. You may know what you want to say but are unable to fix it. You may experience groping, effortful placement of the tongue and lips in hopes to produce the right sounds. 

Causes: Apraxia may be caused due to:

• Damage to the parts of the brain that control how muscles move
• Stroke or traumatic brain injury
• Dementia
• Brain tumors
• Brain diseases that worsen over time 

Treatment: Treatment will focus on getting your muscles to move correctly. You may need to teach your muscles to make sounds again. Speech-Language Pathologists can help improve the way you produce your speech sounds and how you implement them into everyday communication.

Resources: Visit the American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association for more information on Apraxia

• https://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/apraxia-of-speech-in-adults/ 

• https://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/childhood-apraxia-of-speech/  

Definition: Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder caused by muscle problems.These muscles may include our face, lips, tongue, and throat—as well as muscles for breathing. It is harder to talk when these muscles don’t work well. This happens when brain or nerve damage changes the way your muscles work. It can be mild to severe. 

Causes: Changes in the brain and nerves cause dysarthria. It can happen at birth or after an illness or injury. Anything that causes brain or nerve damage can cause dysarthria, such as

• amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS
• brain injury
• cerebral palsy 
• Huntington's disease
• multiple sclerosis
• muscular dystrophy
• Parkinson's disease
• spinal cord injury
• stroke
• tumors

Treatment: Your work with the SLP will depend on the type of dysarthria you have and how much of a problem it is for you. You may work on any of these activities:

• Slowing down your speech.
• Talking louder.
• Moving your lips and tongue more.
• Saying sounds clearly in words and sentences
• Learning to make changes in your voice to show emotions
• Improving the way you breathe to support clear and loud speech
• Using other ways to communicate, like using gestures, writing, or working on a computer. These are types of augmentative and alternative communication, or AAC.

Resources: Visit the American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association for more information on Dysarthria

• https://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/dysarthria/