Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Speech Disorders - Children
Speech Disorders - Children
A speech disorder is a condition in which a person has problems creating or forming the speech
sounds needed to communicate with others. This can make the child's speech difficult to
understand.
Articulation disorders
Phonological disorders
Disfluency
Speech disorders are different from language disorders in children. Language disorders refer to
someone having difficulty with:
Getting their meaning or message across to others (expressive language)
Causes
Speech is one of the main ways in which we communicate with those around us. It develops
naturally, along with other signs of normal growth and development. Disorders of speech and
language are common in preschool age children.
Disfluencies are disorders in which a person repeats a sound, word, or phrase. Stuttering may be
the most serious disfluency. It may be caused by:
Genetic abnormalities
Emotional stress
Articulation and phonological disorders may occur in other family members. Other causes
include:
Problems or changes in the structure or shape of the muscles and bones used to make
speech sounds. These changes may include cleft palate and tooth problems.
Damage to parts of the brain or the nerves (such as from cerebral palsy) that control how
the muscles work together to create speech.
Hearing loss.
Voice disorders are caused by problems when air passes from the lungs, through the vocal cords,
and then through the throat, nose, mouth, and lips. A voice disorder may be due to:
Conditions that damage the nerves that supply the muscles of the vocal cords
Laryngeal webs or clefts (a birth defect in which a thin layer of tissue is between the
vocal cords)
Overuse of the vocal cords from screaming, constantly clearing the throat, or singing
Hearing loss