Exam 2 Review: Speech-Language Pathology

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering speech sound disorders, pediatric language disorders, stuttering, adult cognitive-communication disorders, adult language disorders, dysphagia, voice disorders, and motor speech disorders for Exam 2 review.

Oral mechanism examination

An assessment of the structure and function of the oral mechanism, evaluating the shape, size, intactness, strength, range of motion, and coordination of structures during non-speech movements (cranial nerve exam).

Motor speech examination

An assessment evaluating how all speech systems coordinate to produce syllables (such as "pa pa, ta, ta, ka, ka, pataka") and connected speech.

Motor plan approach

The primary approach for treating an articulation disorder, where the clinician works with the client to conceptualize, create, and produce the target sound.

Linguistic approach

The primary approach for treating a phonological disorder, which teaches the child that the sounds they say change the meaning of their message.

Down syndrome (language profile)

A condition characterized by delayed phonology and speech sound mastery, impaired morphology and syntax, semantics as a relative strength, and pragmatics as a relative weakness.

Pediatric traumatic brain injury (language profile)

A condition where full language recovery is rare, semantics may be a relative strength, pragmatics (responding, turn-taking, topic maintenance) is a relative weakness, and decoding and comprehending written language can be severely impacted.

Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)

A disorder characterized by deficits across language domains: form (phonological impairments, morphology and syntax errors), content (smaller vocabulary, fewer encoded semantic features, needing more trials to learn new words), and use (immature social communication, difficulty applying pragmatic rules).

Case history

An assessment method that gathers information from the individual, caregivers, and records regarding the current complaint, relevant family history, and social context.

Norm-referenced assessment

An assessment tool that compares a client's performance to a sample of peers; it must be administered in a standardized fashion, as any deviation invalidates the score and interpretation.

Criterion-referenced assessment

An assessment tool that compares a client's performance to a pre-determined expectation; it can be administered in a naturalistic environment, does not provide standard scores, and helps guide intervention planning by determining specific skills present or absent.

Invisible stuttering

The concept that visible disfluencies (repetitions, prolongations, blocks) represent only the tip of a much larger affective and cognitive experience.

Biological etiology of stuttering

The principle that stuttering is biological rather than behavioral, primarily driven by genetics and atypical neural processing instead of parenting or simple anxiety.

Stuttering variability

An inherent feature of stuttering where disfluency levels fluctuate; clinicians should address this directly rather than reading unintended meaning into it.

Whole iceberg treatment

A comprehensive treatment approach for stuttering that reaches below surface fluency techniques to resolve fear, shame, and avoidance, often incorporating Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

Dementia

A progressive decline in memory and other cognitive areas severe enough to interfere with daily living and independent functioning, caused by widespread degeneration of brain cells and/or chemical changes.

Alzheimer's Disease

The most common type of dementia, accounting for approximately 70% of individuals diagnosed with dementia.

BE FAST

An acronym identifying stroke signs: Balance (loss of balance or coordination), Eyes (changes in vision), Face (drooping on one side), Arms and legs (weakness in a limb), Speech (difficulty speaking or understanding), and Time (call 911 or emergency services immediately).

Aphasia

An acquired total or partial loss of the ability to use or understand language (receptive or expressive), usually caused by stroke, brain disease, or injury, which does not affect intelligence.

Non-fluent aphasia (Broca's aphasia)

A form of aphasia caused by damage to the expressive language center, characterized by hesitant speech, telegraphic utterances lacking grammatical markers, word-finding difficulties, and comprehension that is better than production.

Fluent aphasia (Wernicke's aphasia)

A form of aphasia caused by damage to receptive language areas, characterized by smoothly flowing speech consisting of jargon or "word salad," poor comprehension, and unawareness of speech errors.

Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA)

A frontotemporal neurodegenerative disorder with gradual onset (often before age 65) that leads to progressive language decline affecting word comprehension, expression, sentence repetition, and grammar.

Dysphagia

Difficulty swallowing involving muscle movement, coordination, or sensation issues across oral, pharyngeal, or esophageal stages; it can cause dehydration, malnutrition, weight loss, and pneumonia.

Modified Barium Swallow Study (MBS)

An instrumental swallowing examination conducted in radiology, utilized when oral phase deficits or esophageal complaints are present and the patient is stable enough to be transported.

Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES)

An instrumental swallowing evaluation using an endoscope passed through the nose, indicated for pharyngeal concerns, coughing, voice changes, or when a patient cannot be transported to radiology.

Compensatory strategies (dysphagia)

Swallowing interventions such as diet modifications, posture changes, swallowing behavior alterations, and external manipulations designed to bypass swallowing difficulties without retraining physiology.

Rehabilitative strategies (dysphagia)

Exercise-based swallowing treatments aimed at regaining lost physiological skills, requiring patient motivation and physical stamina.

Functional voice disorder

A voice disorder resulting from inefficient use, misuse, abuse, or overuse of the vocal mechanism despite having normal anatomical structures.

Organic voice disorder

A voice disorder caused by neurogenic conditions or structural physical changes, such as presbylarynx (aging changes) or vocal fold lesions, polyps, and cysts.

Muscle tension dysphonia

A functional voice disorder that occurs when improper muscle groups attempt to compensate and assist during vocal production.

Functional aphonia

A functional voice disorder in which an individual with a normal larynx completely loses their voice, often preceded by illness and triggered or exacerbated by stress.

Vocal fold paralysis

An organic neurogenic voice condition caused by damage to cranial nerve X (vagus nerve), fixing one or both vocal folds in an abducted (open) or adducted (closed) position.

Motor speech disorder

A speech disorder resulting from neurological impairments that affect the planning, programming, control, or execution of speech movements.

Dysarthria

A motor speech disorder affecting speech execution, caused by neurological impairments in the central nervous system (cerebrum, basal ganglia, cerebellum) and/or peripheral nervous system (cranial or spinal nerves).

Apraxia of speech

A motor speech disorder involving impaired planning and programming of speech movement sequences due to left hemisphere central nervous system damage, where automatic speech is better than volitional speech.

Flaccid dysarthria

A dysarthria subtype caused by damage to lower motor neurons in the peripheral nervous system, with symptoms dependent on affected cranial nerves: hypernasality (CN X), tongue atrophy (CN XII), or absent lip closure (CN VII).

Ataxic dysarthria

A dysarthria subtype caused by damage to the cerebellum in the central nervous system, characterized by uncoordinated movements, breathing-speech coordination difficulties, multisyllabic word errors, and excess stress.