Speech Sound Disorders and Related Language Issues

Speech Sound Disorders

  • Definition of Speech Sound Disorder: A disorder where some speech sounds are either not produced, incorrectly produced, or not used correctly.

    • Typically, all speech sounds should be developed by age 8.

  • Types of Speech Sound Disorders:

    • Motor Speech Disorder: Resulting from neurological damage affecting motor control or motor programming of speech movements.

    • Includes conditions like Apraxia and Dysarthria.

    • Developmental Speech Sound Disorders: Linked to articulation and phonological issues.

  • Speech Delay vs Speech Disorder:

    • Delay: Typical speech production patterns for younger children.

    • Disorder: Speech that is atypical across all age groups.

    • Co-occurrence: Delays and disorders can happen alongside other developmental issues.

Etiologies of Speech Sound Disorders

  • Known Causes:

    • Organic Speech Disorders:

    • Perceptual: Input-related, often due to hearing impairments (ex: otitis media).

    • Structural: Issues like cleft lip/palate (occurs prenatally).

    • Motor: Neurological roots affecting muscle control (ex: Dysarthria, Apraxia).

  • Unknown Causes:

    • Functional Speech Disorders: Causes not identified.

Articulation Disorders

  • Errors in the sequence of sounds:

    • Substitutions: Changing sounds (e.g., "tad" for "sad").

    • Omissions: Leaving out sounds (e.g., "ad" for "sad").

    • Distortions: Producing sounds in an unfamiliar way (e.g., lateralized "s").

    • Additions: Blending sounds incorrectly (e.g., "stad" for "sad").

Phonological Disorders

  • Problems in understanding and applying the rules of speech sounds.

  • Patterns might include systematic substitutions (e.g., replacing /r/ with /w/ leading to "wabbit" for "rabbit").

Teaching Approaches

  • Articulation-Based Approaches: Focus on motor movements needed for speech using repetitive practice and feedback across various levels (phonemes, words, phrases).

  • Phonological Approaches: Aim to understand rules governing speech sounds using targeted vocabulary.

Characteristics of Apraxia

  • Definition: Neurological disorder affecting movement planning for speech; difficulty in sequencing speech movements.

  • Characteristics:

    • Slow and choppy speech,

    • Inconsistent speech errors,

    • More pronounced vowel errors,

    • Altered intonation with a flat quality.

Characteristics of Dysarthria

  • Definition: Speech disorder due to muscular weakness affecting motor control in speech.

  • Features:

    • Slow, labored, slurred speech,

    • Affected components of speech production: respiration, phonation, resonance, articulation.


Cleft Lip and Palate

  • Definition: Opening in the lip or palate from non-closure during prenatal development, affecting speech production.

    • Repair: Typically occurs within the first three months.

  • Effects on Speech:

    • Difficulty with velopharyngeal closure leading to hypernasal vowels, compensatory articulation, and potential substitutions of sounds.

Language Disorders

  • Definition of Childhood Language Disorder: Significant difficulties in cognitive and linguistic abilities affecting language learning and participation.

  • Components Affected:

    • Receptive: Understanding language.

    • Expressive: Using language.

Indicators of Language Disorders

  • Low language test scores,

  • Language samples revealing grammatical and content errors,

  • Social and psychological negative impacts.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

  • Definition: Pervasive impairments in social interaction, communication, and the presence of repetitive behaviors.

  • Symptoms:

    • Lack of joint attention,

    • Inappropriate emotional expression,

    • Severity ranging from non-verbal to high functioning.

Specific Language Impairment

  • Definition: Significant delays in language development despite normal intelligence and sensory functions.

  • Symptoms: Difficulties with form, content, use of language in various contexts.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

  • Definition: Damage to the brain from trauma, resulting in cognitive, memory, and behavioral problems.

  • Assessment Tools:

    • Glasgow Coma Scale: Measures cognitive status post-injury.

    • Ranchos Los Amigos Scale: Assesses cognitive functioning over time.

Alzheimer’s Disease

  • Characteristics: Progressive brain degeneration leading to memory and reasoning difficulties.

  • Role of SLP: Language assessment, strategies for coping with deficits, enhancing communication.