What are speech disorders?

“Speech is how we say sounds and words. People with speech problems may not say sounds clearly, have a hoarse or raspy voice, or repeat sounds or pause when speaking, called stuttering.” -ASHA

1. Articulation impairment

The child has difficulty producing speech sounds. For example, a child may omit sounds from words, substitute one sound for another, and distort speech sounds. As a result, the articulation errors make it difficult for the child to be understood by others.

2.Phonological Processing Disorder

The child has difficulty knowing and using the sound system that helps with how sounds fit together to create words. For example, the child may produce predictable -rule based errors (sounds produced in the back of the mouth, sounds at the ends of words, sounds at the beginning of words, etc). The child may exhibit one or more phonological processes in their speech making it difficult to be understood by others.

3.Fluency

This is also known as stuttering or cluttering. When the child stutters, there is a disruption in the fluency of speech. This may involve repetitions or prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases. These dysfluencies can occur frequently and are difficult to control. When a child clutters, there is a breakdown in their speech fluency due to rapid and/or irregular rate of speech.

What are language disorders?

“Language is the words we use to share ideas and get what we want. A person with a language disorder may have problems: writing, understanding, talking, and/or reading.”-ASHA

1.Receptive and Expressive Language Disorders

• Receptive language disorders refer to a child having difficulty understanding what others are saying.
• Expressive language disorders refer to a child having difficulty expressing their own thoughts and feelings.

2. Developmental Delay

When a child has a developmental delay, he or she has a delay in reaching their language, thinking, and motor skills milestones. In relation to speech, the child may understand language and is developing typically in the areas of play, motor, thinking, and social skills, but has a small spoken vocabulary for his or her age.

3. Social Language Disorder

Social language refers to one having the ability to use language in social situations by adapting his or her language to fit social contexts, recognize social cues, and understand nonverbal language.

4. Executive Dysfunction

Executive function refers to the set of mental skills that include working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control. If a child has difficulty with executive function, he or she may have a hard time focusing, following directions, planning, organizing, handling emotions, etc.