Communication Disorders

Overview 

Speech is how we produce speech sounds and words. 

Children with speech disorders have difficulty...

• not say sounds clearly

• have a hoarse or raspy voice

• repeat sounds or pause when speaking, called stuttering

TYPES OF DISORDERS 

• Fluency Disorder : A fluency disorder affects the flow, speed, and rhythm of speech. Stuttering and cluttering are fluency disorders. A person with stuttering has trouble getting out a sound and may have speech that is blocked or interrupted, or may repeat part of all of a word. A person with cluttering often speaks very fast and merges words together.

• Articulation Disorder : An articulation disorder is the inability to properly form certain word sounds. A child with this speech disorder may drop, swap, distort, or add word sounds. An example of distorting a word would be saying “thith” instead of “this”. 

• Voice Disorder :A resonance disorder occurs when a blockage or obstruction of regular airflow in the nasal or oral cavities alters the vibrations responsible for voice quality. It can also happen if the velopharyngeal valve doesn’t close properly. Resonance disorders are often associated with cleft palate, neurological disorders, and swollen tonsils. 

Language is the words we use to communicate. 

Children with language disorders have difficulty...

• understanding

• talking

• reading

• writing

TYPES OF DISORDERS 

• Aphasia-affects a person’s ability to speak and understand others. It also often affects a person’s ability to read and write. Stroke is the most common cause of aphasia, though other brain disorders can also cause it.

• Dysarthria.-is characterized by slow or slurred speech due to a weakness or inability to control the muscles used for speech. It’s most commonly caused by nervous system disorders and conditions that cause facial paralysis or throat and tongue weakness, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and stroke.

• Apraxia- of speech is when a person finds it difficult or impossible to move their mouth and tongue to speak. This happens, even though the person has the desire to speak, and the mouth and tongue muscles are physically able to form words.  Motor planning problems 

Prevalence: approximately 1/5th (or 1%) of children in special education are receiving speech and language services as a primary service. 

• 8-9% of preschool children

• 5% of elementary school children

MN Eligibility 

Support Tool: PECS 

Dos and Don'ts