The different types of language and speech disorders

Post date: Jan 25, 2019 3:40:38 PM

Speech-language pathology or SLP is at the heart of the study of speech and language disorders. Diagnoses based on SLPs are classified below. The categories are rooted in various issues, from brain damage and muscular disorders to psycho-speech deficiencies.

Apraxia of Speech or AOS occurs when the neural connection between a person’s speech muscles and the brain is impeded or lost. A person with AOS knows what he or she wants to say and can even write it but is unable to articulate the words. When it’s connected to brain damage in adults due to, say, a stroke, it’s called Acquired AOS. Spasmodic Dysphonia (SD) is another type, a chronic disorder wherein the voice comes out hoarse or jittery due to the spasming of the vocal chords. SD usually manifests among adults between 30 and 50 years old. The other types are Alalia (speech delay among children), Dysarthria (slurred speech due to muscle or nerve damage), Cluttering (in which a person’s speech becomes too fast, too jerky, or both, and peppered with verbal tics like “so,” “um,” and “like” especially when talking to a large group of people), and the psychology-related Selective Mutism (wherein a person who is physically capable of speaking chooses not to speak in certain situations).

Dr. Curtis Cripe is the director of research and development at the NTL Group, a neuroengineering service provider specializing in technology that performs neurocognitive repair on brain dysfunction, including neurodevelopmental delays in children with learning disorders. More reads on neurology here.