|  | Family Health | Childrens Health

Signs & Symptoms of Speech Impairments

Speech difficulties are a complex medical condition affecting both children and adults. They can cause great psychological distress to those who suffer from them and can interfere with daily functioning in work, school, or social life. Speech impairments have both physiological and psychological causes. There are a number of symptoms and signs indicative of speech impairments.

  1. Muscular Control

    • A lack of muscular control, especially as it produces slurring of sounds and words, is symptomatic of speech impairments. In particular it may be indicative of a condition called dysarthria. There are several kinds of dysarthria, including flaccid and spastic. Signs of flaccid dysarthria include minimal muscle tone, breathy voice and unusual nasality. Signs of spastic dysarthria include high muscle tone, imprecise pronunciation of consonants and "strangled"-sounding speech.

    Problems With Recognizing Language

    • One extreme symptom of speech impairment is the inability to recognize or understand language itself. This is usually caused by a traumatic brain injury and is neurological in origin. People with this symptom may have aphasia, which affects speaking, understanding, social conversation, literacy and even the ability to swallow.

    Vocal Changes

    • Distinct changes in how words and sounds are vocalized are a sign of speech impairment. Often such changes are caused by physical growths on the vocal cords, including cysts, polyps, papillomas and even cancerous lumps.

    Stuttering

    • Stuttering is a symptom of speech impairment detected in 5 percent of young children, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Stuttering is characterized by hesitating, repeating or prolonging words in a way that makes fluid speech difficult. Some individuals repeat words or phrases over and over. Speech therapy is the standard form of treatment for stuttering symptoms.

Childrens Health - Related Articles