Speech disorders

Speech disorders include several speech-related problems that result in impaired or ineffective oral communication. Also see speech impairment.

Speech is one of the primary ways we communicate with our environment. It is also an effective way to monitor normal growth and development as well as to identify potential problems.

Dysfluencies are rhythm disorders that are usually characterized by the repetition of a sound, word, or phrase. Stuttering is, perhaps, the most serious dysfluency.

Articulation deficiencies involve sounds made incorrectly or inappropriately.

Voice disorders involve abnormalities in the quality, pitch, and loudness of the sound.

There are many potential causes of speech impairment:

• the most common is mental retardation
• hearing impairment
• ADD
• learning disabilities
• autism
• schizophrenia
• cerebral palsy
• cleft palate
• vocal cord injury
• disorders of the palate
• cri-du-chat syndrome
• Gilles de la Tourette syndrome

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