Speech Disabilities

Question 1

What is an articulation disorder?

Answer 1

A speech disorder involving difficulties producing specific types of sounds. It may involve substituting one sound for another, slurring of speech, or indistinct speech.

Question 2

What are the three categories of articulation disorders?

Answer 2

1. Speech sound disorders (when they continue past a certain age)
2. A phonological process disorder (when there are patterns of not saying certain words correctly)
3. A motor speech disorder (when a person has trouble moving muscles required to talk)

Question 3

What are some of the characteristics of articulation disorders?

Answer 3

leaving off sounds from words
adding sounds to words
distorting sounds in words
swapping sounds in words

Question 4

How prevalent are speech sound disorders?

Answer 4

About 8-9% of young children have them; about 5% of first graders have them with no known cause

Question 5

What is aphasia?

Answer 5

Aphasia is an impairment of language, caused by injury to the brain, most commonly stroke. It affects the production or comprehension of speech.

Question 6

What are some of the causes of mutism?

Answer 6

Damage to the brain, damage to speech muscles, emotional or psychological causes, or a combination of causes