week 5 Flashcards
(23 cards)
What is the “expressive” mode in spoken communication?
Speaking is considered the “expressive” mode, while listening is the “receptive” mode in the oral-aural pathway.
What are the three domains that influence the success of spoken communication?
- Body structures and functions - How our bodies and brains work to enable speech.
- Environmental factors - The physical and social environments affecting speaking.
- Personal factors - Intrinsic factors that influence how, when, and what we speak.
What are the main areas of the brain involved in spoken language production?
- Broca’s area - Important for syntax and verbal fluency.
- Arcuate fasciculus - Connects Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas, important for language learning.
- Motor cortex - Directs speech-related movements.
- Articulatory network - Coordinates speech sounds and movement control.
- Cerebellum - Ensures smooth coordination of speech movements.
What are the stages of spoken language production?
- Conceptualisation - Generating thoughts and intentions.
- Motor planning (phonological) - Organizing sounds to be spoken.
- Production (articulation) - Executing the motor plans and articulating speech.
What is cognition in the context of language production?
Cognition is the ‘thinking’ stage where thoughts are formed but not yet expressed in words. It involves generating thoughts and deciding the communicative intention.
What is the role of semantics in spoken language?
Semantics involves the meanings of words and their relationships. For example, when thinking of “shoe,” related words like “runner,” “boot,” or “pump” may also be activated
What does morphology refer to in spoken language?
Morphology involves the structure of words, including tense, plural markers, and other grammatical rules that apply to word formation.
What is syntax in spoken language?
Syntax is the arrangement of words in a sentence. For example, in English, the words must follow a specific order to make sense, like “I love those shoes” instead of “those shoes love I.”
What is aphasia, and what causes it?
Aphasia is a language disorder caused by brain damage (e.g., from stroke, traumatic brain injury, tumors, or dementia). It affects speech comprehension, reading, writing, word retrieval, and sentence formulation.
What are the types of aphasia that affect spoken language production?
- Broca’s aphasia - Difficulty with syntax and morphology, resulting in “telegraphic” speech.
- Anomic aphasia - Difficulty retrieving words, leading to pauses, word substitutions, or nonsensical words.
What are some communication strategies for people with aphasia?
- Communication books or cards.
- Partner training for family and friends.
- Practice with a speech pathologist focusing on naming and sentence construction.
What is apraxia of speech?
Apraxia of speech is a motor speech disorder that affects the ability to plan and coordinate the movements required for speech, leading to inconsistent speech errors.
What is stuttering?
Stuttering is a speech disorder characterized by disruptions in the flow or rhythm of speech, such as repetitions, prolongations, or blocks.
What are some personal risk factors for stuttering?
- Gender - Boys are more likely to stutter.
- Age - Stuttering typically appears in early childhood.
- Genetics - Stuttering can run in families.
How does anxiety relate to stuttering?
While anxiety can worsen stuttering, it does not cause stuttering. Stuttering is not linked to a nervous personality.
What are two interventions for stuttering?
- Delayed Auditory Feedback (DAF) - Plays back the person’s speech with a slight delay, which helps with speech control.
- Smooth Speech - A technique where speech patterns are adjusted to minimize disfluency.
What are environmental impacts on stuttering?
Environmental factors, such as stress and misunderstanding, can worsen stuttering. Educating the community and training communication partners can help improve outcomes for people who stutter.
Speech Production Process:
- Speech begins with the brain planning which words and sounds to produce, followed by sending a “recipe” of sounds to various parts of the body.
- Air flows from the lungs, through the vocal tract, and is shaped into speech sounds by organs and structures like the larynx, tongue, lips, teeth, and palate.
- If there’s a problem along this pathway, speech may be unclear, inaccurate, or inaudible, leading to communication breakdowns.
The Larynx (Voicebox):
- The larynx is responsible for voicing and protects the lungs from inhaling food or foreign bodies.
- The vocal folds inside the larynx vibrate as air passes through them, producing sound (phonation).
- The vocal folds can be adjusted to control pitch (higher pitch with tighter folds, lower pitch with looser folds).
- Disorders like spastic dysphonia (strained voice) and vocal nodules (growths on vocal folds) can affect voice quality.
- Lung capacity and breath support, controlled by the diaphragm, play a role in voice loudness. Reduced lung capacity can impact speech production.
The Articulators (Mouth Structures):
- The air travels from the larynx to the pharynx and is shaped into consonants and vowels by mouth structures (lips, tongue, teeth, palate).
- The velum (soft palate) controls nasal vs. oral sounds by either blocking or allowing air to flow through the nose.
- Structural issues with the velum (like after a stroke or cleft palate) can cause abnormal nasal resonance or difficulty producing certain sounds.
- The oral cavity (lips, teeth, tongue, etc.) can alter the shape of sounds. Issues like large tongues (e.g., in Down Syndrome) or a tongue tie (restricting tongue movement) can make speech unclear.
Common Disorders and Conditions:
- Vocal Nodules: These are callus-like growths that develop on vocal folds, often due to overuse. They are common in teachers, singers, and children who shout a lot.
- Cleft Lip/Palate: A structural abnormality affecting the mouth’s formation, leading to difficulty with feeding and speech. Cleft lip/palate often requires surgery and can impact communication, especially in low-resource countries.
- Down Syndrome: Children may have large tongues, which can make controlled speech production difficult.
- Malocclusion: Misalignment of teeth can make producing sounds like /s/ difficult.
Environmental and Personal Factors:
- Communication breakdowns are influenced by body structures, personal health (e.g., lung capacity), and environmental factors (e.g., social stigma, access to medical care, and educational opportunities).
- Social exclusion and stigma, especially in low-resource environments, can negatively affect the quality of life for individuals with speech disorders.
Reflection Activities:
- Reflecting on the case study of a teacher with vocal nodules, you are asked to list factors contributing to the communication disability and suggest solutions based on the biopsychosocial model. Factors to consider include classroom conditions, policies, and personal habits.
- For cleft lip/palate, barriers to treatment and speech support in low-resource countries were also discussed, including environmental factors like limited healthcare access and social stigma.
