Speech disorders

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Speech disorders refer to several conditions in which a person has difficulty communicating by mouth.

See also: Speech impairment

Articulation deficiency; Voice disorders; Disfluency

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

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

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 cause is mental retardation. Other causes may include:

• Attention deficit disorder (ADD)
• Autism
• Cerebral palsy
• Cleft palate
• Cri-du-chat syndrome
• Disorders of the palate
• Gilles de la Tourette syndrome
• Hearing impairment
• Learning disability
• Schizophrenia
• Vocal cord injury

Delayed speech development is one of the common symptoms of developmentally delayed children. It occurs in 5-10% of all children. Boys are three to four times as likely to have speech disorders as girls.

Review Date: 02/19/2007
Reviewed By: Alden J. Pearl, M.D., Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Otolaryngology, State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.