Speech disorders

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Articulation deficiency; Voice disorders; Disfluency

Since mental retardation and hearing loss are predisposing factors for speech disorders, at-risk infants should be referred to an audiologist for an audiology exam. Audiological and speech therapy can then be started if necessary.

Stuttering can best be prevented by parents withholding undue attention to disfluency in their young child. As young children begin to speak, some disfluency is common. They lack a large vocabulary and have difficulty expressing themselves. This results in broken or dysfluent speech. If parents place excessive attention on the disfluency, a pattern may develop.

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.