Today we will tell you about speech defects. In addition, you will learn how to get rid of such a pathological phenomenon, which specialist should be contacted if necessary.
General information
Speech defects are the incorrect pronunciation of sounds that occurs as a result of a violation of certain functions of the speech apparatus. Such pathological conditions include lisping, stuttering, burr, etc.
As you know, human speech begins to develop especially intensively by 2-5 years of life. Up to 3 years, a child can correctly pronounce about 30-700 words, and by the age of 4, speak using complex sentences. At this time, the baby's vocabulary is approximately 1,500 words.
How does speech develop?
The development of speech depends on external and internal factors. Usually children imitate their parents and almost completely adopt their manner of speaking. During the pronunciation of words or any sounds, a person engages in many different organs, namely the centers of the brain, nerve paths, respiratory muscles, muscles of the tongue and face.
Normal speech of an adult and a child is understood as a clear and distinct pronunciation of each letter. At the same time, a person’s conversation should be smooth and rhythmic. If the speech is slurred, illegible and incomprehensible, then they speak of its violation. Today, speech defects are distinguished, such as stuttering, the inability to correctly pronounce individual letters, dumbness, etc.
Causes of occurrence
Speech defects in adults usually occur due to surgical operations and injuries of the main organs of the speech (muscles of the larynx, vocal cords, tongue, palate, teeth and lips). Also, such a pathological condition can occur as a result of severe emotional upheavals (for example, divorce, loss of a loved one, etc.).
In addition to all these reasons, speech defects often develop due to non-closure of the upper lip, congenital malformations, malocclusion, the special structure of the jaws, tongue, teeth and lips, deafness, and also muscle diseases.
It should also be noted that in the presence of rare or crooked teeth, people may not pronounce consonants correctly. A sudden loss of intelligible speech is very often observed with lesions and diseases of the brain.
Main types
Depending on the symptoms, speech defects in adults and children are divided into several types. To determine what pathological condition is observed in you, you should definitely contact a specialist. The latter is obliged not only to determine the type of defect, but also to identify the cause of its occurrence, as well as prescribe treatment or special procedures (exercises).
So, we will consider the main speech defects in more detail.
Athony or Dysphonia
This anomaly occurs due to pathological changes in the speech apparatus. As a rule, such people have a noticeable violation of phonation. In other words, they mispronounce sounds.
Tachilalia
This is a special form of speech disturbance , which is expressed in a very fast pace of speaking. This feature has no phonetic, grammatical and lexical deviations.
Bradilalia
Such a defect is accompanied by slow speech. In other words, it is very difficult for a person to make dissected sounds. It should also be noted that there is such a similar deviation as bradyphrasia. People with a similar diagnosis speak very slowly. As a rule, this is due to a weakening of the thinking process. Both of these pathological cases are a consequence of a local brain disease.
Stuttering
Such a speech disorder occurs due to the convulsive state of the muscles of the vocal apparatus and is accompanied by frequent repetition of sounds or words, stops in conversation, indecision, inconsistency in pace, rhythm and smoothness.
Dislalia
These are phonetic defects (violation of sound pronunciation) that are observed in a person with correctly constructed speech and normal hearing.
Rinolalia
This is a defect in the pronunciation and timbre of the voice, which occurs as a result of anatomical disorders of the human vocal apparatus.
Dysarthria
Such a defect occurs due to insufficient innervation of the speech apparatus. As a rule, it is formed as a result of lesions of the subcortical and posterior frontal regions of the brain. With this deviation, the mobility of the organs of speech (language, soft palate, lips) is limited. As a result, obstructed articulation is observed. In adults, dysarthria is not combined with the breakdown of the speech system. In childhood, such a defect can lead to impaired reading, pronunciation of words and letters, as well as to general underdevelopment of speech.
Alalia
This is an underdevelopment of speech or its complete absence with normal hearing and intelligence. The cause of such a defect in children can be damage to the cerebral hemispheres during childbirth, as well as brain diseases or injuries that the baby suffered during the pre-speech period of life.
Aphasia
This is a violation of already formed speech. Such a defect occurs with lesions of the speech sections of the cerebral cortex, as well as as a result of past strokes, injuries, inflammatory processes, tumors and some mental illnesses.
Who should a specialist contact for help?
Now you know what a speech impediment is. It should be noted that it is extremely important to timely identify this problem. If you suspect such a pathological phenomenon in yourself or your loved one, then you should immediately consult a specialist (defectologist, speech therapist, otolaryngologist, dentist, neurologist, orthodontist). After all, only an experienced doctor will be able to determine the presence of deviations and try to correct it.
How to get rid of speech defects?
Correction of speech defects in children and adults is carried out individually. First you need to identify the cause of such a deviation, and only then make every effort to eliminate it.
If a speech disorder is found in a child, then parents need to have a lot of patience. Indeed, a successful result depends primarily on the regularity of classes, diligence and perseverance of the patient.
It should be noted that due to the huge number of speech defects and their causes, there are many methods of treatment of such deviations. If, after curing the underlying disease, the patient does not recover, then specialists can apply respiratory or speech therapy. By the way, the latter is often prescribed after a stroke, injury or surgery.
Correction of speech defects in adults and children can take from several weeks to several months and even years.
Psychological factor
A person with such disabilities should not avoid surrounding people. Fear that they will not understand him is very often unfounded. Such people, on the contrary, should communicate more often and regularly improve their speech. A patient who isolates himself from society may begin to suffer from severe mental illness.
Of course, speech impairment is not life threatening. However, such a pathological condition can directly affect the daily life of a person. Due to a strong experience about a defective person, depression develops quite quickly or any other diseases occur. Therefore, speech impairment must be treated.