Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsDisfluencyArticulation ErrorsAnkyloglossiaDysarthriaApraxiaTreating Speech Disorders

Table of ContentsView All

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Table of Contents

Disfluency

Articulation Errors

Ankyloglossia

Dysarthria

Apraxia

Treating Speech Disorders

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A speech impediment, also known as aspeech disorder, is a condition that can affect a person’s ability to form sounds and words, making their speech difficult to understand.

There are many different types of speech impediments, including:

This article explores the causes, symptoms, and treatment of the different types of speech disorders.

Speech impediments that break the flow of speech are known as disfluencies.Stuttering is the most common form of disfluency, however there are other types as well.

Symptoms and Characteristics of Disfluencies

These are some of the characteristics of disfluencies:

In addition, someone with disfluencies may also experience the following symptoms while speaking:

Causes of Disfluencies

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Articulation disorders occur when a person has trouble placing their tongue in the correct position to form certain speech sounds.Lisping is the most common type of articulation disorder.

Symptoms and Characteristics of Articulation Errors

These are some of the characteristics of articulation disorders:

Causes of Articulation Errors

Ankyloglossia, also known as tongue-tie, is a condition where the person’s tongue is attached to the bottom of their mouth.This can restrict the tongue’s movement and make it hard for the person to move their tongue.

Symptoms and Characteristics of Ankyloglossia

Apart from speech impediments, people with ankyloglossia may also experience other symptoms as a result of their tongue-tie. These symptoms include:

Causes of Ankyloglossia

Ankyloglossia is a congenital condition, which means it is present from birth.A tissue known as the lingual frenulum attaches the tongue to the base of the mouth. People with ankyloglossia have a shorter lingual frenulum, or it is attached further along their tongue than most people’s.

Dysarthria is a condition where people slur their words because they cannot control the muscles that are required for speech, due to brain, nerve, or organ damage.

Symptoms and Characteristics of Dysarthria

Additionally, someone with dysarthria may also have other symptoms such as difficulty swallowing and inability to move their tongue, lips, or jaw easily.

Causes of Dysarthria

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Apraxia, also known as dyspraxia, verbal apraxia, or apraxia of speech, is a neurological condition that can cause a person to have trouble moving the muscles they need to create sounds or words.The person’s brain knows what they want to say, but is unable to plan and sequence the words accordingly.

Symptoms and Characteristics of Apraxia

These are some of the characteristics of apraxia:

Causes of Apraxia

Apraxia occurs whennerve pathwaysin the brain are interrupted, which can make it difficult for the brain to send messages to the organs involved in speaking.The causes of these neurological disturbances can vary depending on the type of apraxia the person has:

If you have a speech impediment, or suspect your child might have one, it can be helpful to visit your healthcare provider. Your primary care physician can refer you to a speech-language pathologist, who can evaluate speech, diagnose speech disorders, and recommend treatment options.

The diagnostic process may involve a physical examination as well as psychological, neurological, or hearing tests, in order to confirm the diagnosis and rule out other causes.

Treatment for speech disorders often involves speech therapy, which can help you learn how to move your muscles and position your tongue correctly in order to create specific sounds.It can be quite effective in improving your speech.

Children often grow out of milder speech disorders; however,special educationand speech therapy can help with more serious ones.

For ankyloglossia, or tongue-tie, a minor surgery known as a frenectomy can help detach the tongue from the bottom of the mouth.

A Word From Verywell

A speech impediment can make it difficult to pronounce certain sounds, speak clearly, or communicate fluently.

Living with a speech disorder can be frustrating because people may cut you off while you’re speaking, try to finish your sentences, or treat you differently.It can be helpful to talk to your healthcare providers about how to cope with these situations.

You may also benefit from joining a support group, where you can connect with others living with speech disorders.

15 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Library of Medicine.Speech disorders.Medline Plus.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Language and speech disorders.Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.Stuttering.National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.Quick statistics about voice, speech, and language.Cleveland Clinic.Speech impediment.Lee H, Sim H, Lee E, Choi D.Disfluency characteristics of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms.J Commun Disord. 2017;65:54-64. doi:10.1016/j.jcomdis.2016.12.001Nemours Foundation.Speech problems.Penn Medicine.Speech and language disorders.Cleveland Clinic.Tongue-tie.University of Rochester Medical Center.Ankyloglossia.Cleveland Clinic.Dysarthria.National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.Apraxia of speech.Cleveland Clinic.Childhood apraxia of speech.Stanford Children’s Hospital.Speech sound disorders in children.Abbastabar H, Alizadeh A, Darparesh M, Mohseni S, Roozbeh N.Spatial distribution and the prevalence of speech disorders in the provinces of Iran.J Med Life. 2015;8(Spec Iss 2):99-104.

15 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Library of Medicine.Speech disorders.Medline Plus.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Language and speech disorders.Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.Stuttering.National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.Quick statistics about voice, speech, and language.Cleveland Clinic.Speech impediment.Lee H, Sim H, Lee E, Choi D.Disfluency characteristics of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms.J Commun Disord. 2017;65:54-64. doi:10.1016/j.jcomdis.2016.12.001Nemours Foundation.Speech problems.Penn Medicine.Speech and language disorders.Cleveland Clinic.Tongue-tie.University of Rochester Medical Center.Ankyloglossia.Cleveland Clinic.Dysarthria.National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.Apraxia of speech.Cleveland Clinic.Childhood apraxia of speech.Stanford Children’s Hospital.Speech sound disorders in children.Abbastabar H, Alizadeh A, Darparesh M, Mohseni S, Roozbeh N.Spatial distribution and the prevalence of speech disorders in the provinces of Iran.J Med Life. 2015;8(Spec Iss 2):99-104.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

National Library of Medicine.Speech disorders.Medline Plus.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Language and speech disorders.Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.Stuttering.National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.Quick statistics about voice, speech, and language.Cleveland Clinic.Speech impediment.Lee H, Sim H, Lee E, Choi D.Disfluency characteristics of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms.J Commun Disord. 2017;65:54-64. doi:10.1016/j.jcomdis.2016.12.001Nemours Foundation.Speech problems.Penn Medicine.Speech and language disorders.Cleveland Clinic.Tongue-tie.University of Rochester Medical Center.Ankyloglossia.Cleveland Clinic.Dysarthria.National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.Apraxia of speech.Cleveland Clinic.Childhood apraxia of speech.Stanford Children’s Hospital.Speech sound disorders in children.Abbastabar H, Alizadeh A, Darparesh M, Mohseni S, Roozbeh N.Spatial distribution and the prevalence of speech disorders in the provinces of Iran.J Med Life. 2015;8(Spec Iss 2):99-104.

National Library of Medicine.Speech disorders.Medline Plus.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Language and speech disorders.

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.Stuttering.

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.Quick statistics about voice, speech, and language.

Cleveland Clinic.Speech impediment.

Lee H, Sim H, Lee E, Choi D.Disfluency characteristics of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms.J Commun Disord. 2017;65:54-64. doi:10.1016/j.jcomdis.2016.12.001

Nemours Foundation.Speech problems.

Penn Medicine.Speech and language disorders.

Cleveland Clinic.Tongue-tie.

University of Rochester Medical Center.Ankyloglossia.

Cleveland Clinic.Dysarthria.

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.Apraxia of speech.

Cleveland Clinic.Childhood apraxia of speech.

Stanford Children’s Hospital.Speech sound disorders in children.

Abbastabar H, Alizadeh A, Darparesh M, Mohseni S, Roozbeh N.Spatial distribution and the prevalence of speech disorders in the provinces of Iran.J Med Life. 2015;8(Spec Iss 2):99-104.

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