Speech Therapy: An Introduction

Aims to improve communication skills and address speech related disorders.
Conducted by Speech language pathologists (SLPs) or speech therapists.
Involves assessment and treatment of speech, language and swallowing related issues.
Goals are: enhancing pronunciation, strengthening speech muscles, and facilitating effective communication.

Articulation Disorders: Difficulties in producing sounds correctly.
Fluency Disorders: Issues such as stuttering that affect the flow of speech.
Voice Disorders: Problems with pitch, volume, or quality of voice.
Language Disorders: Difficulties in understanding or using language effectively.

Broca's Area: Located in the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere, responsible for speech production.
- Helps translate thoughts into spoken words.
- Helps form grammatically correct sentences and is involved in motor functions for articulation.
- Damage leads to Broca's aphasia, characterized by slow, effortful speech with preserved comprehension but poor fluency.
Wernicke's Area: Located in the temporal lobe of the left hemisphere, responsible for language comprehension.
- Damage leads to Wernicke's aphasia, individuals produce fluent but nonsensical speech, often with impaired comprehension.
Motor Cortex: Located in the frontal lobe, controls the physical movements of speech by sending signals to the muscles involved in speaking.
Arcuate Fasciculus: A bundle of nerve fibers connecting Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area, facilitating communication between these two critical regions.

Language disorder resulting from brain damage, primarily affecting the left hemisphere.
Impairs speaking, understanding, reading, and writing.
Common causes include stroke, head injury, or progressive neurological diseases.

Broca's Aphasia: Characterized by non-fluent speech; comprehension is relatively preserved. Patients struggle to form complete sentences.
Wernicke's Aphasia: Involves fluent but nonsensical speech; comprehension is severely impaired.
Global Aphasia: Severe impairment in all aspects of communication.
Conduction Aphasia: Good comprehension but poor repetition abilities.

Patients with speech and language disorders often experience significant emotional challenges.
Issues frequently co-occur with anxiety and depression, particularly in children and adolescents.

Difficulty in producing specific speech sounds beyond the expected age of mastery (typically by age 8).
Can lead to unclear speech and impact social interactions and learning.
Types (SODA):
- Substitution: Replacing one sound with another (e.g., "wabbit" for "rabbit").
- Omission: Leaving out sounds in words (e.g., “sea" for “seat").
- Distortion: Producing sounds incorrectly (e.g., slurred speech).
- Addition: Adding extra sounds (least common).
Cause could be developmental delays, hearing loss, or neurological issues.
More prevalent in boys and may be linked to maternal complications during pregnancy.

Difficulties in producing sounds and understanding language, impacting communication abilities.
Types (DAS):
- Dysarthria: Muscle weakness affecting speech clarity, leading to slurred or quiet speech.
- Apraxia: Difficulty coordinating speech movements, often due to brain injury.
- Stuttering: Disruptions in the flow of speech.
Causes could be Neurological disorders (e.g., stroke, brain injury), Developmental conditions (e.g., autism) and Hearing loss.

Speech Sound Disorders (SSD): Difficulties in producing speech sounds and are categorized into:
- Articulation Disorders: Issues with physically producing specific sounds, resulting in substitutions, omissions, or distortions.
- Phonological Disorders: Problems with understanding and using the sound system of a language, affecting sound patterns and rules.
- Dysarthria: A motor speech disorder caused by neurological conditions affecting muscle control, leading to unclear speech due to weakness or imprecision.
- Childhood Apraxia of Speech: A neurological disorder where children struggle to plan and coordinate the movements necessary for speech.
Voice Disorders: Occur when the vocal cords do not function correctly, leading to issues like hoarseness or breathiness. Conditions such as vocal cord nodules or paralysis can contribute to these disorders.
Fluency Disorders (Stuttering): Characterized by disruptions in the flow of speech, including repetitions and blocks. Stuttering can lead to significant communication challenges and emotional distress.

Receptive Language Disorder: Difficulty understanding spoken or written language, impacting comprehension skills essential for effective communication.
Expressive Language Disorder: Challenges in using language to express thoughts and ideas, affecting vocabulary and sentence structure. Children may struggle to form coherent sentences or retrieve words.
Mixed Receptive-Expressive Language Disorder: Involves difficulties in both understanding and expressing language, often requiring comprehensive intervention strategies.

Organic Causes: Include physical or neurological issues such as hearing loss, developmental disorders (e.g., autism), cerebral palsy, or structural anomalies like cleft palate.
Functional Causes: These arise without identifiable physical causes, often linked to environmental factors such as limited exposure to language or inadequate practice opportunities.