Speech Therapy MRH322 PDF

Speech Therapy MRH322 Mrs. Uchechukwu Martha Chukwuemeka BMR (PT), MSc. Cardiopulmonary physiotherapy 09/10/2024 Outline  Introduction  Aphasia  Types  Emotional challenges  The brain speech centres  Implication for Therapy  Ar...

Speech Therapy MRH322 Mrs. Uchechukwu Martha Chukwuemeka BMR (PT), MSc. Cardiopulmonary physiotherapy 09/10/2024 Outline  Introduction  Aphasia  Types  Emotional challenges  The brain speech centres  Implication for Therapy  Articulation disorders  Speech language disorders  Speech disorders  Language disorders  Causes and risk factors Introduction  Speech therapy is a specialized form of treatment aimed at improving communication skills and addressing speech disorders.  Conducted by trained professionals known as speech-language pathologists (SLPs) or speech therapists.  Involves the assessment and treatment of communication problems, including speech disorders, language difficulties, and swallowing issues  Goals  enhancing pronunciation,  strengthening the muscles involved in speech, and  facilitating effective communication Chukwuemeka Types  Articulation Disorders: Difficulty 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, often stemming from brain injuries or developmental issues. Chukwuemeka  The brain  Broca's Area  Frontal lobe of the left hemisphere.  Crucial for speech production, it helps translate thoughts into spoken words.  It is associated with forming grammatically correct sentences and is involved in motor functions necessary for articulation.  Damage to this area can lead to Broca's aphasia, characterized by slow, effortful speech with preserved comprehension but poor fluency  Wernicke's Area  Temporal lobe of the left hemisphere, just behind the ear.  responsible for language comprehension, both spoken and written.  Damage to this area can result in Wernicke's aphasia, where individuals may produce fluent but nonsensical speech, often with impaired understanding.  Others  Motor Cortex  Located in the frontal lobe,  it controls the physical movements of speech by sending signals to the muscles involved in speaking.  Arcuate Fasciculus  A bundle of nerve fibers that connects Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area, facilitating communication between these two critical regions.  Damage here can lead to conduction aphasia, where repetition of heard language becomes difficult.  Cerebrum  left hemisphere predominantly handles speech for right-handed individuals, some left-handed individuals may utilize their right hemisphere for speech functions Chukwuemeka Articulation disorders  Articulation disorders involve difficulties in producing specific speech sounds beyond the expected age of mastery, typically by age 8. This 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.  They are more prevalent in boys and may be linked to maternal complications during pregnancy Chukwuemeka  Speech language disorders  Speech language disorders encompass 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. Chukwuemeka  Speech Disorders  Speech Sound Disorders (SSD): These involve difficulties in producing speech sounds and can be categorized into:  Articulation Disorders: Issues with physically producing specific sounds, often resulting in substitutions, omissions, or distortions of sounds.  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 that affect 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: These 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. Language Disorders  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. Chukwuemeka Causes and Risk Factors  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. Chukwuemeka  Aphasia  Aphasia is a language disorder resulting from brain damage, primarily affecting the left hemisphere. I  can impair speaking, understanding, reading, and writing.  Common causes include stroke, head injury, or progressive neurological diseases.  Types  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.  Associated Disorders  Apraxia: Difficulty with purposeful movements.  Dysarthria: Weakness in speech muscles affecting clarity.  Alexia/Agraphia: Impairments in reading and writing. Chukwuemeka  Emotional Challenges  Patients with speech and language disorders (SLDs) often experience significant emotional challenges. These issues frequently co-occur with anxiety and depression, particularly in children and adolescents.  Research indicates that children with SLDs are at a higher risk for emotional disorders, with studies showing adjusted hazard ratios of 2.87 for anxiety and 2.51 for depression compared to peers without such impairments.  Emotional Issues   Anxiety: Many children with SLDs exhibit heightened anxiety levels, which can manifest as social withdrawal or behavioral issues.  Depression: There is a notable prevalence of depressive symptoms among individuals with developmental language disorders (DLD), ranging from 20% to 39%.  Social Isolation: Communication difficulties can lead to social isolation, exacerbating feelings of loneliness and low self-esteem. Implication  Effective intervention strategies should integrate emotional support alongside speech therapy.  Approaches that blend behavioral and emotional programs with communication interventions are particularly beneficial.  Addressing both language skills and emotional well-being is crucial for improving overall outcomes in patients with SLDs. Chukwuemeka