Speech disorders – causes, types, diagnosis

Proven content

Speech disorders are a group of abnormalities that lead to difficulty speaking and incorrect articulation of individual sounds. They can relate to various speech impediments and the use of incorrect words. Speech disorders can have medical, psychological and speech therapy causes.

What are speech disorders?

Speech disorders are certain abnormalities that cause problems with the correct expression and pronunciation of individual sounds. It also includes speech impairment and the use of wrong words. So they have to do with fluency, tone of voice and phonation. Speech disorders make it difficult to understand the message. Moreover, they can be related to general linguistic functions. These types of problems are dealt with not only by medicine, but also by speech therapists, psychologists and linguists.

The causes of speech disorders

Speech disorders can occur as a result of a stroke or stroke, which consequently damage the left hemisphere of the brain and thus the “speech field”. In addition, they may result from:

1. physical damage to the articulation organ (dysphonia, aphonia, allalia, dyslalia);
2. mental problems;
3. abnormalities in the nervous system (dysarthria, anarthria, aphasia);
4. other neuropsychiatric diseases associated with it, e.g. autism, schizophrenia,
5. genetic basis,
6. acquired disorders as a result of a pathogen.

Speech disorders – types

Speech disturbances may consist of speech difficulties, speech impediments, the use of incorrectly chosen words or making the speech incomprehensible to the environment. Among them, we distinguish the following types of disorders:

1. Dyslalia – is characterized by disturbances in the formation of the smallest components of words, resulting from shape defects or damage to organs such as the tongue, palate or lips.

2. Alia – it is a condition related to speech disorders caused by damage to the cortical structures of the brain, which occurred even before the learning of speech. The sick communicate with the environment by means of gestures. Alalia can develop into dyslalia over time.

3. Dysfonia – commonly known as hoarseness.

4. Aphonia – it is a loss of voice that may result from disturbances in the functioning of the larynx, but may also be of a neurotic basis. The vocal folds can also be distorted by inflammatory diseases or laryngeal cancer, while in some patients complete or partial aphonia is quite a common symptom of anxiety neurosis.

5. Anartria – it is a speech disorder characterized by an inability to create sounds. This is due to damage to the muscles of the tongue, lips or larynx and the facial, vagus, cranial and sublingual nerves. Anarthria is also affected by damage to the nuclei of these nerves.

6. Aphasia – is the loss of the ability to understand the language, speak, and write and read. This ailment is not due to brain damage, but is directly related to language function. Thus, hypoaesthesia of the articulating muscles (tongue, palate or mouth) does not matter.

7. Dyzartria – it is a milder type of anarthria with the form of anarthria and results from dysfunction of the executive apparatus (tongue, palate, pharynx, larynx).

8. Paraphasia – is characterized by maintaining the ability to speak fluently and at the same time twisting words or using incorrect words. This ailment occurs as a result of damage to the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for speech (Wernicke’s center), e.g. in Alzheimer’s disease, and due to damage to the area of ​​the cerebral cortex located peripherally from it.

Speech disorders – diagnosis

Physical examination and conversation with the patient play a key role in the diagnosis of speech disorders, although it is not of great substantive value, because communication is significantly difficult. The doctor should first of all eliminate ailments that threaten the patient’s life, e.g. strokes, a tumor of the central nervous system

Speech disorders – pre-medical treatment

Speech disorders require consultation with your doctor in order to:

1. to eliminate fainting following deliberate (e.g., attempted suicide) or accidental drug overdose; then calling for medical help is very urgent,
2. elimination of pre-coma in the course of metabolic diseases or endogenous poisoning, e.g. coma in diabetes, in renal failure (uremia), in liver failure,
3. making a decision as to further treatment (most often it is hospitalization).

W pre-medical proceedings:

1. put the patient in a semi-sitting position,
2. provide the patient with peace,
3. call a doctor, especially when speech disorders occur suddenly, unexpectedly, in patients with arterial hypertension, after excessive sun exposure, when they are accompanied by convulsions, paresis, etc.