Articulation/Phonology

A speech impairment constitutes a deviation so far from speech of others that it

1. calls attention to itself,

2. interferes with communication,

3. provokes distress in the listener or speaker.

Articulation disorder:
Difficulties with the motor production aspects of speech — distortions, substitutions, omissions, or additions of sounds within words, as perceived by the listener.

Phonological disorder:
Part of the total language system in which cognitive or linguistic factors are impeding speech. Ex. Child says /yike/ for /like/

Causes:
Functional/non-organic: no physical cause.

* Environmental:

1. Socio-economics

2. Sibling status

3. Lack of speech stimulation

4. Lack of or inappropriate reinforcement
   

* Emotional state

Organic: existing physiologic, structural, neurological deficit involving the oral pharyngeal mechanism.

• Hearing loss

• Structural deviations of the speech mechanism

1. Cleft lip and palate

2. Short lingual frenum

3. Malocclusions

4. Microglossia

5. Acroglossia

6. Enlarged tonsils and adenoids (results in hypernasality and ear infections)

• Oral sensory dysfunction

• Oral motor deficit

1. too weak

2. poor range of motion

• Tongue Thrust

• Neuromotor disorders

1. apraxia

2. dysarthria

Treatment:

1. Phonological awareness

2. Minimal pairs

3. Phonetic placement

4. Imitation

5. Shaping

6. Contextual utilization

7. Kinesthetics

8. Auditory training

9. Auditory discrimination

Fluency disorder: speech that habitually shows abnormal interruptions in the form of hesitations, repetitions, or prolongations. Ex. stuttering www.stutteringhelp.org

Voice disorder: deviancy in pitch, loudness, or quality of the voice. Ex. Pitch breaks, breathiness, strained vocal quality, hyper/hyponasality, and harshness.