How can you tell the difference between different types of speech disorders and if you child has one? You may become alarmed if your child's speech doesn't sound the way you think it should. But how can you discern if those mispronounced letters and words are simply a quirk of your child as he's learning how to speak or a genuine speech disorder? It can be difficult to tell. You should always bring up any concerns you have with your child's pediatrician, but there are some signs of speech disorders that you can look for.
What are the most common speech disorders?
A speech disorder in a young child means that he has difficulty with the production of sounds. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASH), there are several major types of speech disorders.
Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). Childhood apraxia of speech is a motor speech disorder in which a child may have problems saying sounds, syllables, and words. CAS happens because the brain has problems moving the lips, jaw, and/or tongue.
CAS can sometimes be confused with other speech disorders, so it's important to have your child evaluated by a professional. Symptoms of CAS in a young child include the first words being late, not babbling as an infant, having long pauses in between sounds and difficulty eating.
Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders (OMD). Children with OMD may move their tongue forward in an exaggerated motion while talking or swallowing. Their tongue may protrude between their teeth during speech and swallowing or it may lie too forward.
The most obvious sign of OMD is known as a "tongue thrust." Although a tongue thrust is common among infants, it usually fades away as a child gets older. If it doesn't, have your child see a certified language-speech pathologist.
Articulation Disorders. An articulation disorder means that your child has trouble producing sounds in syllables or has such difficulty saying words correctly that people can't understand him.
Some symptoms of an articulation disorder include a frontal or lateral lisp, trouble saying the consonant "r," confusing the "y" sound and the "l" sound, and difficulty blending the letters "l," "r," and "s."
Fluency Disorders. If your child has a fluency disorder, you may be able to tell by their stuttering. Stuttering is when your child's speech is interrupted by disfluencies, such as prolonging sounds or syllables or repetitions. Although most people have brief episodes of disfluencies (like using the words "um" and "uh"), stuttering becomes a problem when speech is constantly broken up by stuttering.
If your child is showing any of these signs or symptoms, take them to see their pediatrician or a certified language-speech pathologist immediately.
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