Causes and Treatment of Speech Disorder in Children

Speech disorder is a common condition in children. So what are the causes of speech disorders in children and how are they treated? We’ve covered all the details you need to know, so let’s get started.

Speech disorders in children

Speech disorders in children can be caused by many factors. Let’s take these factors one by one!

delayed language and speech

You can understand that your child’s speech problem is caused by a delayed language problem by looking at the following situations. 

• If your child’s vocabulary is limited,
• If he/she cannot form sentences in appropriate length for his/her age,
• If you can’t use attachments or use them in the wrong place,
• We can talk about speech delay if only you and/or his father understand what he is saying.

What are the causes of speech delay?

• mental disability,
• neurological diseases,
• autism or pervasive developmental disorders,
• Hearing Impairment,
• Insufficient stimulus in the child’s environment,
• Speaking more than one language at home
• The mother does not pay enough attention to the child and does not spend time,
• Instead of communicating with the child, do not deprive him of the TV, tablet,
• In some cases, premature birth, low birth weight, and a family history of delayed speech may cause speech delay.

Inability to say letters (Articulation disorder)

Articulation (pronunciation) disorder is when a child produces speech sounds incorrectly or incompletely. Language and speech disorders are common in children.

The problem of not saying the letters in children; It can be caused by hearing impairment, cleft lip, long-term sucking of pacifiers, and structural problems with speech organs such as weakness in their muscles.

Stuttering

Stuttering is a problem with speech rhythm and fluency. So, how do you know if a child stutters?

We can talk about stuttering if your child is undecided, repeats syllables, lengthens some words and hesitates in others.

Causes of stuttering include genetic transmission, family tension, rapid mental development or some trauma.

original speech disorder

This speech disorder covers problems with the grammatical structure of language.

• If the child uses words instead of sentences,
• If it is repetitive using words one after the other,
• If he uses skipping words in a sentence,
• If he uses mixed letters, we can talk about his original speech disorder.

What are the causes of original speech disorder?

• transfers,
• All situations that cause the brain to be without oxygen in difficult birth,
• falls,
• Impact of the back of the head,
• respiratory diseases,
• Neurological causes such as epilepsy.

Description

It is a motor speech disorder that occurs as a result of the inability to transmit the message from the brain to the speech muscles.

In apraxia, the child knows what he wants to say, but cannot put it into conversation.

What are the symptoms of apraxia?

The reason is not fully known. It is more common in boys and is thought to be of genetic origin. There may also be weakness in the speech muscles.

• Don’t make more mistakes the longer the word gets,
• Inconsistent pronunciation errors,
• The child is aware of the mistake and tries to correct it by repeating the words to correct it,
• One of the symptoms of apraxia is to search for the position of the tongue while speaking.

autistic speech disorder

Autism, which is the most known developmental disorder that occurs in the first 3 years; causes both verbal and non-verbal communication problems.

Repetitive behaviors are at the beginning of the symptoms of autism. Speech disorder seen in children with autism is also seen as frequent repetition of words and inability to complete them.

Afazi

Aphasia is a speech disorder that occurs suddenly, usually as a result of head trauma or stroke, and is caused by damage to the areas of the brain responsible for language. It is mostly seen in middle and advanced ages, but it can also occur in children.

Sometimes it goes away on its own in a short time, sometimes speech therapy is needed. If a child has a speech disorder after a blow to the head, he or she may have aphasia, although it is unlikely. In such a case, you should take your child to the doctor.

How is speech disorder treated in children?

Speech is a communication process in which many organs work simultaneously. Therefore, it may not be due to the fact that only one organ is problematic, and developmental and psychological factors are also involved as well as physiological reasons.

More than one speech disorder may present at the same time. It is the duty of speech therapists to understand the type of speech disorder, to apply speech exercises for different situations, to develop a program suitable for the child’s age and individual development.