Location
Managed By : Shree Ambikaniketan TrustShree Bharatimaiya "Ananddham" (Vruddhashram)
Behind Big Bazar Street, Vesu Road, Surat - 395007,
Gujarat, India.
Communication is a process whereby an individual conveys his thoughts to another individual. Human beings communicate with each other principally through Speech. We express our thoughts in sequences of articulated sounds to which particular meanings have been attached. This is called speech.
Normal speech development in a child can be classified in to sequence of five stages: The cry, cooing, babbling, echolalia and Intentional speech, which is used in routine communication and process of using complex sentence structures.
The organs of articulation are Lips, Tongue, Palate, Pharynx, and Larynx which articulate the sound. The pharynx, larynx and nasal cavity give resonance or quality to the sound. So and deficit in the speech chain –the articulators ,the resonators or CNS give result to defective speech production .
Speech disorders can be divided four major categories:
(1) Articulation Disorders :
May be functional or organic. Functional disorders are the sound errors seen as substitutions, omissions, distortions and additions. Organic articulation disorders are due to structural abnormalities interfering with articulatory contact point e.g. Cleft Lip and Palate, Tongue Tie, Dental abnormalities as seen in Cerebral Palsy children. Disorders of Speech Motor Control; They are basically neuro motor speech disorders like Dysarthria, Apraxia resulting from lesions in the Central or Peripheral nervous system, which directly regulates the muscles of speaking.
(2) Fluency Disorders :
They are Stuttering and Cluttering Disorders of fluency are characterized by involuntary, audible or silent repetitions and prolongations in utterance of short speech elements namely sound, syllables and words. Sometimes, the children are talking at a rate that is too fast for their system to handle, that is Cluttering.
(3) Voice Disorders :
can be due to organic or functional anomalies. Organic voice problems can be attributed to the presence of Vocal Nodules, Papillomas, Vocal Cord paralysis, Weakness of vocal cords, or due to neurological diseases. Functional voice disorders may be attributed to the faulty voice techniques or psychogenic etiology. Language Disorders may arise due to damage to the Speech Centers in the brain. Broca's area is related to the learning and control of movement patterns involving tips, tongue, velum, pharynx and larynx. Wernicke's area plays a major role in the decoding of Auditory stimuli which convey linguistic
information.
According to the damage we find (1) Broca's Aphasia, (2) Wernicke;s Aphasia (3) Conduction Aphasia
(4) Global Aphasia:
Children with congenital hearing loss are also deprived of communication through Speech and Language and they need proper assessment of the hearing handicap and necessary fitting of the Hearing Aids or early Cochlear Implant Surgery, after which they develop Normal Speech with intensive training or Auditory Verbal Therapy.
Nowadays early Hearing Screening projects are undertaken to detect the Hearing Handicap, as early as a few days after birth.
Speech Therapy started at an early age is the solution for Speech Defective children. Inability or failure to communicate properly with the world around, results In Frustration, Anger, Tamper Tantrums, Behavioral Problems, Withdrawal Symptoms etc.
So wake up and give your child, a normal, healthy communication without any abnormality of Speech and enjoy good interaction with the ever speaking world around.
Mrs. Kunjlata Subhodh Desai
