What are the main causes of speech disorders? (+ Distribution)

What causes a speech disorder? A variety of factors may be behind it. These may or may not be serious.

Speech is mainly used for communication. It is made up of several factors that must work together. Otherwise, it becomes disordered.

The components required for speech production are, for example, hearing, vision (in the written word), the nervous system, the muscles present in speech production, the cerebellum.

What speech disorders are we familiar with?

We divide them on the basis of how they interfere with speech production. Speech problems can arise in speech production, in pronunciation. Subsequently, we divide speech disorders into:

• aphasia, where there is a problem with speech production or comprehension
• dysphasia is a milder form of aphasia
• dysarthria is a disorder of articulation (pronunciation)
• aphonia or dysphonia is hoarse and whispery speech
• rhinolalia or nasolalia is nasal speech (humming)
• dyslalia is caused by underdevelopment
• balbuties is stuttering
• mutism as psychogenic dumbness
• tumultus sermonis (babbling), where the rate of speech is disturbed
• atactic (chanted) speech occurs in cerebellar disorders
• monotonous speech, for example in Parkinson's disease

Speech disorders can be caused by a variety of factors. Sometimes problems arise directly in the speech centre in the brain, or there is a problem with the nerve signal or with the tongue and mimic muscles directly.

Neurological diseases

Bulbar syndrome arises from damage to the IXth-XIIth cranial nerves. Symptoms present include dysarthria, dysphagia, for example.

Problems with speech and expression occur most often in various diseases of the nervous system. For example, in Huntington's disease.

It's a neurodegenerative genetic disease. It causes involuntary movements, for example, of the tongue. That's why a person's speech is unintelligible.

People with Alzheimer's disease also have speech problems. In Alzheimer's disease, the brain mass is lost. The person is confused, has memory problems and is disoriented.

Stroke

In stroke, the brain and speech centre are also compromised due to lack of oxygen. There is blockage of a blood vessel by a blood clot or bleeding in the brain.

Stroke is a very common cause of speech impairment in adults. Early recognition of the onset of difficulties is important. With early treatment, a good therapeutic outcome can be achieved, without neurological damage.

Defence

Polio can also be a problem. It is a neurological disease that causes motor problems. It can be either incomplete or complete.

In cerebral palsy, it is an attack directly on the central nervous system. There are disturbances in the brain, but sometimes individual muscles are also attacked. There are speech disorders that are unintelligible.

Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis can sometimes be a problem, particularly when fat is deposited in the walls of the arteries. Vascular diseases of the brain cause speech impairment.

Diseases of the larynx and vocal cords

Sometimes problems can be caused with fatigue of the vocal cords and their stretching. With hoarseness, there is a suspicion of laryngitis or even a laryngeal tumor.

Then the person has problems not only with speaking, but also with swallowing, which is painful and difficult.

Diseases of the oral cavity

In oral cancer, an obstruction forms in the oral cavity. In the early stages, symptoms may not show at all. Later, pain, swallowing problems and speech disorders occur.

Infectious diseases

Some infectious diseases also cause speech disorders. Typical is the humming in infectious mononucleosis. The tonsils are enlarged and there is pain in the throat.

Tick-borne encephalitis can also cause problems. It attacks the brain and can sometimes affect the speech centre.

Psychiatric disorders

The disorder may also be present on the basis of a psychiatric disorder. These include a disorder of psychological development.

There are also various problems with language acquisition. Or there is a reduced ability to use speech.

Childhood age

Often, young children and preschoolers already have speech and pronunciation problems. It is best to approach a speech therapy clinic then. The clinic can help with this problem.

Speech disorders are also seen in school-age children as a result of a mild brain dysfunction known as ADHD. In particular, disorders and problems with learning, concentration, focus and mood changes are typical.

The most common speech disorders in children are dyslalia (mispronunciation of consonants) and rhinolalia (nasal speech). Children often stutter and mumble, and this is mainly due to the speed of speech.

In some cases, we may encounter slower or delayed speech development. The child has a smaller vocabulary and is slower to associate content and meaning to words.

He omits syllables, syllables, makes up new words, compounds, which is not appropriate for the age of the child.

After severe stressful situations, children tend to be mute (mutism). It can be total, sometimes the child is afraid to speak only to certain persons.