SPEECH IMPEDIMENTS- Jaclyn Fawk

Fact Sheet for Speech Impediments

Special Need: Speech Impediments

Definition under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA):
“Speech or language impairment means a communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.”

Formal Name: Does not have a scientific name, but these key terms are related to speech impediments- speech disturbance, aphasia, apraxia, dysarthria, dyspraixa, slurred speech

Causes:
• Can be present at birth, such as inborn muscular conditions and congenital anatomical abnormalities, or can develop in result of metabolic diseases, tumors, injury, or infections
• May be caused by disruptions with the brain or nerves that control the larynx, facial muscles, and vocal cords can cause problems with speech
• May be caused my muscular diseases or conditions that affect how the jaw, mouth, and teeth perform while speaking
• Abnormalities in vocal cords can result in pitch and quality of voice, such as if there is a cyst, polyp, or tumor present
• Other causes: a hearing loss, pregnancy issues/birth defects, and cleft palate or cleft lip

Characteristics: A person with a speech impediment may only hold one of these characteristics
• May lose the ability to understand language, both spoken and written, due to disruptions in the brain where language is processed- this is called aphasia
• Articulation disorders: may have a difficulty pronouncing certain phonemes, syllables, or words that is due to muscle control- commonly known as dysarthria (most common)
• Fluency disorders: may speak repetitively or with continuous spasms due to the lack of control with the vocal cords. Speech flow is interrupted by abnormal stoppages, repetitions, or prolonging sounds and sllyables- commonly known as spasmodic dysphonia (second most common)
• Expressive disorders: may have a problem verbalizing language and what they actually want to say correcting and consistently. In other words, language comes out all wrong and does not make sense, but knows in their head what they want to say and cannot find the words or structure to say it. May have limited vocabulary, grammatical issues, improper use of words- commonly known as apraxia
• Resonance or voice disorders: may encounter pain while speaking, has problems with pitch, quality of voice or volume, which distracts the listener from hearing what is being said (third most common)

Misconceptions: it is a misconception that students are not intelligent if they have a speech impairment. Some cases may be because of a muscular disorder and has nothing to do with the brain. Also that all speech impairments are expressive disorders (cannot produce language), but some cases may be receptive (had difficulties understanding and processing language). A teacher should find out the student’s condition and speak with parent, resource teacher, psychologist, and speech pathologist (whoever is available at the school) about what is best for the student and if intervention lessons are needed. Also a teacher should be patient with a student who has a speech impairment and make sure that the class understands the condition. The student needs to feel comfortable and confident in the classroom in order to embrace their condition and move past it. Some early cases are short-term and resolve on their own. It is false that speech impediments are incurable because they can be treated depending on the severity. However, drug therapy is NOT needed or shown to be helpful for stuttering and it is not clear whether electronic devices help. A child should see a speech therapist or pathologist for best results.

Resources:
• http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/chart.htm
American Speech-Language Hearing Association. Page title: How Does Your Child Hear and Talk? This website gives you an idea of where your child’s speech and language milestones should be at different ages, how to help during that stage of development, and how to identify problems.

• http://kidshealth.org/parent/system/ill/speech_therapy.html
This website provides help for parents with a child that has speech impairment.

• http://nichcy.org/state-organization-search-by-state
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities. This website lists organizations by state that can help any disability.
http://nichcy.org/disability/specific/speechlanguage
The same site also gives information about speech and language impairments.

Curricular Modifications: In my classroom, my mentor teacher and I have spoken with the parent, resource teacher, and speech pathologist about [John’s] speech impairment. It is important to have that relationship with those three people in order to provide the best support of a student. We have given him more time on tests, will read the test to him, and he spends some of the day with the resource teacher. He also has speech once a week, where he works of pronouncing specific sounds and does other intervention activities. I make sure to call on him if his hand is raised when I ask questions because I know that he sometimes loses his train of thought quickly or may take longer to process the questions. I also have him sitting in the front so I am able to keep an eye on him and to answer any questions he may have. Lastly, it is important to draw out the student’s strengths and emphasize them.