by Hillary Marshall

Created on: October 24, 2008   Last Updated: October 30, 2008

There are a number of different speech disorders in children that can affect their ability to communicate with the world around them. These speech disorders can inhibit their ability to pronounce sounds correctly or render them unable to speak at all. Although some speech disorders in children can be linked to genetics, often there is no known cause and an astounding five percent of children are diagnosed with a speech disorder by first grade.

Speech disorders in children can be linked to a number of different causes. However, the most common causes of speech disorders would include hearing disorders, dysphonia, cleft lip or palate, developmental issues, learning disabilities, autism, stroke or brain injury. Often children with speech disorders may have more than one factor contributing to their disorder.

Naturally, because the causes of speech disorders in children vary so greatly the symptoms can also vary. Obviously, the most common symptom of a speech disorder in a child would be delayed speech development. However, many parents don't know how delayed speech is classified and what other symptoms they should be looking for when they suspect a speech disorder.

How do you determine that your child is experiencing delayed speech development? If they are age 3 or older and still speak unintelligibly, if they display frustration when trying to communicate, they blink their eyes or jerk their head often while talking or express embarrassment when speaking. Any one of these symptoms alone may be cause for concern.

There are a number of other symptoms that may be displayed by children with speech disorders. They may speak but leave consonants off the beginning or end of words, they may distort sounds, have pitch deviations in their voice or have deviations in the quality and volume of their voice. If your child has any of these symptoms or displays persistent difficulty articulating themselves you should seek medical advice.

Early intervention and treatment gives children with speech disorders the best chance for recovery. Typically, tests will be done to determine if a speech disorder is present or the severity of the disorder. These test may include the Denver Articulation Screening Exam, the Early Childhood Milestone Scale, the Denver II and the Peabody Picture Test Revised.

Once speech disorders in children are diagnosed they are referred to a speech pathologist for therapy. During treatment with a speech therapist children will perform language activities, articulation therapy and practice their oral motor skills. Therapy for a speech disorder is very in depth and time consuming but it can yield profound results.

Learn more about this author, Hillary Marshall.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.