Speech and Language Therapy Overview

About Speech and Language Disorders and Therapy

Speech and language disorders affect the part of the brain that helps us speak, write, and otherwise communicate with other individuals. The severity of the disorder can range from being unable to pronounce a few sounds, to the complete incapability of understanding or forming words and sentences as a means of expressing and exchanging ideas.

Types of speech disorders include:

Fluency disorder: an inability to sustain the flow or rhythm of the spoken word. The speech of the affected person may be full of hesitations, elongation or mis-emphasis of certain words, sounds or syllables.

Articulation disorder: refers to the mispronunciation of certain sounds as they form words; for example, slurring the letter "l" or saying "bwing" instead of "bring."

Voice disorder: refers to incorrect pitch (too high, too low, monotone); incorrect tone (harsh, breathy, nasal); loudness; resonanance; duration of speech.

Types of language disorders include impairment of:

Language form: the sound system of a language; how sound combinations form words

Language content: the meaning of the words being communicated

Language function: the combination of language components (phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics) known as Pragmatics

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