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Unit 10: Speech and Hearing Impaired: Definition, Types, Characteristics

Apraxia: Apraxia is also a result of an injury to the brain. The individuals affected by this disorder Notes
are unable to express themselves consistently and correctly. This speech impairment is of two types:
• Developmental apraxia: It occurs in children and is generally present from birth. The severity
varies from one child to another.
• Acquired apraxia: It is present in adults and results from a physical injury to brain. It depends
on the age of the individual and the extent of the injury.

Articulation Disorder: This type of speech impairment occurs when the person is unable to produce
a particular sound. Generally there is a problem in pronouncing 's','r' and 'i'. It occurs due to weak
muscles or less control over the tongue. Sometimes, it may be very difficult to understand the speech
of people with articulation disorder. This speech impairment is of two types:
• Distortion: Here, the individual is unable to produce a sound and ends up distorting it.
• Addition: In this case, the individual produces an extra sound.
Speech Sound Impairment: It is generally seen in children. Speech sound impairment may occur
due to any developmental disorder like autism or Down syndrome and also due to physiological or
neurological problems. It is of the following four types:
• Omissions: The child leaves a particular sound because he either cannot produce it at all, cannot
produce it correctly or cannot use it properly.
• Additions: This occurs when an extra sound is added to a word.
• Distortions: Here, the actual sound of the syllable is distorted and an inexplicable sound is
produced.
• Substitution: This occurs when the child consistently substitutes one sound with another.
Cluttering: Cluttering speech impairment affects the fluency of speech. It occurs because the person
speaks very fast or repeats things many a time to make it comprehensible. There is no distinct cause
for cluttering. It may occur due to drug abuse or prolonged illness.
Dysarthria: It is commonly known as slurred speech. The speech is slow or inaccurate. It is generally
caused by stroke, multiple sclerosis or brain tumor. This leaves the muscles in the mouth or tongue
weak or paralyzed and it becomes difficult to control them.
Lisps: It is also known as stigmatism. This occurs when the person is unable to produce a specific
speech sound. It is of three types:
• Interdental: This occurs when the tongue comes in between the teeth at the time of speech.
• Lateral: A wet sound is produced because air escapes from the sides of the tongue.
• Palatal: This happens when the mid section of the tongue touches the soft palate.
Dysprosody: It is a rare speech impairment. Here, the rhythm, modulation, timing and intensity of
speech is disrupted. Sometimes also referred to as foreign accent syndrome, its causes have not been
fully understood. It may be a result of Parkinson's disease, tumor or stroke that affects the brain.
Expressive Language Impairment: It is a language or communication speech impairment where the
individual has difficulty in verbally expressing himself. Generally, comprehension of language is
better than its expression in such cases. The person fumbles for using correct grammar, tenses,
structure, vocabulary, etc., and the speech becomes hesitant. This speech impairment is of two types:
• Developmental: This is seen in children. There is no specific cause for this impairment and is
believed to affect boys more than girls.
• Acquired: It is acquired by an individual post stroke or head injury in adulthood.
Language Based Learning Disabilities: The individuals face difficulty in the use of language while
speaking, writing or reading. It affects different individuals differently. Some may find it difficult to
communicate verbally and others may not be able to express themselves clearly. This generally involves
difficulty in learning numbers or maths. Also, trouble in telling left from right or difficulty in telling
time is seen in the affected individuals.

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