Defects of speech. Defects of speech in adults and children. Defectologist, speech therapist

Today we will tell you about what are the defects of speech. In addition, you will learn how to get rid of such a pathological phenomenon, to which specialist should be treated if necessary.

General information

Defects of speech - this is the wrong pronunciation of sounds, which arises from the violation of certain functions of the speech apparatus. Such pathological conditions include lisiness, stuttering, cartilaginism, etc.

As you know, a person's speech begins to develop especially intensively to 2-5 years of life. Up to 3 years, a child can correctly pronounce about 30-700 words, and already at 4 years old speak using complex sentences. At this time, the baby's vocabulary is approximately 1500 words.

How does speech develop?

The development of speech depends on external and internal factors. Usually children imitate their parents and almost completely adopt their manner of speaking. During the pronunciation of words or any sounds, many different organs are involved in the person, namely the centers of the brain, the nerve pathways, the respiratory muscles, the muscles of the tongue and the face.

The normal speech of an adult and a child is understood as a clear and distinct pronunciation of each letter. At the same time, a person's conversation should be smooth and rhythmic. If speech is indistinct, illegible and incomprehensible, then they speak of its violation. Today, speech defects such as stuttering, inability to correctly pronounce individual letters, dumbness, etc., are distinguished.

Causes

Defects of speech in adults usually appear due to surgical operations and traumas of the main organs of speech (muscles of the larynx, vocal cords, tongue, palate, teeth and lips). Also such pathological condition can arise due to severe emotional shocks (for example, divorce, loss of a loved one, etc.).

In addition to all of the above reasons, speech defects often develop due to non-enlargement of the upper lip, congenital anomalies, malocclusion, special jaw structure, tongue, teeth and lips, deafness, and muscle disorders.

It should also be noted that in the presence of rare or curved teeth, people may mispronounce consonant sounds. A sudden loss of intelligible speech is very often observed with lesions and brain diseases.

Basic views

Depending on the symptoms, speech defects in adults and children are divided into several types. To determine what pathological condition is observed in you, you should always consult a specialist. The latter is obliged not only to determine the type of defect, but also to identify the cause of its occurrence, and also to appoint treatment or special procedures (exercises).

So, let's consider the main defects of speech in more detail.

Afoniya or dysphonia

This anomaly arises due to pathological changes in the speech apparatus. As a rule, such people have a noticeable violation of phonation. In other words, they mispronounce the sounds.

Tachilalia

This is a special form of violation of oral speech, which is expressed in a very rapid rate of speaking. This feature has no deviations of phonetic, grammatical and lexical nature.

Bradyallia

Such a defect is accompanied by a delayed speech. In other words, it is very difficult for a person to make dissected sounds. It should also be noted that there is a similar deviation, such as bradifrazia. People with a similar diagnosis talk very slowly. As a rule, this is due to the weakening of the thinking process. Both named pathological cases are a consequence of local disease of the brain.

Stuttering

Such speech disturbance arises from the convulsive state of the musculature of the speech apparatus and is accompanied by frequent repetition of sounds or words, stops in conversation, indecisiveness, inconsistency in pace, rhythm and smoothness.

Dyslalia

These are phonetic defects (violation of sound reproduction), which are observed in a person with a correctly constructed speech and normal hearing.

Rinolalia

This is a defect in the sound reproduction and voice of the voice, which arises from anatomical violations of the human speech apparatus.

Dysatria

Such a defect arises from the lack of innervation of the speech apparatus. As a rule, it is formed as a result of lesions of the subcortical and posterior branches of the brain. With this deviation, the mobility of the organs of speech (tongue, soft palate, lips) is limited. As a result, articulation is difficult. In adults, dysarthria is not combined with the collapse of the speech system. In childhood, such a defect can lead to a violation of reading, pronunciation of words and writing, as well as to a general underdevelopment of speech.

Alalia

This is the underdevelopment of speech or its complete absence in normal hearing and intellect. The cause of such a defect in children can be damage to the cerebral hemispheres during childbirth, as well as brain diseases or injuries that were transferred to the baby during the pre-war period of life.

Aphasia

This is a violation of an already formed speech. Such a defect occurs in lesions of the vertebral cortex, as well as as a result of stroke, trauma, inflammation, tumors and certain mental illnesses.

To whom does the specialist seek help?

Now you know what a speech defect is. It should be noted that it is extremely important to identify this problem in a timely manner. If you suspected a pathological phenomenon in yourself or your loved one, you should immediately consult a specialist (defectologist, speech therapist, otolaryngologist, dentist, neurologist, orthodontist). After all, only an experienced doctor can determine the presence of a deviation and try to fix it.

How to get rid of speech defects?

Correction of speech defects in children and adults is carried out on an individual basis. To begin with, it is necessary to identify the cause of such a deviation, and only then make every effort to eliminate it.

If a speech violation is detected in the child, then the parents need to have a lot of patience. After all, a successful result depends primarily on the regularity of the patient's activities, diligence and perseverance.

It should be noted that in view of the huge number of speech defects and their causes, there are many methods of treating such abnormalities. If the patient does not recover after curing the underlying disease, then specialists can apply breathing or speech therapy. By the way, the latter is often prescribed after a stroke, trauma or surgery.

Correction of speech defects in adults and children can take from several weeks to several months and even years.

Psychological factor

A person with such disabilities should not avoid surrounding people. The fear of not being understood is often unreasonable. Such people, on the contrary, should communicate more often and regularly improve their speech. A patient who isolates himself from society may begin to suffer from severe mental illness.

Of course, speech disturbance is not life-threatening. However, such a pathological condition can directly affect the daily life of a person. Due to a strong experience of having a defect in people, depression develops quite quickly or some other diseases occur. Therefore, speech disturbance is required to be treated.