Speech disorders

Alternative names:

articulation deficiency; dysfluency; voice disorders

Prevention:

Since mental retardation and hearing loss are predisposing factors for speech disorders, at risk infants should be referred to an audiologist for an audiology exam. Audiological and speech therapy can then be initiated if necessary.

Stuttering can best be prevented by parents withholding undue attention to dysfluency in their young child. As young children begin to speak some dysfluency is common. They lack a large vocabulary and have difficulty expressing themselves resulting in broken or dysfluent speech. If parents place excessive attention on the dysfluency a pattern may develop.