At Speak Fluent, our team of licensed speech-language pathologists provides 1-on-1 speech therapy support for some of the common speech and language disorders, including:
● Stuttering
● Language Disorders
● Speech Sound Disorders
Check out more information about each of the disorders below!
Stuttering is a speech disorder that disrupts the speaker’s normal flow of speech. It usually begins to develop during childhood, and can continue into adulthood if left untreated.
If you repeat sounds and/or words uncontrollably when you speak, you may be a person who stutters. However, stuttering may also sound and feel like:
● Blocked airway
● Freezing in mouth positioning
● Prolonging/stretching out a sound or word
● Difficulty producing certain sounds or words (the idea is in your head, but it just won’t come out of your mouth properly!)
● Feeling out of control with how you speak
● Avoiding certain words or speaking situations that cause stuttering
Stuttering can cause communication breakdown, as others may misunderstand you, or struggle to follow your flow of speech and thought process. Stuttering is often mistakenly believed to be caused by social anxiety, but in reality, social anxiety can develop as a result of a lifetime of stuttering, and social situations can worsen stuttering behaviors.
This can have an impact on how you perform in meetings, presentations and job interviews, which can negatively affect your self-esteem and ability to maintain successful relationships.
There are various treatment approaches depending on the individual’s stuttering needs and types. If you struggle with any of the problems above, our speech-language pathologists can provide guided exercises and activities to help you regain fluency and clarity in your speech, including:
● Exposure therapy
● Breathing and relaxation exercises
● Fluency shaping/speech modification (e.g., practicing slowed speech and more stretched out vowels)
For adults, a language disorder is common after traumatic brain injury, stroke, or old age. You may also experience the long term effects of a diagnosed or undiagnosed language disorder from childhood.
You may frequently “forget” a word, sticking to using basic sentences, or have difficulty organizing your thoughts. Other people may have trouble understanding your explanations or stories.
After a stroke or brain injury, you may experience aphasia (language disorder). A common symptom of aphasia is “anomia”, the inability to recall common words.
Common speech sound disorders in adults are lisps (i.e., /s/ and /z/ sound distorted or unclear). However, speech sound disorders may also involve the inability to make other sounds.
The specific sound and severity can vary wildly within the general population. Speech therapy can help you learn the right way to make a sound so you can speak clearly with confidence.
Disclaimer: the experience of speech and language disorders can vary for each person. The information presented above is intended to provide a general idea of possible symptoms and treatment methods.
