Expert: Erin E. Maio-Harrison, MA,CCC-SLP - 10/18/2005

Question
I am doing a senior research paper on speech impediments and I was wondering if you could answer some questions that I have? If you can by Thursday night. Thank you for your time.

1. How can one solve his or her problems with a  
  speech impediment?

2. Could you comment on the damaging sociological
  effects a person with a speech impediment may  
  experience?

3. What are the classic types of speech
  impediments?

4. How can one overcome self-consciousness and
  lack of self-confidence with his or her speech
  impediment?

5. Can you explain any technology used to treat
  speech impediments?

6. Who developed speech impediment improvement   
  therapies/strategies? How old is this science?
  Who are the leaders today? (schools?
  innovators? programs?)


Answer
Hello Kristjana-

I am not going to do your homework for you! I did my time already! But I will point you in the right direction.  Let's start by defining the subject.  “Speech Impediment” is a rather vague term.  I assume you mean anything a person does while they talk that impairs their communication.   Communication is a 2-way street and can breakdown on both ends, i.e., comprehension and expression difficulties.  Speech/Language Pathologists look at the following areas:
Receptive Language – understanding words/language, following directions, auditory processing
Expressive Language – formulation of sentences, grammar,
Cognition – includes memory, topic maintenance
Speech – how clear the sounds are, rate of speech, includes dysarthria, apraxia, stuttering.
Voice – proper pitch, volume and quality of voice
Pragmatics – all the non-speech stuff, like eye contact, facial expressions, social behavior
Check out the following links…

http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/sight/speech_disorders.html

http://asha.org/public/speech   (excellent site to browse thru)

1. How can one solve his or her problems with a
  speech impediment?  Therapy with a speech/language pathologist following a speech and language evaluation to identify the exact nature of the problem.

2. Could you comment on the damaging sociological
  effects a person with a speech impediment may
  experience? People make immediate judgments about a person based on how they talk.  Dysarthria cause slurred speech and these people are often mistaken for being drunk or medicated.  Stuttering in the movies is often incorrectly paired with psychological disorders.  Having a mid-eastern accent can sure get you an unfavorable reaction these days. Often a person who speaks poorly is assumed to be less intelligent.  If every time you opened your mouth you had a negative experience, you might have one of several reactions, withdrawal, anger, and defensiveness.

http://www.aphasia.org/article-nytbrain.php

3. What are the classic types of speech
  impediments? This is probably covered in the above links/answers.  Most people usually think of the obvious expressive speech disorders such as dysarthria (slurred speech), apraxia (discoordinated speech), phonologic disorders in children, stuttering

4. How can one overcome self-consciousness and
  lack of self-confidence with his or her speech
  impediment? Speech Therapy addresses that. Usually the confidence emerges as the speaker begins to get positive feedback from strangers and friends (similar to weight loss).  If the problems are related to an overall self-image issue, a mental health professional may be needed.  Some adults choose to enter groups that allow practice for speaking in front of others such as “Toastmasters”.

5. Can you explain any technology used to treat
  speech impediments? Clinicians use lots of different technology depending on the disorder. Computers and software are used to provide visual and/or auditory feedback.  We use biofeedback with electrodes to measure muscle tension.  Some stuttering therapy utilizes a delayed auditory feedback device.  There is an oscilloscope called the Visipitch that is used at times.  A nasoscope is used to address increased nasality.  There is also lo-tech such as playback with a tape recorder or video recorder.  We even use mirrors for visual feedback.  I would say that 90% of the expressive speech therapy done out there is lo-tech.


6. Who developed speech impediment improvement
  therapies/strategies? How old is this science?
  Who are the leaders today? (schools?
  innovators? programs?)  http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~duchan/history.html
http://www.worldwidelearn.com/online-education-guide/health-medical/communicatio...
http://members.tripod.com/Caroline_Bowen/ll.htm
http://www.a2zpsychology.com/psychology_guide/speech_therapy.htm

Good luck!

Erin E. Harrison, MA,CCC-SLP
Speech/Language Patholgist