Speech Production

We work on speech sound production with many of our clients as well.

Types of Verbal Speech Errors

Speech Sound Production Errors

Speech sound disorders is an umbrella term referring to any combination of difficulties with perception, motor production, and/or the phonological representation of speech sounds and speech segments (including phonotactic rules that govern syllable shape, structure, and stress, as well as prosody) that impact speech intelligibility.

Known causes of speech sound disorders include motor-based disorders (apraxia and dysarthria), structurally based disorders and conditions (e.g., cleft palate and other craniofacial anomalies), syndrome/condition-related disorders (e.g., Down syndrome and metabolic conditions, such as galactosemia), and sensory-based conditions (e.g., hearing impairment).

Speech sound disorders can impact the form of speech sounds or the function of speech sounds within a language. Disorders that impact the form of speech sounds are traditionally referred to as articulation disorders and are associated with structural (e.g., cleft palate) and motor-based difficulties (e.g., apraxia). Speech sound disorders that impact the way speech sounds (phonemes) function within a language are traditionally referred to as phonological disorders; they result from impairments in the phonological representation of speech sounds and speech segments—the system that generates and uses phonemes and phoneme rules and patterns within the context of spoken language. The process of perceiving and manipulating speech sounds is essential for developing these phonological representations.

Apraxia of Speech

"Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a neurological childhood speech sound disorder in which the precision and consistency of movements underlying speech are impaired in the absence of neuromuscular deficits (e.g. abnormal reflexes, abnormal tone). CAS may occur as a result of known neurological impairment, in association with complex neurobehavioral disorders of known and unknown origin, or as an idiopathic neurogenic speech sound disorder. The core impairment in planning and/or programming spatiotemporal parameters of movement sequences results in errors in speech sound production and prosody" (ASHA, 2007a, Definitions of CAS section, para. 1).