Common Speech Disorders, Language Disorders, and Feeding Disorders
Your teacher or doctor may have expressed concern that your child could have a problem with certain speech or language skills. That can be tough to hear and sometimes confusing. Here are a list of common terms and speech, language and feeding disorders which might help you understand and identify what treatment is needed for your son or daughter.
Some common speech, language and feeding disorders include:
- Articulation disorders: difficulties producing sounds in syllables or saying words incorrectly to the point that listeners can’t understand what’s being said.
- Fluency disorders: problems such as stuttering, in which the flow of speech is interrupted by abnormal stoppages, partial-word repetitions (“b-b-boy”), or prolonging sounds and syllables (sssssnake).
- Resonance or voice disorders: problems with the pitch, volume, or quality of the voice that distract listeners from what’s being said. These types of disorders may also cause pain or discomfort for a child when speaking.
- Cognitive-communication disorders: difficulty with communication skills that involve memory, attention, perception, organization, regulation, and problem solving.
- Receptive disorders: difficulties understanding or processing language.
Expressive disorders: difficulty putting words together, limited vocabulary, or inability to use language in a socially appropriate way. - Dysphagia/oral feeding disorders are disorders in the way someone eats or drinks, including problems with chewing, swallowing, coughing, gagging, and refusing foods.