Dyslalia: what is it, types and treatment

Dyslalia is an easily recognized pathology among health professionals. It is a speech disorder, that is, a deficit in oral language that manifests itself early in childhood. The deficit lies in the child’s inability to correctly articulate words, with certain specific phonemes and syllables characteristically difficult to pronounce among these children.

This disorder not only includes mispronunciation due to language articulation, but also due to omission of phonemes or substitution of sounds for others that are easier for them to pronounce instead, which sometimes makes the expression of these children really very difficult to understand when listening to them speak.

Normally at the beginning of the manifestations of dyslalia in young children, their parents or their environment tries to help them pronounce by correcting their mistakes; But this is not only not going to lead to the resolution of this disorder but it is of little help since the child notices the tension on his speech and feels pressured, which usually further complicates the fluency and clarity of his expression.

Dislalia encompasses a series of disorders that, depending on their origin, have certain distinctive characteristics that it is necessary to know in order to make a correct diagnosis and to be able to start a therapy correctly oriented to solve said problem from its roots. These are the different types of dyslalia :

• Functional : it is produced by an alteration in the peripheral organs of speech, it is the most common type of dyslalia. Children have a defective pronunciation of certain phonemes, the most frequent: R, L, S, Z, K and CH.
• Audiogenic : they are related to an auditory deficit present in children who suffer from some degree of hearing loss, logically if the child does not listen correctly he will never be able to learn to pronounce correctly or to be able to detect the error in his own pronunciation, which will lead to future problems in his school stage
• Physiological : it is produced by the presence of immaturity in the organs of speech. It is normal for it to happen in children under 4 years old, all of us have gone through a more or less brief period of dyslalia that is part of the usual process of learning oral language.
• Educational : there are particular cases where, after knowing and studying the patient with dyslalia, this alteration is attributed to the responsibility of the parents and the child’s family and affective environment in the language learning process, if there is deficient education on the part of the family it is very likely that the child interprets with difficulty and has problems expressing himself.
• Organic : it is produced by defects in the organs involved in the articulation of oral language, also known as dysglossia, its treatment depends on the level where the defect is located, if it is in the lips, tongue, teeth, palate, etc. In the following FastlyHealarticle you will be able to learn more about dysglossia: causes and treatments , as well as learn what the different types of dysglossia are .

There are certain factors that certain children suffer and that predispose them to suffering from dyslalia. Here we explain which are the most common:

• The personality of the child : many times the personality of each child influences the genesis of this speech disorder, such as: in the case of very shy children, or who are branded as distracted or clueless.
• Demotivation or too much stimulation : it can also occur in cases in which the child is overloaded with too much pressure and activities from a very young age.
• Unstructured families : or a family in which physical or verbal violence prevails, presence of addictions or lack of affection.

When considering a therapeutic plan to address this pathology, it is essential to emphasize that there is no correct way to carry out the treatment without resorting to the expert hands of a professional who always works with constant interaction with an interdisciplinary team of health professionals, including They: pediatrician, psychologist, psychopedagogue, speech therapist, among others.

The pillars on which the therapy is based are:

• Create a comfortable environment using the application of educational games to help the child with his deficit.
• Propose applied therapy sessions where different learning techniques are used for oral expression of language
• Encourage children to carry out breathing exercises and pauses between the emission of sound and sound
• Teach the correct pronunciation of the letters of the alphabet, marking the difference between the sound of pronunciation of vowels and consonants
• Proceed to address the theory and practice of the correct pronunciation of syllables and phonemes detected as difficult for the child, correctly using the muscles involved in said phonation
• Starting from the practice of the previous concepts, we proceed to practice whole words, recreating phrases of daily use that will facilitate in the future the child with their autonomy of oral expression

In addition, the family support from the parents and the entire structure of the child’s affections is irreplaceable . Family members should stimulate the child in his achievements by recognizing each stage of learning and encouraging him to apply this knowledge in communication at home and practice it in his daily life and at school.

It is very likely that by reinforcing the child’s self-esteem and attending the sessions proposed by the medical professional, with time and practice, children will be able to widely improve their pronunciation deficits and reverse dyslalia, being able to carry out a normal life and learning for their future.

This article is merely informative, at FastlyHeal .com we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any type of diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any type of condition or discomfort.

If you want to read more articles similar to Dislalia: what it is, types and treatment , we recommend that you enter our Teeth and mouth category .