5-Minute Clinical Consult : Speech Delay

Speech Delay

Description

Speech delay is delay in the acquisition of spoken language.
Language is a system of symbols through which humans communicate thoughts, feelings and ideas. It has 3 components: Receptive, expressive, and visual language.
- Receptive language is the ability to process and understand language.
- Expressive language is the ability to communicate through speech, written, or formal sign language.
Speech delay can be primary, as in Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), or secondary to another condition. DLD is impaired speech/language in an otherwise normally developing child who lacks signs or stigmata of other conditions.
Constitutional language delay, a retrospective diagnosis, is language delay associated with eventual achievement of normal speech and language milestones by school age. There are no subsequent difficulties with learning to read or write.
Expressive language disorders include the following:
- Verbal dyspraxia: Little speech produced with great effort, very dysfluent, single words most commonly.
- Speech programming deficit disorder: Poorly organized difficult-to-understand speech
Mixed receptive and expressive disorders:
- Verbal auditory agnosia: Impaired ability to decode speech, resulting in a severe expressive impairment. Can often learn language visually.
- Phonologic/Syntactic deficit disorder: Most common type of DLD. Comprehension exceeds spoken ability. Speech is dysfluent, grammatically incorrect with short utterances.
- Most frequent causes of speech delay:
  - Hearing loss
  - Developmental language disorder
  - Autistic spectrum disorder
  - Mental retardation

Speech Delay has been found in Select 5-Minute Pediatrics Topics

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