Dysarthria

Among the many types of developmental and academic learning difficulties in children, which affect the child's performance in school later, as well as appearing early in the child's development during his first years, which makes him late in some matters compared to his peers of the same age. What is known as speech disorder, or motor speech agnosia, or dysphasia in children.

In this article, we will explain motor speech disorder in children, why it is considered a type of learning disability, and how it can be noticed early in the child's first years.

What is Dysarthria ?

Motor apraxia is a neurological condition in which a person has difficulty or is unable to perform certain movements despite having normal muscles, particularly difficulty moving their mouth. People with motor apraxia have an incoordination of the movements responsible for producing speech due to a lack of neuromuscular coordination.

There are several types of motor speech disorders, including :

- Dysarthria in childhood .

In his early childhood years, a child may have a problem or weakness in the jaw muscles that does not help him pronounce words. There is a difference in cases of dysarthria at this age. Some children may have a problem with the inability to produce sounds, which is known as phonological disorders, while others may have a problem with the inability to pronounce words. This is to varying degrees. Some cases of dysarthria disappear when the child reaches the age of six because his muscles become stronger, while others require therapeutic intervention.

- Acquired speech impairment:

It is an adult who suffers from dysarthria, or acquired stuttering, due to experiencing a nervous shock, injury, or illness.

- Central speech impairment:

It occurs in both children and adults due to a brain tumor or damage to brain cells, leading to difficulty speaking or loss of speech.

- Articulation disorder: the inability to form correct sentences, or pronouncing a word intermittently.

- Phonological performance disorder: stuttering, or the inability to produce the correct sounds for words.

- Speech disorder: This is a problem in pronouncing words.

Early symptoms of dysarthria in children.

1. The child has difficulty forming the sound of certain words.
2. The child finds it difficult to put the phonemes together in the right order to form certain words.
3. The child finds it difficult to pronounce long words while his peers pronounce them.
4. The child's inability to arrange the words of a sentence correctly.
5. The child rarely speaks all the time.
6. Stuttering in words.
7. Having a distinctly hoarse or nasal voice.
8. Merging words into each other.
9. Saying the word in a halting and unclear manner.
10. Speaking very quickly without intention.
11. Speak very slowly.

Causes of speech disorder Dysarthria in children.

1. Weakness in the muscles of the organs responsible for speech, tongue, lips, and jaws...
2. Having a stuffy nose.
3. Excessive drooling impairs speech.
4. Having trouble breathing.
5. There is a problem with the speech centers in the brain.
6. Having a hearing problem.
7. Having a stroke.
8. Exposure to nervous shock.
9. Epilepsy.
10. Depression.
11. Stress and anxiety.
12. Recurring intense fear.
13. Laryngitis.
14. Vocal cord problems.
15. Psychological pressure.
16. Oral deformities.
17. Genetic abnormalities.

How to deal with a child with speech problems?

Remember that if you suspect that your child has a speech disorder, you should seek help from a specialist to determine whether or not the problem exists, its severity, and the best solution to deal with it. In general, there are natural stuttering problems related to development at the beginning of a child's learning to speak.

In general, there are some ways in which you can help your child overcome the problem of early dysarthria, which are:

1. Listen carefully and intently to the child while he speaks and look into his eyes as this encourages him to speak.
2. Help your child avoid screaming, singing for long periods of time, or shouting to avoid straining or scratching the vocal cords.
3. Help him correct wrong sounds or words by repeating them from time to time.
4. Use flashcards.
5. Make him listen to you a lot and interact with him.
6. Complete it with a formula that makes him talk about himself, such as: Omar is crying, Omar is a beautiful boy, and so on... so that he can use it later and repeat it.
7. If he has a dental problem, follow up with the dentist.
8. If you notice that his voice is nasal, take him to an ear, nose, and throat doctor to examine the nose problem and treat it early.
9. Pay attention if he drools a lot, and follow up with a doctor to treat it.
10. Tell him stories, discuss them with him, or ask him to knit them.
11. Tell the child which parts of his speech are understandable and which need more clarification.

The most common treatment methods for dysarthria :

Motor dysarthria is treated differently from one child to another. Some cases may require medication or even surgical intervention because they are caused by a deformity or illness that requires intensive medical care.

Some of them need treatment with a specialist through sessions, the number of which is determined weekly according to each case. It may be two, three, or five sessions weekly, or more or less depending on the child’s condition. Some children need follow-up from home and with a private teacher only.

There are two methods of treatment, which are:

Direct Session Therapy Method:

The specialist conducts direct therapy sessions with the child, either individually or in small groups, in which he develops specific strategies to facilitate the pronunciation of words, or to reduce the intensity of stress in the child so that the child speaks without stuttering caused by stress.

Stuttering rarely goes away if it continues after the age of seven, but treatment remains effective even after this age, and at least it improves the child's ability to speak, participate socially, and reduce symptoms of stress.

Indirect session therapy method:

In these sessions, the specialist helps parents determine and modify the most appropriate communication methods with the child in a guiding and advisory manner. This is also an effective treatment for reducing stuttering and dysarthria, or even completely treating it in many children. Here, the main goal of treatment is to create a calm and comfortable environment for the child as much as possible to help him speak, and to indirectly reduce the intensity of tension and pressure as if it were part of daily life. This is done by talking to the child calmly and slowly, and exchanging conversation with him by listening to him, and also increasing group activities that encourage the child to speak, such as playing with him or having him help in the kitchen or walking with him to school and exchanging conversation or asking him to tell you a story, and taking care not to interrupt the child while he is speaking, and not to criticize him, or ridicule him, or make him feel that he has a problem.

The risks of neglecting early treatment of dysarthria .

• It is much more difficult to treat later.
• Delayed treatment does not achieve 100% cure.
• The child faces problems in academic achievement in all aspects: reading, writing, etc.
• The child's poor ability to communicate socially.
• Poor coordination and motor coordination in children.
• Dysphasia may be a symptom of a serious illness that requires early treatment.