Is your child showing signs of speech delay? Are they mispronouncing words too frequently? Do you notice signs of stuttering or speech-language development delay in your child?  Several children exhibit speech and language issues early in life. As a parent, you have every right and reason to worry. You may worry about their quality of life, education, and career prospects. But, just worrying won’t get you anywhere. You need to take action. Firstly, you need to find out the type of speech problem your child has. You may want to speak to a speech-language pathologist (SLP) or speech therap ..read more

According to the CDC, around 1 in 44 children received an ASD (autism spectrum disorder) diagnosis in 2018. Between 25% and 35% of children with autism spectrum disorder are minimally verbal or non-verbal. The exact number of children with nonspeaking or nonverbal autism is still unknown. Children with nonverbal autism do not speak at all. In many cases, they babble like any other child and say their first words around 12 months of age. However, they regress as the symptoms of ASD become more severe. If your child is old enough to speak but doesn't, you should first consult your pediatrician ..read more

Infants communicate by cooing, crying, and giggling. Once they begin to grow up, their cooing turns into babbling. And soon, when they reach their first birthday, they are ready to say simple words like "mama," "dada," or "bye." Some children take longer than others to babble or say their first words. In such situations, it is crucial to refer to a child's speech-language milestones checklist. If they are experiencing speech & language delays, it's wise to consult a speech-language pathologist (SLP). They can tell you about various exercises & activities for speech development. You ca ..read more

Transcranial direct current stimulation or tDCS is a non-invasive process that uses electricity to stimulate areas of the brain. Now, we know transcranial electrical stimulation has been a hot topic of controversy in the medical research community. One team claimed that tDCS can cure depression. Another said that it can help patients with manic episodes. The only problem is – tDCS works, but the researchers aren’t completely sure how. In fact, research shows that transcranial direct current stimulation can reduce stuttering in adolescents and adults. So, while we are aware of the controversie ..read more

Down syndrome or Trisomy 21 is a genetic disorder. It is the most common genetic disorder diagnosed at birth in the US. Those with Down syndrome have an extra copy of chromosome 21. The extra genetic material may cause the individual to have – Eyes that slant upwards Small ears with folded top Small mouths Small nose with a flattened bridge Small hands with very short fingers Short neck 2 palm creases instead of 3 Short stature Loose joints A majority of all children with Down syndrome also exhibit – Hearing problems Vision problems Speech problems Learning disorders Since it is a genetic ..read more

Aphasia makes it difficult for a person to speak. The person may also have trouble understanding spoken language. Aphasia affects communication. Although aphasia diagnosis isn’t too uncommon, there are a few myths we hear too often. It’s time to bust those myths and learn about the aphasia facts together. Myth #1: Aphasia Is a Rare Disorder Around 180,000 US citizens acquire aphasia each year. Almost 2 million people in the US have aphasia as per data from the National Aphasia Association. Therefore, contrary to the popular belief, aphasia is not a rare disorder. Myth #2: Aphasia Is Always Ca ..read more

Strokes or cerebrovascular accidents (CVA) can affect and damage one or more portions of the brain. Someone who has experienced a left-brain stroke may experience communication problems. Speech therapy exercises for stroke patients help overcome these communication challenges. Some of the more common communication problems left-brain stroke survivors may face are – Difficulties in understanding language (receptive abilities) Trouble speaking (expressive abilities) The problem of producing spoken language or aphasia is quite common among stroke survivors. They may also experience dysarthria o ..read more

Our voice is a big part of our identity. How we sound affects our confidence, performance at school or work, and influences our listeners. Voice plays an integral role in communication. For speaking, air from our lungs needs to pass through our voice box. The airflow vibrates the vocal cords or vocal folds to create speech sound. When a person has problems in the movement of the vocal folds, or breathing, they may experience a voice disorder. If your voice sounds more hoarse, wet, raspy or high-pitched than usual, you may be experiencing a voice disorder. The inability to use our voice optima ..read more

All of us have experienced "unsmooth" speech. We may have fumbled, repeated, and used filler sounds while talking. However, these instances are not referred to as stuttering. Stuttering occurs when an individual knows exactly what to say, but they experience disfluencies while speaking. People who stutter have different types and intensities of disfluencies. They may repeat parts of words or entire words (repetition), stretch out a sound for a long time (prolongation), or have difficulty getting a sound out (block). Stuttering is more than disfluent speech. It can affect how a person sees the ..read more

When a child says their first word, it brings incomparable joy to their parents. Then comes the mimicking of word sounds and attempts to say two-words at a time. Most children acquire spoken language quickly, although they make some very predictable, but cute mistakes. A child trying to say a big word will often jumble up the consonants. They may say /w/ in place of /r/. Hearing your child say “wabbit” for the first time is indeed cute. Nonetheless, if your 5-year old keeps mispronouncing words and jumbling up word sounds, it may be a sign of a speech sound disorder. By the age of 5 years, al ..read more