Speech and Communication Disorders
Reading this article
Topic pages summarize public health information in plain language. They may describe common causes and treatments in general terms; your own plan of care depends on your clinician’s exam, history, and tests. Use what you read here to prepare questions—not to start, stop, or change medications or to self-diagnose.
Many disorders can affect our ability to speak and communicate. They range from saying sounds incorrectly to being completely unable to speak or understand speech. Causes include:
- Hearing disorders and deafness
- Voice problems, such as dysphonia or those caused by cleft lip or palate
- Speech problems like stuttering
- Developmental disabilities
- Learning disabilities
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Brain injury
- Stroke
Some speech and communication problems may be genetic. Often, no one knows the causes. By first grade, about 5% of children have noticeable speech disorders. Speech and language therapy can help.
NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders