Speech and Language Disorders

Types of Speech and Language Disorders

Aphasia impacts multiple linguistic domains including word finding, comprehension, expression, reading, and writing, according to the American Academy of Neurology 1
Semantic aphasia is characterized by difficulties in word retrieval and understanding word meanings, as noted by the American Academy of Neurology 1
Non-fluent/agrammatic aphasia features apraxia of speech and grammatical difficulties, as reported by the American Academy of Neurology 1
Logopenic aphasia results in word-finding difficulties and phonological working memory issues, according to the American Academy of Neurology 1

Dysphonia refers to impaired voice production as recognized by a clinician, according to the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery 2
Dysphonia affects nearly one-third of the population at some point in their lives, as reported by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery 2

Motor speech evaluations establish the presence and severity of speech disorders by examining components including respiration, phonation, resonance, articulation, prosody, and overall intelligibility, as recommended by the American Heart Association 3
Comprehensive assessment should include evaluation of multiple domains of language including comprehension, expression, repetition, reading, and writing, according to the American Academy of Neurology 1
Laryngoscopy is recommended when dysphonia fails to resolve within 4 weeks or if a serious underlying cause is suspected, as suggested by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery 2

For bilingual and multilingual patients, communication assessment of each language is recommended, according to the American Heart Association 3
Treatment of functional communication disorders should include explanation of the diagnosis, symptomatic interventions, behavioral approaches, and psychological support, as recommended by the American Academy of Neurology 5