Speech Therapy Terms for Reference
There are a lot of terms in the speech therapy and pathology world that may sound intimidating, but we want to alleviate any nervousness or confusion you might have. Below we've compiled and defined some of the more common terms used by speech pathologists and therapists:
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Anomia: a language impairment which makes it difficult to remember words and names; common to most types of aphasia
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Aphasia: a language disorder caused by damage to the language centers of the brain.
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Apraxia: an articulation disorder marked by impaired ability to move or position the mouth, jaw, or tongue for speech production
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Articulation: the process and ability to make speech sounds
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Auditory processing disorder: a language impairment which makes it difficult to recognize or comprehend auditory information
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Bilabial: pertaining to sounds made with both lips.
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Dysarthria: a motor speech disorder that causes unclear speech, often caused by stroke, TBI, Parkinson’s, ALS, or cerebral palsy.
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Dysphagia: impaired swallowing, common caused by stroke.
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Expressive Aphasia: a class of aphasia defined by labored, non-fluent, and agrammatic speech
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Fluent Aphasia: a class of aphasia in which words are produced in longer bursts with less effort
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Language disorder: any difficulty creating or receiving linguistic inputs
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Lisp: a speech disorder marked by the improper pronunciation of one or more of the six sibilant consonants, often caused by improper tongue placement
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Motor Speech Disorder: a disorder marked by difficulty producing speech (e.g.: dysarthria, aphasia, or apraxia)
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Neurologist: a medical doctor specializing in disorders related to the nervous system
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Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA): a rare form of dementia that starts with gradual loss of language
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Receptive Aphasia: another name for fluent aphasia
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Semantic Feature Analysis (SFA): a method used in naming therapy
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Spaced Retrieval: a method used to help dementia patients recall important information over intervals of time to cement the information in memory.
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Speech and Language Therapist (SLT): another term for Speech-Language Pathologist.
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Speech Therapy: The treatment of communication and swallowing disorders
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Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP): a professional trained to evaluate and treat communication and swallowing disorders.
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Stuttering: a disturbance in the normal fluency and time patterning of speech.
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Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): an impact or injury to the head that disrupts the normal functioning of the brain.
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Visual Scanning: a treatment for visual attention deficits or neglect
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Wernicke’s Aphasia: another type of fluent aphasia, marked by poor auditory comprehension and jargon speech.
This is not a complete list, however, our licensed practitioners take responsibility to help educate every family that comes in our doors. Don't worry if it's your first time taking a child to speech therapy – there is a lot to learn but everyone has to start in the same place! We are here to help you and your child.
More Speech Therapy Resources
- Free Speech Screenings
- Speech-Language Therapy service overview
- Speech Therapy Strategies
- The Benefits of a Speech Therapist