What is adult dyslalia?
Dyslalia is a speech disorder caused by an incorrect function of the peripheral speech organs. It is characterized by incorrect pronunciations of phonemes or by the substitution of some sounds for others that are easier to say.
The most common speech problems are: rotacism (difficulty in pronouncing /r/) and sigmatism (alteration of the phoneme /s/).
Causes of dyslalia on adults
The main causes of dyslalia in adults are:
- Functional: It is a defect in the development of speech articulation that is often due to an abnormal function of peripheral organs.
- Auditory problems: If the adult does not hear well, he/she could understand and learn certain sounds incorrectly.
- Organic: These are congenital malformations in the organs involved in speech, such as the palate or the lingual frenulum.
Symptoms of dyslalia in adults
To detect if you have a dyslalia problem in adults you should perform any of the following errors:
- Substitutions: Consists of replacing one sound with another in which one phoneme is replaced by an easier one.
- Distortions: Consists of when we give it an incorrect or deformed form trying to approximate it more or less to the proper articulation.
- Omissions: The phoneme that he/she does not know how to pronounce is omitted.
- Additions: Consists of adding a phoneme to the word to facilitate pronunciation.
- Reduplications: Repetition of a phoneme.
- Inversions: Consists of changing the order of the sounds.
How do we treat dyslalia in adults at Logopeda Barcelona?
For the correct treatment of a speech problem we must go to Speech Therapist Barcelona and wait for your assessment. The main objectives of the treatment of dyslalia are that the patient learns to articulate sounds correctly and to acquire a greater phonological awareness.
The treatment will consist of exercises that can promote a correct articulation to have a better oral agility, accompanied by relaxation exercises to eliminate the tension or stress that may cause speech. It is important to keep in mind that new phonemes should be taught, as if starting from scratch.