DEFECTIVE SPEECH

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 40, 17 February 1930, Page 8

DEFECTIVE SPEECH

CAUSES IN CHILDREN

AN OFFICIAL REPORT

The' United States Public Health Service estimates that in the United States at least 1,000,000 persons have some form of speech disorder, and> of these approximately 500,000 are school children who stammer or stutter. The service in its ''Health News" (Washington) notes that uncorrected speech defects in childhood become a serious economic and social handicap in later life because of their bearing on-educa-tion and the ability to secure employment. Says this authority (according to the New York "Literary Digest")l "Fortunately the majority of speech defects are functional, not dependent on definite organic lesions, and can therefore be corree'.ed. Most speech defects develop between tho third and eighth year of life. "The more common forms of speech defect observed in children are retarded speech, imperfect speech associated with partial deafness or caused by malformations of the organs of speech, and nervous speech disorders, such as stammering, stuttering, and nervous hesitation. "The normal child learns to talk largely through imitation, und when this instinct is lacking speech develop-1 meut is retarded, and there exists a form of speech defect called by specialists 'dumbness without deafness,' which requires very careful attention and training. Other causes of regarded speech development arc inattention and occasionally, strange as it may seem, lack of conversation at home. UNNECESSARY WORRY. "The popular belief that children who do not learn to talk at the normal ago are mentally defective is responsible for much unwarranted -anxiety. While it is true that disordered speech may be an early symptom of mental defect, speech development may be delayed as late as nine years of age in children otherwise perfectly normal. "Partial deafness may also be the cause of speech defect. Most deaf mutes have perfectly normal speech organs, but do not exercise them because of their inability to hear spoken words. Since imitation is a pronounced factor in the development of speech in children, careful tests should be made of ajl speech defectives for the discovery of partial deafness, which may eaisily account for the imperfect speech. Such "children should always be referred to an ear specialist for treatment, and if treatment is ineffective lip reading should bo taught. "Imperfect speech may also be caused by malformation of speech-pro-ducing organs, such as hare-lip, very short upper lip narrow palate, cleft palate, nasal obstruction, tongue tie, and very irregular teeth. 'Careful search should bo mado for the presence of malformations in order that prompt corrective treatment and speech education may be carried out. STAMMERING. "The most usual form of speech disorder is 'stammering' or 'stuttering.' From tho standpoint of development there are two distinct types, one which commences with the development of speech and the other that begins after the child has learned to speak normally. Tho first form is the most dimcult to correct. "The underlying cause of .stammering is purely mental. It is essentially due to emotional disturbance, and implies lessened ability to meet a difficult situation. It is most frequently observed in the so-called nervous, highlystrung children. As these children grow older they subconsciously fear that- their speech organs will refuse to work, and have tho horror of being the object of ridicule. A sense of inferiority develops, establishing a vicious circle — the greater the dread tho more imperfect their speech. "According to some observers, stammering is more or less common among left-handed children when they are taught to become right-handed writers. This opinion is largely responsible for the objection to educators attempting to train left-handed children to become right-handed. It is also believed to be more common among boys than girls. "Parents should not be deluded by any expectation that the 'child will outgrow' tho defect.' Only tho very mild.cases developed through imitation may be said to bo outgrown when the increasing mental development of the child enables him to reeogniso and correct his mistake. On the other hand, the nervous speech disorders, when well developed, are more difficult to correct, because they are curable only by special forms of re-education. ' Of late, years, because of the growing demand for the treatment of nervous speech defects, such as stammering and stuttering, a number of speech clinics have been established through the country, particularly by boards of education in the larger cities, for the correction of speech defects. The wise parents will take advantage of theso clinics, or will otherwise give attention to the speech disorders of their children, in order to remove the handicap in life which these'disorders impose."