Speech Disorders in Children

Speech disorders in young children are early indicators that give reason to students having difficulty in aspects of cognition. Speech is not only a motor skill, but also a cognitive skill in the form that speech is language that comes from within the brain. “Speech problems and reading disorders are linked, suggesting that speech problems may potentially be an early marker of later difficulty in associating graphemes with phonemes.” (Foy & Mann 2011) The brocoa's area of the brain is where speech comes from. When this area is affected, children can lose cognitive skill from forming words to reading books by using inner speech. By providing children with speech therapy or speech intervention, the cognitive areas affected may become unaffected. Studies have connected speech disorders with cognitive delays when children do not receive proper treatment, but have found that with proper treatment and practice, speech disorders and delays may be eliminated. This also suggests that reading schools in students with speech delays will increase. Speech development is essential when it comes to childhood. One type of speech we have is private speech. Private speech is part of Vygotsky’s theory in which he suggested is a form that goes on in the brain without being projected. (Patterson, 2009) There is also perception speech, which is heard from outside sources when an infant is cognitively ready to pick up on speech patterns. (Patterson, 2009) According to Patterson, “language acquisition proceeds more rapidly when infants hear a lot of spoken language around them.” But what happens when a baby who has heard language is unable to speak? This is where speech pathology or therapy is crucial. Because language is so important when it comes to communication with others and educational aspects, speech therapy is essential when natural speech is not being produced. This topic is particularly popular in elementary schools, because speech disorders and delays are so popular among