Voice Disorders

Describe each speech Disorder - Speech Disorder

Speech disorder is a condition which is difficult to identify as the permissible deviations is alot greater for voice characteristics.

Speech disorder is usually identified by a laryngeal speech before it is tested for the type of deviation

1) Pitch
2 norms
1) ppl with different physiological characteristics will have different pitch.
eg:
Men have longer vocal tract so therefore lower pitch
2) age plays a part in pitch quality
eg:
Old people have more relaxed vocal muscles thus their pitch is lower.

5 deviations
1) too high pitch
-social problem : men with too high pitch is considered effiminate
2) too low pitch
-social problem : women with too low pitch is considered manly. However, some careers prefer women to have a lower pitch (broadcasting)
-if children or woman continue to lower pitch for a long time, vocal fry may occur ( hoarse voice with ratchet quality)
3) monopitch
- speech with a very narrow pitch range
4) pitch breaks
- a sudden shift in pitch due to unplanned speech
5) diphonia
condition where there are 2 separate tones existing simultaneously . laryngeal problem

2) Quality
function the same as fingerprints coz distinctive btw individuals

4 deviations
-h0arse voice
harsh and breathy; may have problems with vocal cords
-harsh/strident voice
grating to the ears
- breathy voice
perceived as sexy in women
-hypernasality
condition where there is nasality in almost every sound produced. the problem lies with the cleft palate that obstructs the velum for being raised to prevent air escaping from nose

3) Loudness
-lost voice due to 1) overuse 2)illness

aphonia
- condition that is the complete loss of voice; either within the utterance or part of the utternace

Two types of aphonia
-functional aphonia
-> loss of voice due to long history of vocal abuse
-organic aphonia
-> paralysis of vocal cords due to growth on vocal cords

if there is a persistent loss in voice, might be there are growths on vocal cords which are cancerous or benign and thus would require the attention of laryngologist.