Trouble with speech arises from a number of issues in the brain or the nerves that are responsible for the control of the larynx, vocal cords and facial muscles. Muscular disorders end up affecting the teeth, mouth and jaws which in turn will invariably impair speech. Sometimes many of the health conditions are present since childbirth whereas others might occur because of infections, injury, tumors and metabolic diseases.
There are different kinds of speech disorders; they are -

Aphasia is the inability to comprehend language in any form (written, spoken) and generally takes place because of disturbances in the brain.
Dysarthria is the condition that makes articulation difficult for patients suffering from it. Symptoms associated with dysarthia are difficulty swallowing and slurred speech.
Spasmodic dysphonia makes speaking a difficult job because of recurrent muscle spasms. These muscles affected in this disorder control the vocal chords, and therefore your speaking ability.
As most of the cases of speech disorders start to show early on in childhood, how can you tell if your child needs speech therapy?
Here are five signs that you should keep an eye out for:

There is a distinctive lack in social mixing or interactions. Children who are not able to comprehend and effectively respond to what you say need to be evaluated.
By the time the baby is twelve months old, she or he would be able to create words. By the time they turn eighteen months old they are able to connect words. If the ability to create such words or make gestures or sounds are absent or are markedly reduced in your child then you need the help of a speech therapist.
Parents are capable of understanding what their child says by the time they turn one and a half to two years old. If this is not the case then you will have to seek the help of a therapist.
If your baby is nearly three years old and is still incapable of uttering simple words such as  Daddy sleep ,  mommy hungry  then you might need external help.
If your precious baby is significantly facing trouble with consonants such as  ma   ba ,  pa  at the age of two or is incapable of making sounds such as  k  or  g  then your child most likely has a speech disorder. You should get him evaluated at the earliest.

5 Telltale Signs That Your Child Needs Speech Therapy!!

It might happen that you may not find your child, at twelve months to two years of age, at the same level as their peers in verbal communication. You think it's just a developmental problem they are facing and put off seeking professional advice; an intrinsically wrong step to take, because your child might be suffering from Speech Delay.
Delayed speech, or alalia, can be roughly defined as a delay in the development and use of the biological mechanisms that produce speech.
The symptoms of speech delay are roughly categorized into age related groups, generally beginning at the age of 12 months and continuing through the early adolescence, and they are:
1. Age-12 months
a. It is indeed a symptom if your child cannot point at objects or cannot manage gestures, such as waving good-bye.
b. Another symptom is that if your child does not prefer to communicate verbally as much as his/her peers.
2. Age-15-18 months
a. If your child is unable to pronounce familiar syllables or simply cannot call you even by this time, it's a worrying symptom.
b. You find your child unable to, or simply not reciprocating to 'no', 'hello', 'hi', 'bye'.
c. If your child is unable to extend his/her vocabulary up to 15 words by fifteen months, then it's a symptom.
3. Age-2-4 years
a. You find your child unable to spontaneously produce speech and words.
b. Another worrying symptom is if your child is lacking consonant sounds at the beginning and end of words while speaking.
c. If you still find your child unable to form simple sentences and words, then it is indeed a troubling symptom, confirming the disorder.
The causes for the speech delay disorder are:
1. A primary cause can be physical disruption in parts of the mouth such lips or palate, which may be deformed.
2. Another serious cause can be an oral-motor dysfunction which is the disruption in the creation of the specific area of the brain which deals with speech and communication.
3. The disorder can also be attributed to impairment in the development of the child's intellectual, receptive and expressive abilities.
4. There can also be psychological causes involving school environment and peer relationships which might lead to disruption of speech patterns and reluctance in speech expression and development.

Causes and symptoms of Delayed Speech

Cerebral Palsy (CG) is a neurological disorder caused by an injury to the brain or a brain malformation that occurs while the child s brain is still developing   in the mother s womb before birth, during birth, or immediately after birth.

This disorder affects the child s movement and muscle coordination and control. It also affects his:

Reflexes
Balance
Posture
Motor skills and
Oral motor functions
In easy to understand language, CG can impact the child s ability to walk, talk, sit, do simple tasks like eating, combing hair, talking, and other activities we take for granted. The physical impairment caused by cerebral palsy can affect all limbs, the face and head, or it may just affect one limb. Since CG affects muscles and a child s ability to control them, common symptoms include muscles that contract too much, too little, or all at the same time, leading to limbs that are stiff and forced into awkward positions. Other complications also arise such as intellectual impairment, seizures, or vision/ hearing and speech impairment.

How does Speech Therapy help?
Speech problems affect more than half of all children with cerebral palsy as they have difficulty controlling the muscles in their face, throat, neck and head. Apart from speaking, this also affects chewing and swallowing. It can also cause drooling and the ability to learn, difficulty hearing and understanding spoken language.

This is where speech and language therapy comes in. Speech therapy improves a child s speech and communication by strengthening the muscles used for speech. It also improves understanding of speech and language as well as help with swallowing disorders, like dysphagia.

Speech therapy helps exponentially as when children improve their speech and communication, they are able to express their needs, share their thoughts and interact with others, leading to an overall improvement in their overall quality of life.

Speech therapy can help with the following:

Listening
Articulation of words
Pronunciation
Fluency
Sound and word formation
Language and vocabulary development
Breath control
Chewing
Swallowing
Speech muscle coordination
Apart from this, the other primary benefits are boosting self esteem, socialization, independence and reducing shyness. 

Exercises used in Speech Therapy
Speech therapy treatment usually consists of exercises tailored to a child s specific needs. Different exercises are used in speech therapy like:

Articulation therapy: The therapist uses language cards to help focus attention on specific sounds to encourage the child to make sounds while looking in the mirror to help him understand how his mouth moves.
Blowing exercises: The therapist encourages the child to blow bubbles or a whistle to train the mouth muscles to produce sounds.
Breathing exercises: Work is exclusively on inhalation and exhalation to strengthen the diaphragm.
Jaw exercises: The child is encouraged to eat foods that require extra chewing to strengthen jaw muscles.
Language and word association: The therapist uses flashcards with different words and sounds written on them.

Cerebral Palsy (CP) - How Speech Therapy Can Help You?

Language disorder is commonly known as language impairment, it is a common childhood disorder, which makes it difficult for kids to understand what the people around them are saying to them and to face difficulty in following simple directions, it also includes difficulty in expressing the thoughts and feeling through speech.

Language disorder can be classified as:

Receptive language disorder: This disorder makes it difficult to understand what the other person is saying to the one suffering from it.
Expressive language disorder: Kids suffering from it are not able to express themselves and their thoughts.
Mixed receptive expressive disorder: These kids have combined symptoms of receptive language disorder and expressive language disorder, making it difficult to understand and to make someone else understand.
Symptoms of language disorder:

Difficulty in understanding: The ones suffering from language disorder, finds it difficult to understand what the people around them are saying.
Limited vocabulary: It is one of the prominent symptoms, in which the vocabulary of the kids is very limited as compared to other kids of that age.
Trouble learning new things: Learning new things is a difficult task for the kid suffering from language disorder
Repeat usage of certain phrases: Kids tend to use the same phrase again and again, which is one of the basic symptoms.
Frustration: As the kid is either not able to understand or to make other understand or both, kids with this disorder tend to remain more frustrated in comparison to other kids, as they are unable to do things. 
Sentences which do not make sense: Making incomplete or senseless sentences is a key indicator of language disorder.
What you should do?

Speech therapist: The treatment may include speech therapy, in which the speech therapist will work towards building the vocabulary and improving the grammar of the kids suffering, making the kids more confident and feel good about themselves.
Psychotherapy: If the kid is also suffering from emotional issues because of the language disorder, then one should also undergo Psychotherapy, as it not only improves the morale of the patient, but also provides the guidance on how to keep improving further from the language disorder.
Positive Atmosphere: The kids suffering from such a disorder should be made comfortable enough to enjoy their being, giving plenty of time to your young ones is the best way to cure such disorder, so one should always communicate well with his kids and make them learn new things, sing to them, listen to various sounds, show different pictures, colours, shapes to make them learn.
Parental Support: The parents should also understand the issue well, be patient, and should support the kid to work out on the disorder. Parents should also interact with other parents, who have been there, to learn more about the language disorders and how their kids overcome the disorder.
As language disorder is one of common issue in kids, this can be managed and cured well to improve after all the required knowledge and best practices to follow.

Language Disorder - How to Diagnose it?	

Eczema refers to the changes that occur in the upper skin layer. These skin changes can be thickened and cracked skin, skin redness, crusting of the affected area and swollen raw skin, among others. The exact cause of this skin condition is not yet known but a mix of factors have been found to be behind this health problem.

It is a common chronic skin condition, which is characterized by skin inflammation and irritation. The most prevalent type of eczema is Atopic dermatitis. It is not a communicable disease and is usually caused, owing to immunological alterations within the body.

czema can be cured if the persistent immunological disturbances get corrected by internal medications like homeopathy treatment, which is known for providing safe and effective treatment. The presence of red, inflamed and itchy skin can trigger psychosocial and emotional stress in the patients suffering from eczema and can become a dominant cause of severe discomfort. 

The fundamental characteristic of homeopathy treatment is that it targets with respect to eczema:

Genetic components
Coping mechanism with sentimental triggers
Major advantages of homeopathy include:

It treats the disturbances of immune system and treats the roots of this disease.
In most of the cases its effects are long lasting.
It is non-toxic and causes zero side effects.
The following are effective homeopathic remedies to treat eczema:

Weeping type of eczema: Graphite is an effective homeopathic medication that treats the weeping type of eczema that usually occurs between fingers or toes, behind the ears and scalp. It provides effective relief from eczematous eruptions that discharge sticky fluid and eczema that develops on eyelids.
Dry eczema in knees joints and bents of elbow: Sepia officinalis is an ideal homeopathic remedy for eczema in knees and bends of elbow. It provides relief from severe scratching that occurs due to dry skin.
Excessive itching: Sulphur is a Natural Homeopathic medicine, which is considered one of the most effective remedies for eczema. It provides instant relief from burning sensation and excessive itching. It is also beneficial in the case of eczema that has worsened due to the indiscriminate usage of external ointments.
Gastric or urinary trouble: Lycopodium clavatum is an effective remedy for patients suffering from some sort of urinary or gastric trouble. It is also known to provide effective relief from severe itching and bleeding resulting from eczematous eruptions. It also provides relief in cases of deep fissures and hardening of skin.

Treating Eczema With Homeopathy

When the vocal cords suffer from the accumulation of non-cancerous and abnormal growth, these are known as vocal cord lesions. These lesions usually cause a variety of voice and speech related problems. These are also known as singer s nodules and nodes, which may be caused by pressure, stress and stretching of the vocal cords. Women between the age of 20 to 50 are more prone to this condition. Here is everything you need to know about the types, causes and treatment of these lesions.

Types: There are three kinds of vocal cord lesions, that is nodules, polyps and cysts. A vocal cord polyps may be caused on one side of the vocal cords and may also lead to many disturbances in one s voice. Another type of vocal cord lesions includes a mass of tissue that may manifest in the sac or membranes around the vocal cord. This cyst can be on the surface of the vocal cord or in the ligaments of the vocal cord. This may require surgical removal as well as voice therapy thereafter. Nodules are the third type of lesion that may form in the vocal folds. These are basically calluses that may disappear once the pressure and overuse of the vocal cords diminish.

Causes: These lesions are usually benign or non-cancerous growths that may be caused due to a variety of reasons. Screaming and overuse of vocal cords are few of the most common reasons for the eruption of such lesions. The heavy use of one s voice can cause quite a bit of trauma to the vocal cords and may lead to problems including lesions and disturbances in one s voice. Conditions like reflux and allergic reactions may also cause vocal cord lesions as a side effect.

Symptoms: From hoarseness to pain, there are a number of symptoms caused by this condition. A low pitch and difficulty while speaking are also some of the common symptoms of this condition. Patients suffering from the growth of such lesions will also find themselves making an effort in order to speak normally and to be heard. Constant throat clearing may be required as well.

Treatment: Besides giving your voice a rest and gargling warm saline water with salt, one can also have the condition checked by the doctor so as to ascertain whether or not it is a serious lesion that may require surgical removal and voice therapy. The doctor will usually prescribe medicines in order to deal with any underlying conditions that may have caused the lesions, including allergic reactions, reflux, sinusitis and other such ailments. One will also have to stop smoking so that there is less chemical pressure on the vocal cord. Finally, one will have to go through voice therapy for more serious lesions.

Vocal Cord Lesions - Causes + Treatment

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