A DESCRIPTION AND CLASSIFICATION OF THE

COMMON DISORDERS OF SPEECH IN CHILDREN

BY

T. T. S. INGRAM
From the Department of Child Life and Health, University of Edinburgh and the Royal Hospitalfor Sick Children,
Edinburgh
(RECEIVED FOR PUBLICATION MARCH 9, 1959)

The full assessment of children suffering from speech defects, speech therapy is rarely provided.
speech defects requires a team consisting of speech Children with speech defects attending these schools
therapist, paediatrician, psychologist and otologist. were frequently referred to the Speech Clinic in the
The additional services of a phonetician, neurologist, Hospital.
orthodontist, plastic surgeon, radiologist, social Detailed family, birth and developmental histories
worker or psychiatric social worker and child were taken, with particular emphasis on the rate, and
psychiatrist are often helpful. any abnormalities, of speech development. The
Unfortunately the majority of descriptions and children were subjected to a detailed paediatric and
classifications of speech disorders in childhood are neurological examination, and behaviour in play
by speech therapists working without much medical was observed for as long as possible in each case.
co-operation and advice. With honourable excep- The child's speech was studied jointly by the
tions, they tend to regard speech disorders as rather paediatrician and the speech therapist, and detailed
isolated phenomena, dissociated from the other notes were made of its intelligibility and of the
behavioural and psychological characteristics of the particular defects which were observed. In many
child. In the present paper an attempt is made to cases tape recordings were made, though it is always
describe and classify the disorders of speech most easier, in fact, to examine speech for defects of
frequently encountered in a hospital speech clinic articulation in the presence of the patient. Speech
from the point of view of the paediatrician of a was studied from the points of view of level of
diagnostic team. language ability and defects of articulation.
Attempts were made to assess the child's ability
Case Material and Methods of Examination to understand what was said to him by his parents
The descriptions of speech disorders are based
largely on experience in the Speech Clinic of the TABLE 1
Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh, in the DISTRIBUTION OF 189 PATIENTS WITH SPEECH
last three years. During this time a total of 348 DISORDERS BY AGE AND SOCIAL CLASS
patients were referred, though for various reasons Social Class
it was possible to investigate only 189 of them fully. Age Total
The patients are not representative of an unselected II III IV V

sample of children in the community as judged by Under 3 ..

3-5 .. 25 16 48 13
1
9
15
111
the figures for all live births given by the Registrar 5-10 12 I11 20 5 2 50
General for Scotland (1951). There is an excess 10+ .. 3 3 3 2 2 13
of patients in Social Classes I and lI, possibly because All ages 41 31 81 22 14 189
of the greater attention paid to speech defects in Under 5 . 43 58 25 126
these classes (Table 1). The greater excess of Over5 29 23 11 63
patients in Social Classes I and 11 over the age of 5 All ages .. 72 81 36 189
than under the age of 5 is probably the result of the Approx. % 39 42 19 100
fact that children in the lower social classes attend Registrar
corporation schools where there is a very compre- General
Scotland
hensive speech therapy service. In private fee-paying 1951 ..12-5 58 3 29-2 100
schools, where more attention is usually paid to
444
 CLASSIFICATION OF SPEECH DISORDERS IN CHILDREN 445
and by other people. Any apparent tendency for the of the articulatory organs can be demonstrated the
child to rely unduly on gesture, or on watching disorder is considered to be 'dysarthric'. When the
people talking to him, was noted. Rough tests of abnormalities of articulation are part of a more
hearing were used during the general examination of general disorder and no direct interference with the
the patient, his responses to whistles of various function of the articulatory organs can be demon-
pitches, bells, the rustling of paper, vibration forks, strated they are considered to be 'secondary'. When
whispering, talking and shouting being observed. disorders apparently confined only to the functions
Full audiometry was performed on all children as of speech are present, unassociated with direct
soon as they were co-operative enough for this interference with the articulatory organs, they are
examination to be performed. Handedness was classified as 'specific developmental' or 'functional
tested rather unscientifically by noting the hand speech disorders' (Table 2).
which the child used in each of four performance
tests carried out three times. Each patient was asked TABLE 2
to turn a door handle, break a stick, throw and catch CLASSIFICATION OF SPEECH DISORDERS FOUND IN
189 CHILDREN
a ball. Patients not using a single hand for nine
or more of the total of 12 tests were classified as being (1) Disorders of Voicing (Dysphonia) (4)
a. With demonstrable disease of the larynx ....
ambidextrous. Eyedness and footedness were also b. Without demonstrable disease of the larynx 3
tested (Ingram and Reid, 1956). (2) Disorders of Rhythm (Dysrhythmia) (29)
a Clutter . ..
3
A psychiatric social worker, seconded to the b. Stammer . .26
(3) Disorders of Articulation with Demonstrable Dysfunction
Clinic, was asked to investigate the home situation of Articulatory Apparatus (Dysarthria) (30)
of 41 patients in whom psychological stress appeared a. Due to neurological abnormalities . .. 7
b. Due to local abnormalities .... .. ..23
to be important. Thirty-one patients were further (4) Disorders of Articulation without Demonstrable Dys-
function of Articulatory Apparatus (Secondary Speech
assessed in the Department of Psychological Disorders) (41)
Medicine. The opinion of an otolaryngologist was a. Secondary to hearing defect. ..... 8
b. Secondary to mental retardation . ... 29
asked in 34 cases, of a plastic surgeon in five, and of c. Secondary to psychogenic disorders .. 3
d. Secondary to aphasia due to brain damage .. 1
an orthodontist in eight. Eleven patients were (5) Specific Developmental Speech Disorders (Functional
admitted to hospital on account of physical condi- Speech Disorders) (80)
a. Involving language development and articulation 40
tions noted at the time of assessment. These b. Involving articulation only .... .. .. 40
included patients suffering from cretinism, epilepsy, (6) Mixed Cases (4) .. ... 4
(7) Unclassified and Other (1) ...... I
enuresis, phenylketonuria, fibrocystic disease of . . .189
the pancreas and Sj0gren's syndrome.
Classification In some cases there are contributory causal factors
The classification is by clinical findings. Categories in the speech disorder. For example, a child with
are defined in the first place by the form of the major brain damage secondary to encephalitis or trauma
speech defect. Thus distinctions are made between may have a disorder of articulation which is partly
disorders affecting the voice predominantly (dys- secondary to aphasia and partly the result of
phonia), those whose main effect is to alter the inco-ordination of the organs of articulation. Such
rhythm of speech (dysrhythmia) and those in which patients may conveniently be placed in the category
abnormalities of articulation are the presenting of 'mixed cases'. They are relatively few.
feature.
It must be admitted that classification on the basis Categories
of the major defect of speech is somewhat arbitrary Disorders of Voicing. Disorders of voicing are
and crude (as are most classifications), and it is relatively uncommon in childhood, amounting to no
necessary to ignore a number of significant clinical more than 4 % in most large series of patients with
findings in many cases for the purpose of giving speech defects. In the present series there were
the speech condition a name. For example, many four patients with disorders of the voice (approxi-
patients suffering from a stammer will have minor mately 2 % of the series).
abnormalities of articulation; some patients with The only disorder of voicing considered in the
'specific developmental speech disorders' will have present classification is chronic lack of voice, which
minor stammer (speech dysrhythmia). It is impos- makes the child sound as if he is hoarse. This is
sible to take account of these subsidiary defects in similar in quality to the 'loss of voice" suffered by
the major categories. adults with laryngitis. It must be distinguished from
Further classification is by associated clinical the effects of excessive nasal escape (hyperrhino-
findings. When direct interference with the function phonia) or nasal obstruction (hyporhinophonia). In
446 ARCHIVES OF DISEASE IN CHILDHOOD
these conditions difficulty of articulation is the Many children aged between 2 and 4 years may
striking abnormality. They have therefore been show clutter transiently for a period of weeks or
included under the heading of 'dysarthria'. months without any associated or subsequent
Dysphonia affects girls rather more frequently abnormality of speech. When clutter occurs after
than boys, or at any rate is complained of more the age of 5 it is more often associated with stammer
frequently by the parents of girls. It may occur at or hesitation (Van Riper, 1947).
any age and has been observed in a child of 6 months, Involuntary temporary arrest of the flow of speech
but more commonly it begins between the ages of 2 may be manifest as hesitation, a transient inability
and 8 years. Its onset is commonly gradual. Often to produce the next expected syllable resulting in a
there is a period of weeks or months during which period of no speech. Stammer consists of the
the condition is intermittent, being present for a day involuntary repetition of a sound as well as an
or two at a time and then recovering. Even when inability to move beyond it. It is unrewarding to
finally established, the severity of dysphonia varies distinguish too cleverly between hesitation and
from week to week, from day to day and even from stammer. They are often associated. Many patients'
hour to hour. Frequently the child is able to shout, dysrhythmia first takes the form of hesitation, and
and sometimes to sing, but not to speak with normal months or years later they begin to stammer. Others
voice. stammer first and then show hesitation.
A number of inflammatory, traumatic and neo- Hesitation or stammer is found more often in
plastic laryngeal conditions interfering with the children whose fathers are in Social Classes I and II
function of the vocal cords may cause dysphonia in (Registrar General) than in the lower social classes.
childhood. I have seen it personally following There appears to be no difference in the observed
traumatic laryngoscopy and inhalation of caustic, and expected birth order of patients. Males are
complicating chronic bronchitis and laryngitis, more frequently affected than females, the ratio being
associated with nodules of the vocal cords and as high as four to one in some series (Wilson, 1954).
papillomata of the larynx, and occurring in the In the family history a high proportion of relatives
course of Sjogren's syndrome (Birrell, 1954). stammer, 44 % according to Johnson, Brown,
In many cases, however, no abnormalities of the Curtis, Edney and Keaster (1948). There is a higher
larynx can be found. The immediate assumption is proportion of ambidexterity and left-handedness
commonly made that the dysphonia is therefore of amongst relatives than expected (Travis, 1931). Of
'psychological origin'. It seems to be equally likely the present small series of 29 patients, 38 % had
that there are abnormalities of the vocal cords in parents or siblings with speech defects. These were
these patients, which cannot be recognized by our dysrhythmic in type except in one instance. The
present crude methods of investigation. parents and/or siblings of 27% were left-handed or
There are no well recognized methods of treating ambidextrous.
dysphonia in childhood by 'speech therapy'. Rest The birth history and motor milestones of patients
of the voice for a period of four to six weeks will tend to be within normal limits. Speech develop-
often result in a marked improvement in voicing. ment is not significantly retarded. The majority of
Unfortunately this is often transient, and relapse children are of average intelligence or better, and
occurs as soon as the child begins to shout again. show no neurological defects.
A proportion of children with dysphonia, more A relatively high proportion of patients will be
boys than girls, show improvement at the time of found to be left-handed or ambidextrous, the pro-
adolescence, whether the larynx is obviously ab- portion depending largely on the methods of testing
normal or not. Such improvement is impossible to used (Orton, 1937; Morley, 1957). In the present
predict, however, and many patients continue to series, 12 of the 29 patients were found to show little
have abnormalities of voicing into adult life. laterality of handedness, and one was sinistral.
A high proportion of patients show abnormalities
Speech Dysrhythmias. Involuntary interference of behaviour. These were present in 21 of the 29
with the normal rhythm of speech is one of the patients studied in this series. They included
commonest disorders of speech in childhood. Two temper tantrums in four, excessive dependence in
main types may be recognized. five, excessive excitability or tearfulness in five,
Clutter consists of a more or less sudden irregular night terrors in four, enuresis in three and habit
acceleration of speech which results in a shift of spasms in three. Nine of the patients were disturbed
stress and syllable division in speech. The words enough to merit psychiatric treatment. The extent
sound 'run into one another' and sometimes speech to which the speech dysrhythmia is an aetiological
may be so disturbed as to be incomprehensible. factor in causing anxiety symptoms is probably over-
 CLASSIFICATION OF SPEECH DISORDERS IN CHILDREN 447
estimated. In many cases symptoms of abnormal comparative figures on which to base conclusions
behaviour preceded the appearance of the speech about the proportion of patients with stammer who
defect, and both could be related to the same spontaneously improve at adolescence or in early
emotional stresses. Parents related the onset of adult life with the help of, in spite of, or without
symptoms to maternal separation before the age of speech therapy.
4 years in five instances (the child being hospitalized My clinical impression is that patients in whom it
in three), to physical accidents in two, to severe has taken very severe emotional stresses to pre-
whooping cough in two and to crippling accidents cipitate stammering tend to have a better prognosis
to the father in two. than those who stammered without much evident
The modes of onset and course of dysrhythmia in emotional stress being necessary. This impression,
childhood are relatively consistent. The majority like so many concerning speech disorders, requires
of cases of uncomplicated clutter recover normal confirmation.
speech before they are 5 years of age. Hesitation or
stammering appears in most persistent stammerers Dysarthric Speech Disorders. In this category are
for the first time between the ages of 2 and 4 years. included those disorders of articulation which are
In only five of 25 patients with stammer or hesitation the result of organic disease causing interference
in this series did symptoms appear after 5 years of with or failure of the normal mechanical functions
age. It is difficult to know how many children of part or parts of the articulatory apparatus.
showing definite persistent stammering at this period Thirty-one of the 189 patients were in this category.
recover completely and how many later have dys- The category is divided into two sub-categories.
rhythmic speech symptoms. Of children who present Patients whose articulatory difficulties are due to
with persistent stammer, two-thirds (17 of 25 in this neurological abnormalities are included in the first.
series) have never been really free of the symptoms In these there is rarely much deformity of the
for more than four weeks at most from the time of articulatory organs themselves. In the second are
its onset. those disorders of articulation which are the result
True remissions of stammer lasting for more than of local abnormalities affecting the articulatory
six months are more frequent in those where first apparatus. Deformity of the articulatory organs
symptoms occur under the age of 5 years, but the may often be observed.
statement made in text-books that a stammer In general, speech defects in this category are
occurring in a pre-school child is likely to be of little characterized by their consistency. They vary
significance. requires qualification. Of the eight relatively little from day to day or from hour to
remissions of stammer which occurred in this series, hour, and the same sounds as are abnormal during
all but one of them occurred before the age of 5 spontaneous speech are found on testing to be
years. Only three of the remissions lasted longer defective. For example, the sounds requiring naso-
than three years. The remaining five patients began pharyngeal closure will be consistently defective in
to stammer again shortly after going to school. It patients with cleft palate.
is too early to know if the other three remissions are Apart from the six patients with cerebral palsy,
permanent or not. motor milestones were within normal limits, and
The subsequent course of stammer varied greatly only one of the other 24 patients had retarded
according to the reaction of the patient to his language development, though in many cases it was
symptom. Some children adjusted to quite a severe a long time before people outside their immediate
dysrhythmia and were surprisingly undisturbed by families could understand what the children said.
its presence. Others began to avoid speaking and Three of the six patients with cerebral palsy failed
making social contact whenever possible. They to walk without support before 18 months, and all
attempted to avoid words on which they believed of them failed to say recognizable first words by
they would stammer, and restricted their activities 18 months and phrases by 30 months (Table 3).
in an attempt to hide their speech defect. In time Again with the exception of those patients with
the fear of stammering may become the most potent cerebral palsy, the children in this category appeared
cause of stammer. to be of average intelligence. A relatively high
It is extremely doubtful if speech therapy per se proportion, 14 of the 30 patients, suffered from
is helpful in speech dysrhythmia. A mother con- abnormalities of behaviour, however. In five cases
fessor or a child psychiatrist (either of which roles there was immaturity of behaviour, manifest as
speech therapists may be found adopting) occasion- excessive attachment to the mother, inability to play
ally seems to benefit the patient's attitude to his with other children of similar age, inability to accept
speech defect. There appear to be no reliable a school situation at the normal age or play
448 ARCHIVES OF DISEASE IN CHILDHOOD
TABLE 3 cerebral palsy. Though dysarthria is relatively
WALKING AND SPEECH DEVELOPMENT OF 30 CHILDREN
WITH DEMONSTRABLE DYSFUNCTION OF ARTICULA-
frequently found in severe dip'egia, severe ataxia,
TORY APPARATUS (DYSARTHRIA) dyskinesia and bilateral hemiplegia, it is uncommon
in mild diplegia (especially paraplegia) and hemi-
Hypomandi- plegia. In the latter disorders defective speech is
Walking and Speech Develop- Cerebral bulosis and Other Total
ment Palsy Malocclusion more frequently part of a general retardation of
Walking before 18 months .. 3 7 15 25 development, or is secondary to aphasia. In patients
Walking after 18 months . 3 1 15 with dyskinesia following kernikterus, abnormalities
Total .. .. 6 8 16 30 of articulation are commonly the result of a com-
Words before 18 months and bination of articulatory inco-ordination and hearing
phrases before 30 months
Words before 18 months and
0 68 14 defect.
phrases after 30 months 0 2 3 5 Suprabulbar paresis (facial diplegia, Moebius'
Words after 18 months and
phrases before 30 months syndrome) is easily recognized when it is severe and
Words after 18 months and
phrases after 30 months 06 1 7 especially when it affects eye movements (Hender-
Unknown .....0. 0 4 4 son, 1939; Evans, 1955). Minor manifestations of
Total .. .. 6 8 16 30 the condition may be more difficult to recognize,
however, and a number of patients have been
.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
observed in whom poor voluntary movements of the
characteristic of a younger age level. Enuresis was lips, tongue and soft palate were present without
present in six patients, thumb or hand sucking in obvious voluntary paralysis of these organs. The
three. Three patients were excessively tearful, fearful, trained phonetician can be of great help in the
or unusually withdrawn. Three patients showed a accurate diagnosis of these disorders by his inter-
characteristic form of overactive behaviour often pretations of the child's speech in terms of tongue,
found in children with cerebral damage, especially lip and palatal movements.
when it affects the temporal lobe (Ingram, 1956). Though no cases occurred in the present series,
The extent to which these abnormalities of behaviour lower motor neurone lesions affecting articulation
could be regarded as other symptoms of the under- have been seen occasionally following poliomyelitis
lying disturbance which was responsible for the and diphtheria, but they are more commonly the
speech defect, and how much they were the result result of peripheral nerve damage during tonsil-
directly and indirectly of the speech defect, is lectomy. The history in patients who have suffered
extremely difficult to assess. damage to a palatal nerve is typical. Following
The neurological lesions in this category are discharge from hospital the speech is noted to be
conveniently divided into those affecting the brain, abnormal and fluids may come down the nose when
those affecting the brain stem and those affecting the child tries to drink. Though the ability to drink
the lower motor neurone (Table 4). Cerebral palsy is recovered after a few weeks the child continues
TABLE 4 to speak 'down the nose', and defects of the plosives,
CLASSIFICATION INTO SUB-CATEGORIES OF 30
vowels and 's' 'E' and 'f ' sounds are noted.
PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM DISORDERS OF Since a single local abnormality of the mouth or
ARTICULATION WITH DEMONSTRABLE DYSFUNCTION pharynx may affect a number of the organs of
OF ARTICULATORY APPARATUS (DYSARTHRIA)
a. Due to Neurological Abnormalities (7)
1-11 articulation it is more convenient to classify
Cerebral palsy .......... 6 dysarthric speech disorders by the nature of the
Suprabulbar palsy ...... 1
abnormality rather than by the type of speech
Lower motor neurone lesions .... 0
b. Due to Local Abnormalities (23)
Jaws and Teeth Hypomandibulosis .. 6
defect which they cause. Thus whilst hypomandi-
Other malocclusion .. 2 bulosis prevents correct dental occlusion and some-
Tongue Tie
Tongue thrust 4 times apposition of the lips, involuntary protrusion
Lips Cleft lip (only) .. 0
of the tongue during speech, 'tongue thrust', is often
Other ..
Palate Cleft (with or without cleft lip) 5 a more important cause of disordered articulation.
Other .. 0
Pharynx Large pharynx (palatal dispropor- Other forms of malocclusion and dental abnor-
tion) .. ..3
malities cause abnormalities of articulation less
Acquired disease .. ..
frequently than hypomandibulosis. The com-
Total .... .. .. .. ..
30
monest of them are the result of an undue promin-
ence of the lower jaw, associated with open bite,
is by far the commonest cause of neurological wide separation of the incisors, or missing teeth.
lesions, but it is worth emphasizing that dysarthria These conditions are most frequently associated
is not the commonest form of speech defect in with 'lisping' due to the lateral or central protrusion
 CLASSIFICATION OF SPEECH DISORDERS IN CHILDREN 449
of the tongue between the teeth when sibilants are in infancy. In others a change from normal speech
produced. has been noted following adenoidectomy. On
In a few children the wide separation or anterior examination many of these patients show marked
protrusion of the upper incisors appears to be anterior prominence of the maxillary bones and the
attributable to excessive finger or thumb sucking. In pharynx appears to be unusually deep, so that the
others there is associated 'tongue thrust', though the length of the palate is inadequate for its posterior
extent to which this can be regarded by itself as the margin to reach the posterior nasopharyngeal wall.
cause of dental abnormalities must remain in doubt. Radiological investigation will often confirm that
Tongue tie is an uncommon cause of articulatory the pharynx is, in fact, abnormally deep and the
difficulties, though it is often blamed for them. A palate inadequate in size, in spite of full movement,
commoner abnormality of the function of the tongue to close the nasopharynx. Many of these patients
which does cause articulatory difficulties is 'tongue can be helped by operations designed to reduce the
thrust'. This condition may be associated with size of the pharyngeal aperture (Calnan, 1957;
cerebral palsy or congenital abnormalities of the Gibb, 1958). In a few patients nasal escape appears
mouth, as have been described. It is often found in to be due to impaired palatal movement, the result
association with chronic tonsillitis and adenoiditis. of inflammatory peri-tonsillar induration, or scarring
But it may be present as the only obvious abnor- following tonsillectomy.
mality in many cases. In children showing it the Tonsillitis and enlargement of the adenoids are
pattern of swallowing is often observed to be much less common single causes of significant
immature in type and on stroking the lips gently a persistent dysarthria in childhood than is often
mild sucking reflex associated with opening of the stated. In the present series only one patient was
mouth and some tongue protrusion is not infre- included in the sub-category of dysarthria due to
quently observed (Francis, 1958). Abnormalities of 'acquired disease of the pharynx'.
the lips alone are not a common cause of articulatory Secondary Speech Disorders. These are disorders
difficulty, though one case occurred in the present of articulation which are not due to direct inter-
series in which the upper lip was abnormally high ference with the mechanics ofthe articulatory organs,
and fixed. but are secondary to other physical, mental or
Malformations of the palate are relatively frequent psychiatric conditions. Often it may be demon-
causes of severe articulatory difficulties. The strated that these organs can be moved normally, and
commonest malformation is an actual cleft in the frequently that sounds not used in spontaneous
soft palate. Less commonly a midline defect in the speech can in fact be produced by the child. The
muscular elements without a defect in the mucous most important causes of articulatory disorders of
membrane (submucous cleft palate) may be this type are hearing defects and mental retardation.
diagnosed if the cleft palate is gently palpated. The Children with hearing defects have never heard
articulatory defect is similar in type, though less or have ceased to hear speech sounds correctly, and
severe than that found in a true cleft palate. therefore cannot be expected to reproduce them in
The excessive nasal escape which results when the speech. A study of the behaviour and articulatory
palate is cleft impairs all vowel and consonant abnormalities shown by the child will often give a
sounds, with the exception of 'm', 'n' and 'i' in which clue to the type of hearing defect. Children with
considerable nasal outflow of air is usually required. some loss of hearing for high tones only will com-
Substitutions for particularly defective sounds are monly show failure in articulating 'f' 'E', 'p', 't',
frequent. For example glottal stops may replace 'J" and 's'. Children with more severe hearing loss
plosives. Associated abnormalities also contribute for all frequencies will often only produce sounds
to the speech defect. Especially in children with requiring much lip movement, which they can see
bilateral clefts of the palate there is frequently when they watch people talking to them. This is
marked deformity of the alveolar bony structure, not always the case, however, and a number of
especially after operation, and dental malocclusion patients have been seen with retarded speech
results. The upper lip is all too often rather development and poor performance on intelligence
functionless (Morley, 1954). tests whose hearing was found to be significantly
A relatively small number of patients present with defective on audiometry, to the surprise of the
cleft palate speech' with nasal escape, in whom no examiner. Once they have learnt how to use a
abnormalities of palatal movement can be found. suitable hearing aid the children have often improved
In the majority speech has been 'through the nose' markedly in their performance on intelligence tests.
from the earliest years, and in a few there is a history This emphasizes the need for routine audiometry in
of escape of fluids through the nose when drinking all children with speech defects.
8
450 ARCHIVES OF DISEASE IN CHILDHOOD
Children with mental retardation present more There was one untreated cretin amongst the mentally
complex disturbances of articulation. Often there retarded patients.
appears to be a failure to perceive and discriminate Behaviour abnormalities were also common,
speech sounds accurately, possibly because of a occurring in 31 of the 41 patients. Twenty-two
reduced span of attention. Even when 'parrotting' children were described as being excessively depen-
what has just been said to them, their articulation dent or immature by their parents. Three were
will often be quite inaccurate. Speech development over-active and showed the typical behaviour shown
is usually considerably retarded, and the patients by some brain-damaged children described by
show errors of articulation commonly found in Ounsted (1955) and Ingram (1956). In two cases
much younger normal children. In these patients behaviour was classified as autistic by child
the later acquired sounds are usually abnormal, psychiatrists.
especially 'r', 'E', 'J', 'tJ' and 'd3'.
Defects of articulation are often inconsistent and Specific Developmental Speech Disorders ('Func-
vary from sentence to sentence of spontaneous tional Speech Disorders'). In this category are placed
speech. There may also be language disorder with those patients who show disorders of articulation
the omission of small words, especially prepositions,
from the time they first attempt formed speech, and
auxiliary verbs and conjunctions. There may be a in which the speech disorder is neither associated
general innaccuracy in the articulation of practically
with obvious abnormalities of articulatory function,
all speech sounds, which almost justifies the loosenor secondary to demonstrable disease. Eighty of
description of 'clumsy speech' which is often giventhe 189 patients who were fully examined were
by the parents of these patients. There is often a placed in this category.
failure to develop normal patterns of intonation and Patients in this category are characterized by the
stress, so that speech is curiously monotonous. unexpectedly slow development of intelligible speech,
Whilst in aphasia the defect of language is (by though their milestones of motor development are
definition) the most important cause of interference
usually within normal limits and their intelligence
with speech, the importance of articulatory abnor- is within average limits, or not sufficiently impaired
malities has been rather under-estimated (Critchley,
to account for the degree of retardation of speech
1952). Especially in children whose cerebral damagedevelopment. This is shown in Table 5 in which it
has been sustained before speech development has will be observed that 49, or 61.25%, of the 80
been completed, there is often gross disturbance ofpatients said their first recognizable words (excepting
the ability to articulate words and their componentMum, Mam, Mama, Da, Dad, Dada) after the age of
individual syllables correctly. In many cases it is18 months and first joined words together after the
difficult to draw a line between the language age of 30 months. Fifteen, or almost 19%, did not
difficulties and difficulties in articulation; omission
say their first words until after 30 months and phrases
of small words, conjunctions, prepositions, auxiliary
until 42 months or later. Yet, in spite of its slow
verbs and pronouns may be associated with the development, speech is almost invariably perfectly
omission of syllables, especially the terminal parts
intelligible by the age of 7 or 8 years in these patients.
of wotds; reversals and confusion of word order Of the 80 patients in this category 58 were boys
may be associated with reversals and the confusion and 22 were girls, giving a male to female sex ratio
of the order of syllables in individual words and in
which is comparable to other hospital series of
the distortion and mispronunciation of syllables children with specific developmental speech and
which are spoken. There may also be quite bizarre related disorders (Hallgren, 1950). The high propor-
alterations of rhythm and stress, making the patient
tion of patients (46 25%) with fathers in Social
sound as if he were speaking a foreign language Classes I and II is striking, and probably reflects the
rather well, as in a case of Monrad-Krohn greater attention paid by parents in these classes to
(1947). retarded speech development rather than any greater
As might be expected, the milestones of motor prevalence of the disorders in the higher social
and speech development were very retarded amongst classes. The prospects of their undergoing com-
patients in the category of 'secondary speech dis- petitive entrance interviews in order to obtain a
orders', largely due to the high proportion of place in private schools often exacerbated parents'
mentally retarded patients. Major and minor anxieties about their children's speech.
physical abnormalities were relatively common. The majority of the children referred were under
Epilepsy was present in six cases. Hyperteleorism, the age of 5, as might be expected in view of the
syndactyly, hypospadias, congenital heart disease tendency for specific developmental disorders of
and hemiplegia were each observed in two patients. speech to remit as the patient grows older. Only
 CLASSIFICATION OF SPEECH DISORDERS IN CHILDREN 451
15 of the 80 patients were over the age of 5, and in parents as having 'names' for objects within their
the majority of these the speech disorder, though a environment which are not intelligible to observing
nuisance in school, had ceased to be a major cause strangers at quite an early age, though they may be
of anxiety to the parents. The fact that only three comprehensible to the patient's siblings and parents.
of the patients were over the age of 7 illustrates that Their vocabulary is often considerable, but their
in the majority of patients speech is perfectly articulation of the words they know is so defective
comprehensible by this age. that they cannot be understood. Frequently the ends
The distribution of children by their birth order of words are much less well articulated than their
was not significantly different from the expected beginnings. When the children begin to join words
random distribution. The fact that 43 of the 73 together the defects of articulation tend to become
patients were last-born is unremarkable in view of more prominent, and a frequent complaint from
their youth. Their parents had not had time to baffled mothers is that 'he says plenty ar.d he's
produce subsequent children, especially those staid anything but stupid, but I can understand only a
middle-class Scots with planned families. Seven of few words of what he says'. In these patients the
the patients were illegitimate. major di:ability is imperfect articulation. The
A family history of retarded speech development development of language may not be much retarded,
is often found in cases of specific developmental but what the child says is so imperfectly spoken that
speech disorders. Thirty-seven of the 73 legitimate much of it cannot be understood.
patients (about half) had parents or siblings whose The articulatory difficulties of children with
speech development was known to have been slow. specific developmental speech disorders are com-
Since it was common on examination to find siblings plex, and at first hearing quite baffling when one
with speech disorders who had been stated by the tries to analyse them. The sounds most often poorly
parents to be 'rare talkers' or 'lovely speakers', this articulated are shown in Table 6. (It should be
is probably an under-estimate. Parents were known pointed out that this was the result of study by the
to have retarded speech development in 19 cases, and author and by speech therapists, not that of properly
one or more siblings in 21. trained phoneticians.) In general the sounds which
Fifteen patients were born after pregnancies, are the last to be correctly articulated by normal
labours or deliveries which were in some way children are the ones which cause most difficulty.
abnormal, 11 of them being born prematurely by They may be omitted, faultily pronounced, or sub-
weight. No convincing evidence of birth injury was stituted by other sounds. The substitutions employed
found in any of them, however, and neurological vary with the context of the sound which is defective.
examination failed to reveal any clinical signs of Sounds are more often omitted or faultily articulated
cerebral injury. at the ends than at the beginnings or middle portions
Ambidexterity, as assessed by the tests which have of words, and more frequently at the beginnings than
been described, was noted in half of the 80 patients. the middles. It is characteristic that words which
Only one patient was strongly left-handed. Parents the child has had in his vocabulary for a long time
reported left-handedness or ambidexterity in them- are articulated with more faults than words more
selves in 22 cases, and in the patients' siblings in recently acquired. Thus a child may say 'goggie'
16 cases. Thus 38, or approximately 52%, of 73 for 'doggie', 'wa-wa' for 'water' and 'ba' for 'bath',
legitimate patients had an immediate family history but be able to say 'Dalgleish', 'wetter' and 'with'
of sinistrality or ambidexterity. quite well. That the articulatory difficulties appear
Seven children had intelligence quotients of more to be so inconsistent often leads parents to accuse
than 120 on the Terman Merrill scale, and only two their children of laziness. Their observation that
were considered to be dull and backward. It was many patients can produce sounds correctly on
interesting to observe, however, that specific request, which are abnormal in spontaneous speech,
educational difficulties (dysgraphia or dyslexia) were further infuriates them.
present in seven of the 15 patients over the age of 5. About half of the patients in the category have
In these cases it seemed legitimate to conclude that language difficulties. They are slow in acquiring
the children were having specific difficulties with the new words and often the rate of vocabulary gain is
written word which might be related to the troubles so poor that they have to use gestures to indicate
they had previously had with the spoken word their simplest needs until the age of 3 years or older.
(Ingram and Reid, 1956; Drew, 1956). When sentences are eventually formed, inversion
Two forms of retarded development may be of word order, omission of consonants, prepositions,
recognized in patients coming into this category. auxiliary verbs and some personal pronouns are
About half of the children are described by their commonly noted. Many of these children will use,
452 ARCHIVES OF DISEASE IN CHILDHOOD
quite unwittingly, a completely inappropriate word the most severe defects of articulation and language,
in a sentence in place of a similarly sounding one as is seen in Table 5.
which would have been appropriate. They suffer TABLE 5
from classical 'developmental aphasia' (Orton, 1937). SPEECH DEVELOPMENT OF 80 CHILDREN SUFFERING
FROM SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENTAL SPEECH DISORDERSt
Of the 80 patients suffering from developmental
speech disorders in the present series, 40 had obvious Receptive
Difficulty
Language
Difficulty
language (aphasic) difficulties of the type which has
been described, and in the other 40 the speech defect Speech Development Total With Without With Without
appeared to be predominantly of articulation and did andWords before 18 mth.
phrases before 30
not affect the development of language so severely. mth .. . .. 21 5 16 4 17
Difficulty in comprehending what was said to them Words before 18 mth.l
was frequently observed in children suffering from and phrases after 301
mth..
specific developmental speech disorders. In severe 4
/10 6 7 3
Words after 18 mth.(
cases the child's inability to understand what is said and phrases before 30~
is severe enough to make the parents suspect deaf- mth.

ness, though they will often give circumstantial Words after 18 mth.
accounts of why they think this unlikely; for and phrases after 30
mth 49* 21 28 29 20
example, 'he hears the whistle of the television set Total 80 30 40 50 40
when it goes off, and looks up at aeroplanes'. In less
severe cases parents were often irritated by the words came after 24 mth. n 22 cases.

child's tendency to demand repetition of everything Of these 49 children

*
and phrases after 36 mth. X
which was said to him by saying 'Eh', 'Beg pardon', words came after 30 mth.
and phrases after 42 mth. n 15 cases.
'What', or the child would look blank. Mothers and t All but nine children walked before 18 months.
fathers would often complain of their partner's
tendency to gesture to the child, though they are TABLE 6
unaware of their own tendency to do so. On OR MOST FREQUENTLY MISPRONOUNCED, SUBSTITUTED
OMITTED SOUNDS IN 80 CHILDREN WITH SPECIFIC
examination a distinct lapse of time may be observed DEVELOPMENTAL SPEECH DISORDERS
before the child comprehends what is said to him, Group 1* Group 2t
though his reactions when he has understood are Sounds % with % with
often intelligent. The tendency of some patients defective sounds defective sounds
to look at faces and rely on gesture rather than on r 78
74
37
(sh) 15
speech is frequently evident. (thing) 66 31
In the present series 30 patients appeared to have s 63 5
1 62 1
comprehension difficulties of this type. In 23 they k 36 12
were associated with marked retardation of language f (church)
d3 (hedge)
34
34
13
13
development, and language difficulties characteristic g 26 9
f 20 6
of developmental aphasia were observed on examina- v
p
17
17
_
1
tion. In seven language difficulties were not b 17 _
apparent at the time of examination. In general,
children with obvious difficulties in comprehension * 80 children with specific developmental speech disorders.
t Sample group of 112 unselected children aged 3k years (Morley,
had the most retarded development of speech and 1957).
TABLE 7
LOCAL ABNORMALITIES OF THE ARTICULATORY APPARATUS IN 80 PATIENTS WITH SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENTAL
SPEECH DISORDERS

Associated with Abnormal Not

Associated
Abnormalities Palatal Tongue Palatal with any Total
Movements Movements and Tongue Local
Movements Interference

Enlarged tonsils only ........1

. 0 1 5 7
Enlarged adenoids only . . .. .. .. . 0 3
Enlarged tonsils and adenoids .1 2 1 7 11
Hypomandibulosis . .0 2 0 0 2
Other malocclusion and dental abnormalities, e.g., open
bite, diastasis of incisors .0 2 0 2 4
Tongue thrust only .......0 1 0 0 1
Total.3 8 3 14 28
* ~ ~~~__ __
 CLASSIFICATION OF SPEECH DISORDERS IN CHILDREN 453
Frequently minor abnormalities of the articula- by anyone who has to deal with children suffering
tory apparatus are observed in patients with specific from speech defects, or by anyone acquainted with
developmental speech disorders. Those found in the the currently accepted literature on the subject
present series are shown in Table 7. In many (Seth and Guthrie, 1935; Van Riper, 1947). Un-
patients (14 of the 28 with local abnormalities) no fortunately the amount of clinical investigation
interference with the function of the articulatory devoted to disorders of children's speech has been
organs could be demonstrated. In the remainder relatively small. Much of it has been the result of
it required only a rudimentary knowledge of speech therapists, phoneticians, linguists, otologists,
phonetics to realize that the local abnormalities neurologists or psychologists working in isolation.
could not be held responsible for the complex speech Yet the problems of accurate diagnosis cannot be
disturbance, often affecting language as well as solved by a lone worker from one of these disciplines,
articulation of a wide variety of sounds. however expert he may be. Classification based on
Abnormalities of behaviour are frequent in the clinical findings which seem to be important to
patients with specific developmental speech dis- a worker in any one of these sciences is bound to be
orders. In the majority of cases they appear to be inadequate for other workers with differing points
secondary to the speech defect. Obviously the of view.
situation in which an intelligent child with a speech The benefits of a team approach to speech
defect often finds himself is stressful. He is deprived problems in childhood have not been sufficiently
of the means to communicate his ideas, frequently in realized, though the work of Miss Muriel Morley
social circumstances where much attention is paid and her colleagues shows that it may be rewarding
to language and articulation. Later on specific (Morley, Court and Miller, 1950; Morley, Court
educational difficulties may also be present. and Miller, 1954; Morley, Court, Miller and Gar-
His reactions to this situation may be by with- side, 1955; Morley, 1957). Their pioneer descrip-
drawal. Solitariness, inability to play with other tions and classification of speech defects in childhood
children, day-dreaming, excessive dependence on mark a significant advance on previous work and
the mother, and fearfulness were complained of in deserve close study and criticism (Table 8).
18 of the patients. Four others seemed unusually
tense, excitable and tearful. Four reacted to TABLE 8
frustration by severe temper tantrums. Three (over CLASSIFICATION OF SPEECH DEFECTS IN CHILDHOOD
BY MORLEY (1957)
the age of 4 years) were enuretic.
Delayed Development of Speech:
Mixed Cases and Unclassified Cases. In a Due to psychogenic retardation
Due to mental retardation
classification whose categories are defined in terms Due to hearing defects
Due to developmental aphasia
of the single major speech disability it is inevitable Defective Articulation:
that a small number of patients with multiple defects Developmental dysarthria
Developmental articulatory apraxia
could fall into more than one of the major categories. Dyslalia
Provision is made for them by having a category for Due to partial hearing loss
Due to structural (local) abnormalities
'mixed cases'. There were only four such patients Stammering
in the present series. They included one child with
severe hypomandibulosis, cerebral diplegia causing It will be seen that an attempt is made to dis-
impaired voluntary movement of the articulatory tinguish between 'delayed development of speech'
organs and mental defect. Another had a cleft palate
and 'defective articulation' as major categories.
and suffered from nerve deafness following tuber- Unfortunately this ignores the fact that a high pro-
culous meningitis. portion of patients with 'delayed development of
A few patients resist classification even after full
speech' have defective articulation, and a significant
investigation and they are provided for in the number with 'defective articulation' have retarded
category of 'other and unclassified cases'. This speech development.
category may be compared to a basket of corres- The definition of a number of the sub-categories
pondence marked 'pending', from which cases will is unsatisfactory, and sometimes misleading. Thus
be taken and placed in other categories when more 72 of her 74 patients considered to suffer from
accurately diagnosed. 'developmental aphasia' are regarded as suffering
from 'executive aphasia' because they showed no
Discussion difficulty in comprehending speech at the time of
That there is a need for an adequate description examination, though their speech development was
of speech disorders in childhood cannot be doubted retarded. The term 'executive aphasia' has a very
454 ARCHIVES OF DISEASE IN CHILDHOOD
specific meaning in adult neurology. It is misused development. She suggests that 'dyslalia' may be
when it is applied to children with retardation of associated with mental defect, 'environmental and
language development merely because they have no psychogenic factors', and imitation or persistence of
obvious difficulties of comprehension. If speech faulty patterns of articulation. Many of the cases
were merely the issuing through the mouth of in this category could obviously be placed in other
sequences of sounds which had been poured into the of her categories. In view of this and the wide
child's ear, as if through a pipeline, there might be misuse of the term dyslalia, it has been thought best
some justification for using the term in this way. to discard it.
But the processes involved in the perception, com- The term 'developmental dysarthria' is misleading.
prehension and utterance of speech are incredibly The adjective 'developmental' implies that the
complicated and still poorly understood. To assume disorder will disappear or be very much ameliorated
that a child suffers from 'executive' or even 'expres- with maturation. Yet many of the patients in the
sive aphasia' because the end result of this process category of 'developmental dysarthria' suffer from
is defective, though the child appears to comprehend cerebral palsy and other neurological abnormalities.
speech, is an unjustified simplification of an In them the improvement in speech tends to be
extremely complicated problem. extremely disappointing, especially after the age of
The term 'developmental articulatory apraxia' is 5 or 6 years. In this sense their speech disorders
open to severe criticism. It implies that appreciation cannot be regarded as being 'developmental'.
of the movements made by the articulatory organs The aim in the present classification has been to
during speech is so defective that accurate articula- define the categories of children's speech disorders
tion is impossible. Yet it is usually impossible to in terms of the major abnormality of speech which
demonstrate any abnormality of movement on is present, and by the child's associated clinical and
examination, as the author admits. The assumption psychological abnormalities. Clearly such a classi-
she makes that apraxia is troublesome only with fication requires that patients shall be fully studied
fine movements required by speech is more ingenious from a number of different points of view. This
than convincing. The use of the term 'apraxia', a requires a team approach in modern conditions,
descriptive neurological term, is probably best similar to that used in cerebral palsy and child
avoided until means of testing for apraxia of tongue, guidance clinics. If such a team approach cannot
lips and palate during speech are available. be adopted, accuracy of diagnosis of speech defects
The fact that five of 12 children with 'develop- suffers, and the classification accordingly becomes
mental articulatory apraxia' who were closely studied less useful.
by Morley and her colleagues had 'some delay in Summary
the first use of words; and phrases were not
attempted before 4 years', suggested similarities to Descriptions of the commoner defects of speech
histories of patients she classifies as suffering from encountered in a hospital speech clinic largely
'developmental aphasia'. Nine of the 15 children devoted to the treatment of pre-school children have
with 'developmental aphasia' had 'defective articu- been presented.
lation'. There seems to be a good case for grouping A new classification of speech disorders in child-
together patients with these two conditions into a hood based on the major defect of speech and on
single major category of 'specific developmental associated clinical and psychological findings is
speech disorders', in which retardation of the given. It is emphasized that accurate diagnosis and
development of language and articulation are the classification of speech defects requires a team
major characteristics. This suggestion is followed consisting of speech therapist, psychologist, paedi-
in the present classification. atrician and otologist. The help of a social worker,
It will be noted that the classification dispenses neurologist, phonetician, child psychiatrist and other
with the category of 'dyslalia' which occurs in Miss hospital staff may be required in both diagnosis and
Morley's classification. The term dyslalia is used treatment.
very indiscriminately by clinicians to refer to a wide Criticisms are made of the classification of speech
variety of speech disorders in childhood. Even defects proposed by Morley (1957) on the grounds
Morley (1957) does not provide a satisfactory of the imprecise use of a few neurological terms and
definition though most of the patients she includes the lack of clear definition of some of the categories
in the category appear to suffer from transient, proposed, in terms of clinical findings.
usually mild, disorders of articulation not associated I have to thank Miss Morrison, Speech Therapist to
with obvious abnormalities of the movements of the the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh, and
articulatory organs or with retardation of speech her assistants for their co-operation and interest during
 CLASSIFICATION OF SPEECH DISORDERS IN CHILDREN 455
the investigation. I am indebted to Miss Mason, lately Gibb, A. G. (1958). J. Laryng., 72, 433.
of the Psychology Department, University of Edinburgh, Hallgren, B. (1950). Acta psychiat. scand., Suppl. 65.
Henderson, J. L. (1939). Brain, 62, 381.
and Miss Mary Waller for the psychological examina- Ingram, T. T. S. (1956). J. ment. Sci., 102, 550.
tions, Miss Sylvia Massey of the Department of Psycho- and Reid, J. F. (1956). Archives of Disease in Childhood, 31,
logical Medicine for her psychiatric soCial reports, and 161.
Johnson, W., Brown, S. F., Curtis, J. F. Edney, C. W. and Keaster, J.
Dr. Margaret Methven of the same Department for her (1948). Speech Handicapped School Children. Harper, New
consistent co-operation and help. Dr. Werner Schutt York.
examined many of the patients from the paediatric point Monrad-Krohn, G. H. (1947). Acta psychiat. scand., Suppl. 46, 204.
Morley, M. E. (1954). Cleft Palate and Speech, 3rd ed. Livingstone,
of view. I must thank Professor R. W. B. Ellis for his Edinburgh.
stimulus and encouragement of this work, and the (1957). The Development and Disorders of Speech in Childhood.
physicians and surgeons of the Royal Hospital for Sick Livingstone, Edinburgh.
Court, D. and Miller, H. (1950). Brit. med. J., 1, 574.
Children for their interest and co-operation during it. (1954). Ibid., 1, 8.
I am grateful to Mr. Ian Catford, Director of the School T- and Garside, R. F. (1955). Ibid., 2, 463.
of Applied Linguistics, University of Edinburgh, who was Orton, S. T. (1937). Reading, Writing and Speech Problems in
Children Chapman and Hall, London.
good enough to criticize this paper. Ounsted, C. (1955). Lancet, 2, 303.
Registrar General for Scotland (1951). Ninety-seventh Annual
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Birrell, J. F. (1954). Speech, 18, 40. ment and Disorders. Oxford University Press, London.
Calnan, J. (1957). Ibid., 21, 59. Travis, L. E. (1931). Speech Pathology. Appleton, New York.
Critchley, M. (1952). J. Laryng., 66, 1. Van Riper, C. (1947) Speech Correction-Principles and Methods,
Drew, A. L. (1956). Brain, 79, 440. 2nd ed. Prentice-Hall, New York.
Evans. P. R. (1955). Archives of Disease in Childhood, 30, 237. Wilson, S. A. Kinnier (1954). Neurology, 2nd ed. Edited by A. N
Francis, T. R. (1958). Speech Path. and Therapy, 1, 70. Bruce. Butterworth, London.