Communication difficulties in children, 3-15years with motor speech disorders

Abstract

Communication is an essential aspect of human interaction, and it is crucial for academic, social, and emotional development. Children with motor speech disorders (MSDs) often experience communication difficulties, which can affect their academic performance and social relationships. The purpose of this research was to investigate the communication difficulties in school children (3-15) with MSDs. A cross sectional study was carried out at Hill Preparatory school Naguru in June. 15 children with motor speech disorders were recruited for the study. The Goldman Fristoe test of Articulation and the Semantics Differential scale tests were administered to assess the articulation disorders in these children and the listeners attitudes towards their speech respectively. Speech intelligibility was also assessed using the percentage of words correct.Finding showed that majority of the participants a percentage of more than 70% had articulation errors in their speech productions which included substitutions, additions, deletions and omissions. Majority of the children also had non intelligible speech plus listeners also expressed poor attitudes towards their speech. These findings showed that children with motor speech disorders have communications difficulties.The study therefore recommended that more skilled speech therapist should be employed at the school so as to handle the communication needs of these children. Community awareness also needed to be done to create more positive attitudes towards these children with motor speech disorders.