Learning Strategies for Students with Speech Disorders

Globally, according to the WHO, approximately 466 million people have some type of speech disorder.

Characteristics and Warning Signs of Speech Disorders

Speech disorders are characterised by difficulties in acquiring and using spoken language. In children, they are often due to congenital, infectious, or developmental issues. Key characteristics include:

• Low self-esteem, insecurity, or withdrawal.
• Avoidance of speaking to prevent negative experiences.
• Delays in the development of the areas responsible for language.
• Motor difficulties in acquiring and maturing the phonetic schemes needed for speech production.
• Alterations in the auditory nerve or cerebral cortex, making phoneme discrimination challenging.
• Associated movements (such as repetitive gestures) and feelings of frustration, embarrassment, or anxiety when speaking.

Common Difficulties in Speech Disorders

1. Articulation difficulties:
   • Problems pronouncing certain phonemes.
   • Omissions, substitutions, or inversions of sounds.
   • Poor positioning of the tongue and cheek muscles for sound production.
2. Voice problems:
   • Emission of compulsive noises.
   • Presence of a lingual frenulum.
   • Sudden changes in pitch or interruptions in speech (stammering).
   • Altered breathing and variations in speaking speed.
3. Communication difficulties:
   • Struggles to comprehend spoken language.
   • Poor grammar and limited vocabulary.
   • Problems with reading and writing.
   • A tendency to remain silent, forgetting simple instructions or the names of close individuals.
   • Challenges in establishing clear and effective communication.

Learning Strategies

First Group: Classroom Activities

• Avoid drawing attention to the child in front of the group to prevent teasing.
• Do not correct them directly or persistently.
• Provide ample opportunities to practise speaking.
• Create a learning environment rich in oral and written language.
• Foster self-confidence to help the child overcome the disorder.
• Identify specific areas of difficulty.
• Encourage communication without overwhelming them with excessive questions.
• Provide simple instructions, break tasks into small steps, and reward efforts with praise.
• Allow the use of resources such as audiobooks if reading is challenging.
• Teach organisational and study skills.
• Maintain regular communication with the child’s parents regarding school progress.
• Implement varied, playful methodologies tailored to the child’s learning style, based on prior assessment.

Strategies for Classroom Participation

• Allow extra time to answer questions, particularly in exams where they may feel under pressure.
• Build the child’s confidence by asking questions they can easily answer.
• Ask questions requiring short answers or opinions.
• Encourage the child to repeat the question before answering.
• Seat them at the front of the class to reduce distractions and facilitate interaction.
• Call their name before asking a question to prepare them.
• If they stammer or remain silent, offer cues to assist them.
• Encourage participation in small discussion groups.
• Allow preparation time for presentations.
• Expand vocabulary using strategies such as:
  • Semantic fields.
  • Thematic vocabulary lists.
  • Brainstorming.

Specific Strategies for Particular Difficulties

1. Stammering (disfluency):

• Allow them all the time they need to speak.
• Maintain eye contact while they speak.
• Foster a relaxed communication environment.
• Engage in non-directive games and storytelling.
• Acknowledge their difficulty and offer positive corrections.
• Motivate them with self-affirming dialogues, addressing misconceptions and reinforcing positive expressions.
• Manage anxiety using muscle relaxation techniques or mindfulness.

2. Articulation problems:

• Practise touching the tip of the nose with the tongue to exercise oral muscles.
• Recite tongue twisters.
• Speak with a pencil under the tongue to improve pronunciation.
• Blow and move the tongue around the mouth to strengthen muscles.
• Inflate balloons and release them to promote breath control.
• Play rhyming games where the child and teacher/parent alternate creating rhymes.
• Avoid correcting them publicly to prevent embarrassment.

Additional Activities

• Encourage the use of simple phrases in various contexts (statements, questions, exclamations).
• Stimulate their ability to recount events or incidents.
• Develop proper intonation, gestures, and facial expressions.
• Promote interaction between children and with the teacher.

This guide offers practical and adaptive strategies to support children with speech disorders, respecting their individual needs and fostering holistic development.