Glossary

limited movement of the tongue due to abnormal shortness of the lingual frenum; commonly referred to as tongue-tie.

a disorder of articulation characterized by impaired capacity to program the position of speech musculature and the sequencing of muscle movements for the production of speech. Also referred to as dyspraxia.

noun modifier that denotes specificity; e.g. a, an, the.

the way phonemes are formed in speech.

incorrect production of speech sounds due to faulty placement, timing, direction, pressure, speed, or integration of the movement of the lips, tongue, velum (soft palate).

organs of the speech mechanism which produce meaningful sound (i.e., lips, lower jaw, velum, tongue, and pharynx).

the sense or act of hearing.

the ability to fully utilize what is heard.

impaired ability to attend, discriminate, recognize or comprehend auditory information even though hearing and intelligence are within normal limits.

any approach designed to support, enhance or supplement the communication of individuals who are not independent verbal communicators.

verbal conduct of infants during the second half of the first year of life.

the use of videofluoroscopy to evaluate the pharyngeal swallow.

pertaining to the two lips.

ability to utilize two languages with equal facility.

the forcible closure of the lower teeth against the upper teeth; to seize or grasp with the teeth.

in stuttering, the stoppage or obstruction at one or several locations – larynx, lips, tongue, etc. experienced by the stutterer when trying to talk which temporarily prevents smooth sound production.

the rounded mass of food prepared by the mouth for swallowing (after chewing).

in speech, the habitual use of newly learned speech or language techniques in everyday situations (outside of therapy).

performing one behavior in order to achieve a further objective, e.g. hitting a switch to activate a toy.

a function to assist or obtain a desired response, e.g. giving the command “Sit in the chair” while pointing to the chair.

the act of swallowing.

repetition of an original utterance at some later time.

natural teeth, considered collectively, in the dental arch.

curved structure formed by the teeth in their normal position.

in statistics, the amount by which a measure differs from a point of reference, generally from the mean.

in speech, the ability to execute rapid repetitive movements of the articulators.

the speed with which one can perform contrasting (or repetitive) movements, as in saying the following syllables: puh-tuh-kuh.

term for a collection of motor speech disorders due to impairment originating in the central or peripheral nervous system. Respiration, articulation, phonation, resonation, and/or prosody may be affected.

any type of speech which is marked with repetitions, prolongations, and hesitations; an interruption in the flow of speech sounds. Commonly known as stuttering.

tendency for an individual to repeat without modification that which is spoken to him; normally occurs between 18 and 24 months of age.

tendency for an individual to repeat without modification that which is spoken to him; normally occurs between 18 and 24 months of age.

the insertion of an additional phoneme in a word or in a group of sound, e.g. tree becomes taree.

difficulty putting words together, limited vocabulary

“looking him/her in the eye” while talking to the listener; generally a natural, although not a constant, interaction of the speaker’s eyes with those of the listener.

smoothness with which sounds, syllables, words, and phrases are joined together during oral language; lack of hesitations or repetitions in speaking.

a small frenum.

small cord of tissue extending from the floor of the mouth to the midline of the inferior surface of the tongue blade; important in speech because if too short it may restrict the elevation and extension of the tongue.

denoting excessive tone or tension, as of a muscle.

denoting a decrease or absence of tone or tension, as of a muscle.

used to describe a structural or behavioral characteristic peculiar to an individual.

degree of clarity with which one’s utterances are understood by the average listener.

force or stress with which a sound is produced by a speaker, and the attribute of loudness of the sound to the listener.

verbal behavior of children, beginning at about 9 months and ceasing at about 18 months, which contains a variety of syllables that are inflected in a manner approximating meaningful connected speech.

the ability to vary the extent of jaw depression in small amounts that are appropriate for biting foods of different thicknesses.

active, internal jaw control with minimal up/down jaw movements especially significant in cup drinking; initially obtained by biting on the cup rim at about 13 to 15 months of age; gradually develops using active jaw musculature by 24 months of age.

naming, identifying.

pertaining to the lips.

lip rounding; pursing or protrusion of the lips.

relating to the lips and teeth.

any accepted, structured, symbolic system for interpersonal communication composed of sounds arranged in ordered sequence to form words, with rules for combining these words into sequences or strings that express thoughts, intentions, experiences, and feelings; comprised of phonological, morphological, syntactical,
semantic and pragmatic components.

any difficulty with the production or reception of linguistic units, which may range from total absence of speech to minor variance with syntax; e.g., reduced vocabulary, restricted verbal formulations, omission of articles, prepositions, tense and plural markers.

systematic collection and analysis of an individual’s utterances used as part of a regular speech and language evaluation.

pertaining to the tongue and teeth.

pertaining to the tongue.

defective production of one or more of the six sibilant consonants ([s], [z], [ts], [dz], [ʃ], [ʒ], [tʃ], and [dʒ]), usually caused by improper tongue placement or by abnormalities of the articulatory mechanism. Types of lisps include dental, frontal and lateral.

ability to identify the location of a sound source exclusively with auditory information.

average length of oral expressions as measured by a representative sampling of oral language; usually obtained by counting the number of morphemes per utterance and dividing by the number of utterances.

smallest meaningful unit of language.

study of how morphemes are put together to form words; indicates how words are formed and provides a bridge between phonology and syntax.

the earliest form of chewing.

surgical incision into the tympanic membrane to allow drainage of fluid from the middle ear.

airflow through the nose, usually audible and indicative of an incomplete seal between the nasal and oral cavities; typical of cleft palate speech.

general symptom classification that includes all voices that acoustically have an excessive nasal component.

denial or refusal that may be noted in syntax or semantics; e.g., no, not.

awareness that an object is relatively permanent and is not destroyed if removed from sight.

relationship between the various surfaces of the upper and lower teeth.

in speech, the mouth.

inspection of the mouth to determine its structural and functional adequacy for
speech and chewing/swallowing. Also known as an Oral motor examination.

roof of the mouth, includes the anterior portion (hard palate) and the posterior portion (soft palate or velum).

tendency to continue an activity, motor or mental, once it has been started and to be unable to modify or stop the activity even though it has become inappropriate.

shortest unit of sound in a given language that can be recognized as being distinct from other sounds in the language.

techniques used by children to simplify speech when attempting to produce adult
words.

study of the sound system of a language, including pauses and stress.

subjective quality primarily associated with frequency; e.g., high or low.

difficulty with the social language skills that we use in our daily interactions with others

set of rules governing the use of language in context; e.g., to comment, request (objects, actions, attention), inform, etc.

behaviors that are thought to precede the acquisition of true language; e.g., crying, cooing, babbling, echolalia.

melody of speech determined primarily by modifications of pitch, quality, strength, and duration; perceived primarily as stress and intonational patterns.

the speech with which phonemes, syllables and words are uttered.

difficulty understanding or processing language.

act of breathing.

study of meaning in language, includes the relations between language, thought, and behavior.

any deviation of speech outside the range of acceptable variation in a given environment. Speech may be considered defective if it is characterized by any of the following to a significant degree: (a) not easily heard; (b) not readily intelligible; (c) vocally or visually unpleasant; (d) deviates in respect to sound production; (f) lacks conventional rhythm or stress.

structures involved in the production of speech; includes (a) articulators (lips, tongue, velum, pharynx, and lower jaw); (b) larynx; (c) resonators, (pharyngeal, laryngeal, oral, and nasal cavities); (d) respiratory system (lungs and air passages).

disturbance in the normal fluency and time patterning of speech. Primary characteristics include one or more of the following: (a) audible or silent blocking; (b) sound and syllable repetitions; (c) sound prolongations; (d) interjections; (e) broken words; (f) circumlocutions or (g) words produced with an excess of tension. Secondary characteristics include the habitual use of speech musculature or other body parts (e.g., eye blinking) thought to be initiated to release, conceal or modify the dysfluency.

the way in which words are put together in a sentence to convey meaning.

when, in a resting position, the anterior or lateral portions of the tongue contact more than half the surface area of either the upper or lower incisors, cuspids, or bicuspids or protrude between them.

any vocal expression.

the soft palate, comprised of the uvula and palatoglossal and palatopharyngeal arches.

difficulties with pitch, volume, or quality of voice.