What is the Difference Between Voice Problems (Voice Disorders) & Speech Problems (Speech Impediment)?

For the last 2 and a half decades, we are more and more treating voice problems and also, sometimes, quite serious speech problems – the identification of which is  speech impediment.

What is the difference between the two described above, you, my reader, may ask?

There is definitely a difference between speaking voice problems (which are usually much easier to correct, as they are caused by a wrong application of one’s voice), and a speech impediment. 

The former may cause voice disorders like:

• Muscle Tension Dysphonia

• Spasmodic Dysphonia

• Vocal Cord Nodules, Polyps, Lesions, etc.

As for a speech impediment, it is usually either some kind of a birth defect, (which directly effects the manner of the person’s speaking) or it is a consequence of some other diseases; like for example, stroke (pre or post condition) ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) or the aftermath of any kind of accident occurrence. In the latter, the speech center of one’s brain may be quite severely compromised.

In one of our blogs, we described a young boy who’s speech impediment had been mistaken for a lisp…

In real sense, during the introductory/exploratory session with him, I pinpointed that it was a consequence of a birth defect; and thus, all ENT doctors and speech therapists, for the last 13 years of his life, had severely failed to help him in any shape or form.

They have treated lisp and lisp had nothing to do with it; it just simply was a symptom of a much more complicated and greater causes.

I actually did not know any of this until the session took place. After the completion of the session, I revealed my observations and beliefs to the parents - who actually agreed with my “diagnosis”…

They, of course, never told me any of this beforehand, but with experience of over 42 years of teaching and repairing voices, I was able to “see through” and underline the cause of a very severe speech impediment problem. I have to note that there was nothing wrong with this boy’s voice. On the contrary, his voice sounded nice, well projected and healthy. Go figure…

So the conclusion of the above is:

If you find anything unusual with your own voice, your child’s voice or your loved one’s voice, please seek professional help immediately, as the longer you wait, that much harder it will be to fix it. If it lasts for months or even years, the sufferer adjusts to his/her condition and finds the comfort within that voice disorder.

The bad habits will be created; and to break them might take a lot of energy, persistence, perserviearance and nevertheless, time.

We advocate an alternative approach to voice and voice mechanics. We are looking at the cause to treat and cure… and not just trying to mask the symptoms. We are practising alternative medicine; and therefore would like to bring to your attention once again that any of the above cannot and will not, be addressed remotely.