7 connections between dyslexia and speech issues

Although there can be many reasons for unclear speech, there is a connection between dyslexia and speech issues.

Our daughter spoke before her first birthday. Harry, child number two, still wasn’t speaking clearly at almost three and only knew a few words. He tended to say, “Nad!” and point. And to be fair, we usually knew what he meant. Now, we appreciate his speech challenges were related to dyslexia.

 

1. Glue ear in infants with dyslexia

We had no idea Harry had dyslexia when he was an infant. It is only by looking back that we can connect the dots. With every tooth he cut, Harry struggled with ear infections. Ear infections are more common in dyslexic children because they have a slightly different ear structure, and their eustachian tubes may be narrower, leading to a condition called glue ear. See the link below for the connection between glue ear and dyslexia. Harry passed standard hearing tests and was never diagnosed as having glue ear but looking back, I believe he did have it.

Research by Dr L Peer on the link between dyslexia and glue ear 

In her research, Dr Peer says:

My research with a sample group of one thousand young people shows that the number of dyslexic people with a history of ear infections and Otitis Media (OM) is significantly higher than in other groups of the population. I believe that this link is highly significant when considering functioning within a learning situation for a sub-group of dyslexic people. It would appear that the existence of OM in early childhood has a major impact upon the development of language and literacy as well as on the emotional stability of the individual.

 

 

2. Gluten intolerance and coeliac disease may impact language development for a dyslexic child

Harry was a difficult baby. He had colic and reflux. He failed to thrive and put on very little weight in his second year of life. We took him to a paediatrician who tested him for the coeliac gene. He came back positive, so we removed gluten from his diet. Within two weeks, Harry’s speech took off. The doctor said this is very common as gluten affects susceptible children’s brains and nerve cells. Coeliac disease is an autoimmune condition, and people with dyslexia are more vulnerable to autoimmune diseases. Here is a link between autoimmune disease and dyslexia.

 

3. Phonological awareness difficulties and dyslexia

Phonological awareness is the child’s ability to hear or think about the difference between different phonemes. Phonemes are the smallest unit of sound in our speech. We can use phonemes to make up different syllables and words. Those with phonological awareness difficulties will find it difficult to identify and discriminate between different phonemes.

Children with phonological awareness difficulties may hear the words ‘key’ and ‘tea’ as the same if they are unable to discriminate between ‘k’ and ‘t’. Phonological awareness difficulties occur when the child has normal hearing limits and is either a delay or disorder in learning speech sounds. If a child has poor phonological awareness, it can lead to the child producing the sounds in their speech incorrectly(1).

Harry struggled to hear the different phonemes. When we’d say, “What letters are in C-A-T?” he was clueless. He required speech therapy to train his ear to hear the individual phonemes. The impact of phonological awareness difficulties may be:

• Unclear speech.
• Difficulty hearing people’s messages correctly and discriminating between certain sounds.
• Miscommunication as many words produced by the child sound the same.
• Difficulties with literacy and reading skills.
• Difficulties making and maintaining friends.
• May need more time to produce a response.
• Frustration.
• Low self-esteem.

The University of Canterbury in New Zealand offers a free short course for teachers and parents to help improve phonological awareness in children under 7.

 

 

4. Difficulties with rhyming and dyslexia

For a child with dyslexia, the ability to hear and manipulate individual sound units that make words rhyme is a challenge. For example, a child with dyslexia may struggle to say words that rhyme with a simple one-syllable word such as ‘cat’.

 

5. Word retrieval – dyslexia and speech

Children with dyslexia frequently have difficulty finding the correct word when speaking. This may be due to a breakdown in getting the word with the proper order of sounds. For example, they may say pasghetti instead of spaghetti.

Weak short-term memory may also affect word retrieval. A word the child knew yesterday could have disappeared today. Many people with dyslexia also struggle to remember names and places. Harry went through school without remembering a single teacher’s name.

 

 

6. Slow-processing – dyslexia and speech

The following is taken from the  Understood website

Slow processing speed is when people need a lot of time to take in, make sense of, and respond to information. The information can be visual, like letters or numbers. It can also be auditory, like spoken language.

Having slow processing speed can create frequent challenges at school, on the job, and in social situations.

For example, young kids may struggle to master the basics of reading, writing, and counting. People of all ages may have trouble doing tasks quickly and accurately. They often have a hard time remembering new information.

Interacting with others can also be tricky. People with slow processing speed may stand silently for a few seconds before responding to someone. Or they might take a long time to explain something.

Slow processing speed has nothing to do with how smart people are — just how quickly they take in and use information. Still, having this challenge can create a lot of anxiety and take a toll on self-esteem.

 

Harry has slow-processing. I am often guilty of stepping in and answering questions for him because it takes him much longer than most people to answer. Naturally, this annoys him, and I am trying to stop myself from butting in. It is essential to stress slow processing is not a sign of low intelligence.

 

 

7. Lisps and stuttering and dyslexia

Dyslexia often co-exists with other neurological conditions. Verbal dyspraxia is one such condition that may affect speech fluency. There is a helpful overview of speech disorders in this paper by Luke L Jackson from Sheffield University. Assessment of Speech Impairment: The Characteristics, Symptoms and Intervention Strategies 

 

 

How to help a child who struggles with speech issues

• Early intervention is crucial for any child struggling with speech. A child who cannot interact with their peers will struggle with low self-confidence, and they will have reduced social and educational outcomes. Such children are also more likely to be bullied.
• Where possible, enlist the help of a speech therapist who can offer targeted interventions to overcome the child’s specific difficulties.
• At home, you can encourage clear speech by repeating what the child has said and simply saying it back with the correct word. When Harry would say, “Look, it’s a too-too train,” we would say, “Yes, it is a choo-choo train.”
• Never laugh or mock a child who has a speech impairment or difficulty. Maintaining your child’s self-esteem is essential. Build on their strengths whenever possible. Check out this blog post for ideas on how to do this

I hope this has helped you understand the links between dyslexia and speech difficulies. Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and, as always, you can email me at hello@dyslexiaoctopus.com.

 

Check out this affiliate link to learn how I helped Harry learn to read and spell.

Speechify is an online text-to-speech app. Use this affiliate link to find out how it could help your child.

(1) https://sltforkids.co.uk/speech-clinic/speech-language-and-communication-problems-we-help/speech-sound-disorders/phonological-awareness-difficulties/#:~:text=Those%20with%20phonological%20awareness%20difficulties,k’%20and%20’t’.