A normal voice is pleasant sounding and has age and sex appropriate pitch and loudness. When a voice is not pleasant sounding, is too loud or too soft or is too high or low for one's gender, a voice problem may be present. Damage to the brain can be caused by stroke, tumour or head injury. Different aspects of language can be affected to varying degrees depending on the location and severity of the damage. This includes disorders of speech, language and swallowing.
Communication disorders can be congenital or acquired, and can affect individuals of any age.
Some Definitions Communication is the exchange of information, the sending and receiving of messages. These are disorders of motor speech production. The act of producing understandable speech is very complex. The brain, having decided what message it wishes to send, must then send a series of signals to the speech muscles, telling them what to do. If you have concerns about your child's development, it is worthwhile consulting a speech-language pathologist.