Screen Readers and Magnifiers

This combination only works well with persons being “visually impaired” as compared to the “blind,” who have no need for a screen magnifier, let alone a computer screen. Also, added to the mix are the developers of operating systems whom have  begun to add rudimentary versions of accessibility programs to their operating systems.

Of the scores of screen reader/magnifier software programs available on the market today, only a few are balanced and dynamic enough to provide the blind with the means to navigate smoothly on a computer. For the visually impaired the field is larger as the requirements needing to be met are far less stringent. If any given software is dynamic enough for a blind person; it will more than meet the needs of the visually impaired.

The following are the predominant programs used by most blind services throughout the world.

Jaws by Freedom Scientific

Jaws is arguably the most robust, dynamic and versatile of the screen readers out there. It works well within most popular office programs along with most of the commonly used web browsers. It is, however, a Windows based program.

With up to six hundred basic commands and thousands of others, learning Jaws is a long and trying process. The end result is well worth the effort. Many blind users feel that Jaws can return a blind person to being a productive interactive member of society.

Zoom Text by AI Squared

Zoom Text is a screen magnifier/reader that is limited as a reader but dynamic as a magnifier. It is in its own right a fairly good reader, but lacks the depth and dynamics of ones like Jaws and Windows Eyes. With an easy to use interface and natural speak voice plug-in it is a fun and enjoyable software for the visually impaired.

Using Zoom Text requires the use of some sight, be it diminished or not. It functions well as a web reader and also with other text formats. The magnification feature is fully adjustable and very easy to navigate. Zoom Text can put the joy back into reading for those visually impaired that refuse to relegate themselves to “audio books”.

Web Anywhere by Washington.edu

Web Anywhere is a  free screen reader arena. It is a web based program that allows blind users to navigate the web from anywhere and on any computer. With only a few keyboard commands to learn one can be off and surfing very quickly. It is not a full featured screen reader, but it is a simple and effective tool for a blind person to use when their own computer is not available.

While only a few of the many programs available were mentioned above, there are many others. Also of note is the lack of Apple based software. While Snow Leopard OS has what is referenced as “accessibility” software called Voice over, it lacks the power of the Windowa based software to allow the blind to be truly functional on a computer.

While great strides have been made as far as software for the blind and visually impaired is concerned, even the most intelligent of software cannot overcome the lack of proper and uniform formatting and scripting of web content and software programs. Until there is adherence to set standards even the best of readers will at some time bog down and fail.

Exercise is often a problem for people with CFS because physical activity can worsen their symptoms. Medical opinion has been divided on whether people with CFS should attempt regular exercise or not – some believe that gentle exercise is helpful, while others caution against any form of aerobic activity.

Research has found that patient education on CFS and a graded exercise program can improve symptoms in many cases and, on average, is not likely to worsen outcomes.

Tips For CFS Exercise

• Exercise may not be possible for everyone

Some people with CFS, especially in the weeks or months following onset, are unable to perform the most basic activities such as showering or walking from one room to another. In such cases of extreme exhaustion and pain, the person may be confined to their bed.

As time passes, the person may feel a little better and attempt regular exercise. However, aerobic activity can cause a relapse of symptoms. The added problem for people with CFS is that a sedentary lifestyle causes a range of other health problems including muscle wastage, loss of bone mass, and increased risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease.

• Potassium

Medical problems that cause low levels of the electrolyte potassium often include chronic fatigue as a symptom. The bulk of the body’s potassium supply is found in muscle tissue, with the rest in the brain, blood and internal organs. A 2004 study by researchers at Adelaide University found that people with CFS have less total body potassium (TBP) than healthy people of similar age and weight.

Exercise Suggestions For Chronic Fatigue

A person with CFS needs a gentle approach to physical activity and should only make tiny increases in the frequency, duration and intensity of their exercise program.

Be guided by your doctor or physiotherapist, but general suggestions include:

• Aim for no more than three exercise sessions per week.
• Experiment to find the type of exercise that works best for you. Choose from a range of gentle activities such as stretching, yoga, Tai Chi, walking and light weight training.
• Stretching seems to be well tolerated by people with CFS. You may prefer to perform your stretching program while lying down in bed.
• Aerobic exercise seems to cause relapses for many people with CFS. If this is true for you, try non-aerobic forms of exercise like weight training with light weights.
• Keep an activity diary so you have a long-term picture of your performance levels and factors that might impact on fatigue.
• Learn from past relapses. For example, if walking for 20 minutes worsened your symptoms, try walking for five minutes and see how that goes. Use your activity diary to keep track of what works for you and what doesn’t.
• Stop the physical activity well before you feel tired. Pacing yourself is very important.
• Remember that your exercise tolerance will differ from one day to the next.
• If possible, monitor your heart rate during exercise with a heart rate monitor or by manually taking your pulse.
• Listen to your body – if you don’t feel up to exercising on a particular day, don’t.
• Slowly increase the intensity, time spent or frequency of exercise, but only when you know you can cope with it. For example, if you can exercise for five minutes without suffering a relapse, try for six minutes.

Military troops who served in Vietnam and the Gulf Wars; rescue workers involved in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City Bombing; survivors of accidents, rape, physical and sexual abuse, as well as other crimes; immigrants fleeing violence in their home countries; survivors of the 1994 California earthquake, the 1997 South Dakota floods, and hurricanes Hugo and Andrew; and people who witness traumatic events are among the people who may develop PTSD. Families of victims can also develop the disorder.

Who Is Most Likely to Develop PTSD?

People who have been abused as children or who have had other previous traumatic experiences are more likely to develop the disorder. Research is continuing to pinpoint other factors that may lead to PTSD.

Symptoms of PTSD?

• Many people with PTSD repeatedly re-experience the ordeal in the form of flashback episodes, memories, nightmares, or frightening thoughts, especially when they are exposed to events or objects reminiscent of the trauma.
• Anniversaries of the event can also trigger symptoms.
• People with PTSD also experience emotional numbness and sleep disturbances, depression, anxiety, and irritability or outbursts of anger. Feelings of intense guilt are also common.
• Most people with PTSD try to avoid any reminders or thoughts of the ordeal.

PTSD is diagnosed when symptoms last more than one month.

Co-occurring depression, alcohol or other substance abuse, or another anxiety disorder are not uncommon. The likelihood of treatment success is increased when these other conditions are appropriately diagnosed and treated as well.

Headaches, gastrointestinal complaints, immune system problems, dizziness, chest pain, or discomfort in other parts of the body are common. Often, doctors treat the symptoms without being aware that they stem from PTSD. NIMH, through its education program, is encouraging primary care providers to ask patients about experiences with violence, recent losses, and traumatic events, especially if symptoms keep recurring. When PTSD is diagnosed, referral to a mental health professional who has had experience treating people with the disorder is recommended.

Post Traumatic Stress Details

At least 3.6% of U.S. adults (5.2 million Americans) have PTSD during the course of a year. About 30 percent of the men and women who have spent time in war zones experience PTSD. One million war veterans developed PTSD after serving in Vietnam. PTSD has also been detected among veterans of the Persian Gulf War, with some estimates running as high as 8 percent.

PTSD can develop at any age, including in childhood. Symptoms typically begin within 3 months of a traumatic event, although occasionally they do not begin until years later. Once PTSD occurs, the severity and duration of the illness varies. Some people recover within 6 months, while others suffer much longer.

PTSD Treatments

Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy, group therapy, and exposure therapy, in which the patient repeatedly relives the frightening experience under controlled conditions to help him or her work through the trauma, as well as medications that help ease the symptoms of depression and anxiety and help promote sleep. Scientists are attempting to determine which treatments work best for which type of trauma.

Depressive Symptoms

Often it is hard to tell if someone is depressed because you might not be able to tell immediately. They might come across as being completely fine and they themselves might not realise something is wrong. If you or someone you know answers yes to the majority of these symptoms, it is likely to be a case of depression.

According to the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the main symptoms and signs of depression are the following:

• persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” mood
• feelings of hopelessness, pessimism
• feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness
• loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities that were once enjoyed, including sex
• decreased energy, fatigue, being “slowed down”
• difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions
• insomnia, early-morning awakening, or oversleeping
• appetite and/or weight loss or overeating and weight gain
• thoughts of death or suicide; suicide attempts
• restlessness, irritability
• persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment, such as headaches, digestive disorders, and chronic pain

Depression As A Disability

According to the World Health Organization, “Depression is among the leading causes of disability worldwide.” This is definitely true but does depression itself qualify as a disability? Due to it being a mental illness as opposed to most other physical disabilities, many people do not understand why depression should qualify as a disability. But the fact is depression can be debilitating and can affect a person’s life and change it drastically. As a result, a person might need certain benefits to help them get through this difficult time. So yes, depression is a disability.

You are allowed to make a social security claim for depression. If your depression is found to be disabling, you are eligible for support from the government. To support your claim, you must provide medical records, letters from counselors and any other proof you can gather from mental health clinics, psychologists, psychiatrists and any other professionals you have been seeing for your depressive disorder. In addition, to confirm your claim for disability the Social Security Administration might also require to complete a Mental Status Examination.

Once you satisfy the criteria and upon strict evaluation of your depression disability, you will be granted disability benefits for your depressive disorder.

Depression Help

Unfortunately almost a quarter of the people who suffer from depression either don’t want to or don’t even know how to seek help. Depression is definitely possible to cure and can be treated well with medication and therapy. Counseling is also very helpful for an individual suffering from depression. Support from family members and friends is also very helpful for depression.

Depression as a disability suffers a certain stigma because many people do not take it seriously. However, depression is a very serious and real illness and if you are having trouble dealing with it, you should speak to a qualified professional who can help you during this tough time.

Reference:

Depression – World Health Organization

Depression and your claim – Disability Expert

Depression – National Institute of Mental Health

World Dementia Statistics

Indeed, the numbers and statistics surrounding dementia are staggering. Worldwide, there are now an estimated 24 million people living with some form of dementia. Without a major medical breakthrough in the fight against dementia, this number could jump to as many as 84 million who have age-related memory loss by the year 2040.
Although there are a number of forms of dementia, Alzheimer’s is the most common, and most well-known, of the age-related memory loss diseases. Currently, more than five million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s, and it is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. About 13% of Americans over the age of 65 have Alzheimer’s and half of those over age 85 will develop Alzheimer’s — or a closely related dementia.
Health analysts estimate that in just five years the number of Americans with Alzheimer’s will jump to 7.7 million and by 2050 the number is projected to more than double to 16 million. So why is this disease growing so rapidly?
Simply put, our population is “graying” and our citizens are living much longer than any previous generation. In fact, the fastest growing segment of our population is the over 80 age group, and the odds of becoming demented for the very elderly are much higher.
Another aspect to our changing population is how quickly this change has taken place. A person born in 1900 could reasonably hope to reach about the age of 50 – the average life expectancy was just 47 years. However, over the course of the last century a number of factors, such as medical advances, widespread access to health care, improved sanitation and better nutrition have had a tremendous impact on how long we live. Consequently, the average life expectancy for both men and women in the U.S. today is 77 years of age. That’s an incredible increase of 30 years in just one century.
And, with the Baby Boomer generation on the verge of retirement, we are now looking at a shift to an even older society. There are about 77 million in the baby boomer generation. By the year 2030, these men and women will make up approximately 20% of the total U.S. population. As a result, health experts currently estimate that at least 10 million Baby Boomers will develop Alzheimer’s.
The news for older Baby Boomer females is even bleaker as about one-in-six females over the age of 55 could develop Alzheimer’s. Why do more women than men get Alzheimer’s? It’s not anything genetic. It is simply that women traditionally live longer (by about five years in the U.S), so it becomes basically a numbers game.
The statistics surrounding dementia are sobering. If you do not currently know someone with memory loss — a family member, friend, neighbor or co-worker — then you most certainly will know someone in the near future.
There are two risk factors for dementia, genetics and aging, and neither of these factors can be controlled. While time and money is being funneled into Alzheimer’s and dementia research, there is no “magic bullet” solution. Currently, there are several “disease-modifying therapies” in development that may offer temporary slowing of disease progression or even restore cognitive function. However, it may take years before these therapies are available to the general public.
The best approach is to adopt a proactive brain health lifestyle today. And, if a loved one or you is experiencing any signs of cognitive loss then you should visit your healthcare professional immediately.

Different Types of Disabilities:

“A disability”, according to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, is defined as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities”. This is a very broad definition of a disability. There are numerous types of disabilities which affect millions of individuals every day. Some may be acquired at birth, or it may be acquired slowly with growth, or others still may have been caused by an accident of some sort. No matter what disability type one belongs to, each of them have their own set of inhibitors and difficulties. Some of the commonly known categories and types of disabilities are:

Visual Disability: This type of disability may include sub-categories of :

• far-sightedness or near-sightedness
• complete blindness
• or color blindness.

This disability type can range widely in severity. While millions of people suffer from minor eye problems, many others still, face the severe visual impairment of loss of complete vision or color from their eyes.

Hearing Impairment: A person suffering from hearing impairments can be considered :

• Partially deaf, if they are hard of hearing. Varying degrees of hearing aids are available to assists such individuals to hear well.
• Or completely deaf, when they are unable to listen to any kind of sound or noise. Sign language is often the only kind of language used to communicate with such individuals.
• Physical Disabilities: There are many different types of disabilities that fall under this category. A disability is considered physical when it restricts any kind of mobility in a person. The most commonly experienced disability types within this category are:
  - Loss of limbs or any other part of the body that restricts movement
  - Injury to the Spinal Cord that leaves the individual wheelchair ridden
  - Arthritis
  - Stroke
  - Paralyzed arms and legs, also known as Quadriplegia
  - Cerebral Palsy

Learning/Cognitive Disabilities: Similar to physical disabilities, cognitive and learning disabilities encompass a wide range of different types of disabilities under it. This type of disability limits brain functions of an individual. It hinders mental growth and individuals suffering from it usually have a hard time in thinking, solving, expressing and languages. Some of the commonly known disability types within this category are:

• Dyslexia: affects ability to read
• Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD): loss in ability to concentrate
• Down’s Syndrome: Mental retardation
• Autism: Neurological disorder resulting in reduced social interaction
• Dysgraphia: affects ability to write

Acquired Disability: This type of disability is generally acquired at virtually anytime and is not restricted or dependent on any particular gender, ethnicity or age group. It can affect almost anybody, though it is often more commonly found in concentrated regions. Acquired disabilities too can be split into sub-categories of different types of disabilities. The commonly known ones are:

• Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
• Multiple Sclerosis: Disorder of the Central Nervous System
• Alzheimer’s Disease: A progressive loss in memory

Various types of disabilities affect individuals all over the world. There are so many divisions of these disability types in numerous categories that it becomes impossible to name all of them. However, it is helpful to know the type of disability group one belongs to in order to identify with that category. Each of these disability types differ greatly, but all individuals who experience them face tremendous hardships. Help is available in various forms to make lives a little easier for individuals facing these different types of disabilities.

References:

1. For parents of visually impaired children – Family Connect
2. Types of Disability – Disabled World

Symptoms & Signs of Parkinson’s Disease

Symptoms of Parkinson’s vary in different individuals based on the severity of its progress. While some show obvious signs of Parkinson over a short period of time, for many others, Parkinson disease gradually sets into their system and is not detected until much later. Many individuals are severely disabled by this disease, but there are some who continue to lead fairly regular lives. Some of the primary symptoms of Parkinson’s include:

• Bradykinesia: This is the phenomenon when an individual experiences slow movement. This is one of the first signs of Parkinson. Affected individuals will be unable to initiate certain movements and will have difficulty in making simple movements.
• Resting Tremor: Tremors are felt by almost all individuals suffering from Parkinson disease. It is called resting tremor because the tremor is most often felt when the person is in a relaxed position and is unable to control these oscillating movements. It is most commonly felt in the hands, fingers, legs and toes.
• Rigidity: Stiffness in muscle is felt at all times. The individual will face difficulty relaxing their muscles, especially while walking or while making swinging movements with arms and legs.
• Gait disturbance: Symptoms of Parkinson include a distinctive gait as individuals experience difficulty in walking. They make small, rigid steps and move ahead in a forward bending posture.

Some of the Secondary symptoms of Parkinson’s include:

• Fatigue
• Sexual dysfunction
• Impaired motor skills
• Loss of facial expressions
• Cramping in throat muscles
• Speech impairment

Parkinson Support & Treatment

Treatment for Parkinson’s has come a long way since it was first discovered and understood. We know that Parkinson disease affects individuals in varying levels of severity. Thus each individual may have different forms of treatment for Parkinson’s depending on their current stage of progress. After the Parkinson diagnosis is verified and completed, one must explore what is the best possible option available for them. Parkinson support is available in various information websites and most importantly through your doctor. Some of the Treatment for Parkinson’s include:

Medication

Many of the symptoms of Parkinsons may be reduced by taking varying doses of medication throughout the day. These medications may not be able to cure Parkinson disease, but they certainly do help in making life easier for those suffering from the effects of it. The most commonly prescribed medications for Parkinson disease include:

• Levodopa
• Dopamine
• MAO-B
• Anticholinergics
• COMT
• Surgery

While medication helps in reducing symptoms for Parkinsons, it can get tiring to keep up with it on an everyday basis. Another option to deal with it is to have surgery and relieve oneself from mental pressure for at least a few years. The current procedure used for Parkinson disease is called:

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) : During this surgery, an impulse generator device is inserted under the collarbone area which sends electrodes to the affected area of the brain. The electrical impulse stimulates the motor skills area of the brain and keeps this disease under control.

Signs of Parkinson may become obvious at its later stages, but Parkinson disease is best treated when discovered at an early stage. It is important for loved ones to look out for those exhibiting the primary symptoms of Parkinsons. While there is still no cure for Parkinson disease, technology and medication have come a long way to help in Parkinson support. Treatment for Parkinson’s include a number of prescription medications and also a specific surgery. With the correct Parkinson diagnosis and care, it is possible to lead a fairly normal life for those affected by this disease.

References:

1. Parkinson’s Disease Information Page - National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
2. National Parkinson Foundation, Inc.
3. Parkinson’s Disease Foundation

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder & OCD Symptoms

Definition

The National Institute of Mental Health (1) defines Obsessive compulsive disorder as, “Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, OCD, is an anxiety disorder and is characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and/or repetitive behaviors (compulsions). Repetitive behaviors such as hand washing, counting, checking, or cleaning are often performed with the hope of preventing obsessive thoughts or making them go away. Performing these so-called “rituals,” however, provides only temporary relief, and not performing them markedly increases anxiety.”

Earlier thought to be a very rare form of disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder has grown in significance and occurrence in the past decade or so. It is now believed that individuals diagnosed with OCD in America every year amount to at least 2% of the entire adult population. This number is fast rising as life is getting more stressful for individuals and it is getting easier to fall into the trap of ocd disorder.

OCD Symptoms

Obsessive compulsive disorder might be hard to distinguish at first as a lot of people are often careful and unnecessarily obsessive about trivial things at some point in their lives. However, when these obsessions and compulsions start affecting one’s daily life, these might be the first signs of an OCD disorder. Some of the most common ocd symptoms are:

Repeated handwashing is a common OCD symptom

• Repeated hand washing
• Checking locks, lights, gas etc
• Counting several times
• Aligning objects perfectly
• Collecting useless objects

While most of these OCD symptoms seem silly and harmless, repeating them continuously can get extremely frustrating for everyone around them. People with OCD perform these tasks even if it interferes with their daily lives. There are some ocd symptoms which may cause harm to others:

• Frequent acts of violence
• Persistent sexual fantasies
• Harming living creatures
• Thoughts of performing unlawful acts

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Treatment

Overcoming OCD can be a very lengthy and tedious process. However obsessive compulsive disorder treatment is available in numerous places and should be taken advantage of. OCD help centers have been set up in various places to help such individuals. Some of the options that are available for obsessive disorder treatment are:

1. Self Therapy: Most OCD victims are aware of their problem but are unable to stop themselves from it. Instead of visiting ocd help centers right away, it is important to apply self-restraint first and try to get over this OCD disorder by yourself.
2. Group Therapy: When one talks to other OCD disorder victims and realizes they are not the only ones suffering from this condition, overcoming OCD becomes an easier task.
3. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: This is the most commonly used treatment to overcome ocd. It focuses on changing behaviors and patterns by forcing alternate methods and habits and slowly allows the patient to get rid of their fears.
4. Medicine: Several forms of serotonin medicine are prescribed to patients seeking ocd help. It is said to calm the brain an help rationalize a better behavioral pattern.
5. Psychosurgery: This is the last resort if all else fails in curing an obsessive compulsive disorder. This procedure eliminates the portion of the brain which may be causing the ocd symptoms.

Obsessive compulsive disorder was never an important issue in the past. Most people just laughed at those who did peculiar things and called them crazy. With the advances in technology, the diagnosis systems for ocd has improved drastically and now there are many obsessive compulsive disorder treatments available as well. OCD can be cured in many ways and one must not ignore the obvious ocd symptoms exhibited by a person. With proper OCD help and support from loved ones, an individual with ocd disorder can recover and lead an absolutely normal life once again.

References:

1. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – National Institute of Mental Health
2. About OCD – Obsessive Compulsive Foundation

Identifying a Developmental Disorder

Development disorders are generally referred to as conditions that cause a delay in basic skills and functions in an individual. Developmental disorder often shows a slow rate of growth, difficulty conducting simple daily tasks and sometimes even malnutrition. Developmental disabilities are also referred to as pervasive development disorder and it is usually noticeable in a child around the age of 3. Even though symptoms of a developmental problem may be present even on birth, these are not identified until a child shows stagnant development in areas of communication, independent thinking and expressive behaviors. In general, children suffering from any kind of developmental disorder will show slow growth in mental processes and parents will notice a state of confused helplessness in their eyes.

Distinguishing The Type of a Developmental Disorder

Developmental disability is a broad category and numerous kinds of disabilities fall under it. Each of these developmental problems show distinct characteristics and have specific ways of identifying and treating them. Some of the common types of developmental disorders are:

1. Autism: This developmental disorder causes mental retardation in almost all children suffering from it. Autistic children show an inability to communicate with others and perform basic daily functions.
2. Attention Deficiency Disorder (ADD): Individuals with this developmental problem show an inability to concentrate on important things around them. They are distracted easily and are unable to focus on one thing for too long.
3. Asperger’s Syndrome: These children have a higher intelligence and developmental skills than autistic children but they suffer from the same troubles like social communication and interaction.
4. Childhood Disintegrative Disorder: In this form of developmental disorder, a child loses his capabilities as he grows. He loses control of his body movements and processes and slowly degenerates to a point where he loses interaction and communication skills as well.
5. Down’s Syndrome: This developmental disability is caused due to the presence of an extra chromosome in a child’s cells. It causes permanent mental retardation in most cases.
6. Rett’s Syndrome: Children diagnosed with this form of developmental disability suffer from several physical disabilities. They lose the ability walk around normally and the ability to perform other physical tasks.

Treatment of a Developmental Problem

Even though there are usually no cures for these development disabilities, early detection of the type of developmental disorder can benefit the child in many ways. There are a number of treatment options available for the various kinds of developmental disabilities. Each of them are designed to make the lives of these individuals easier and help them lead a normal life. Every effort is being made by researchers to come up with appropriate medicines or intuitive technological devices that will benefit development disability patients. However, the best form of help they can receive is the love and support of people around them.

Developmental disabilities are the most common form of disabilities affecting millions of individuals across America. They encompass a vast variety of learning, pervasive and development disorders. Symptoms of these developmental problems are usually discovered at an early age in children which helps them receive proper treatment. Some people grow out of it and lead normal lives while many others adjust to this developmental disorder and work their way around it .Whatever the case may be, these individuals lead extremely challenging lives and endure various hardships throughout their lives.

References:

1. Pervasive Developmental Disorders – National Institute of Mental Health
2. NINDS Pervasive Developmental Disorders Information Page – National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke

Speech and Language Disabilities

Individuals suffering from speech disabilities often show limited or no speaking ability. They lose the ability to interact normally with others and have issues in expressing themselves through words. Speech impairments may also cause a difficulty in public speaking and articulation. Overall, an individual experiences difficulty in communication skills and shows evident signs of speech difficulties.

Causes of Speech and Language Disabilities

Speech and language disabilities may occur as a side effect of many other forms of disabilities and conditions. The speech impairment may be the direct result of something entirely difficult and yet affect an individual’s life tremendously. Some of the causes of speech disability are:

1. Hearing Impairment: Many a time, speech disabilities are formed due to a loss in hearing as hearing is very critical in the development of your speech skills.
2. Brain injury: A brain injury due to some accident may hurt the region of the brain which controls speech and languages. This might cause a communication disability due to damage to that control region.
3. Learning disabilities: A child may develop speech disabilities if he is suffering from some form of learning disability as this hinders other areas of growth and development.
4. Neurological disorders: Individuals suffering from neurological disorders might develop speech difficulties as well.
5. Physical disabilities: Various physical disabilities result in speech impairments to the individual.
6. Mental retardation: One may experience speech and language disabilities when they suffer from some kind of mental retardation.

Living with Speech Disabilities

As we can see, speech disabilities may occur due to several reasons. While some may overcome them with continuous practice and effort, others may find it next to impossible to get rid of this speech impairment from their lives. Instead of letting it get you down and affecting your life negatively, you can take a number of steps to seek help and make things look a little brighter for you. In order to cope with speech disabilities, one may consider the following points:

• Therapy: Seek speech disability therapy from trained professionals to improve the quality of your speech.
• Technology: Use the numerous technological products that are available to individuals suffering from speech disabilities in order to make daily activities a little simpler. Examples of such products are text to speech devices, communication aids, modified keyboards etc.
• Don’t stress: Many individuals suffering from speech impairments increase the severity of their disorder by stressing out about it. Relaxing and explaining your situation to concerned individuals around you might help improving your condition.
• Support groups: It is important to remember that you are not the only one suffering from a speech disability. There are many others and many support groups have been set up to help individuals like you.

Thus we see that speech disability can be of many different types. There are many treatment and help options available for individuals suffering from speech disabilities. Numerous devices are being created everyday to make the lives of these individuals with communication disabilities to lead a close to normal life. Various support groups and organizations have been set up to help with speech disabilities. Although in a lot of cases this speech impairment might be permanent, without a chance of ever gaining the speech ability back, these helpful tips might at least improve their lives and help them better cope with their speech difficulties.

References:

1. Typical Speech and Language Development – American Speech-Language-Hearing Association