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Speech Delay

Speech delay is a delay in the development of the mechanisms that produce speech. The ears are our gateway to spoken communication; and speech delay can be helped by improving the functioning of the ears. In undertaking the course a person is awakened to a sound world that was previously unrecognised and therefore under-utilised.

Human development shows that language starts to expand as young infants are able to stand for longer periods of time. In fact Tomatis said that our whole body is our instrument that we must learn to play. Poor posture and muscle tone is rather like a slackened string on a musical instrument, without a certain degree of tautness that spans over the instrument, no vibrant clear sound can be produced. The information obtained by the vestibule of the ear concerning balance and movement is dispatched to the central nervous system and brain which in return send commands to the muscles to contract or relax to maintain balance. The ears give us the ability to move in any direction, without our ears it would be impossible to move our muscles. Now when the ears are not functioning optimally, sonic stimulation does not reach and activate the areas of the body which are needed for speech. The vestibular nerve is also connected to the spinal column. This information system touches the anterior roots of the medulla oblongata, thereby controlling the whole body through the action of the labyrinth of the ears. When the muscles of breathing such as the diaphragm, intercostals muscles which expand the rib cage, are under activated, the resulting sound will be poor and weak

The fifth, seventh and tenth cranial nerves each interact with the muscles of our vocal apparatus. The fifth cranial nerve allows us to chew, open and close our jaw and the muscle which moves the hammer bone in the ear. The seventh cranial nerve controls all muscles of facial expression, except the eyelids. Importantly, it also controls the muscle which moves the stirrup bone of the ear. In connection with this nerve, it is observed that articulation problems develop when the there is poor coordination between the two muscles of the middle ear, often accompanied by grimacing or little facial expression. The tenth cranial nerve, in many ways the most interesting of all these nerves due to its length and connections, is linked to the larynx and pharynx as well as the ear.

The therapy can help by improving sensory integration of the ears, both auditory apparatus and balance / movement system; thereby removing obstacles to clear and fluid speech.

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