Speech Disorders: Diagnosis

About 20,000 people in the United States have ALS at any given time with 5,000 new cases diagnosed every year. ALS is in the same family of disorders as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and muscular dystrophy. Persons of all races and ethic groups are afflicted by the disease, although men are more likely to have it than women.

About 700,000 persons in the United States have strokes every year, and one million are estimated to have aphasia.

A child suspected to have apraxia should first have his or her hearing tested to determine if the child has any deafness. Muscle development in the face and jaw should be evaluated and speech exercises tested. Articulation of words should be tested as well as the person's expressive and receptive language skills.

It is likely that a dentist or physician will first detect signs of possible cancer. Oral cancer makes up about 2–5% of all cancers, and about 30,000 cases are diagnosed each year. Twice as many men than women are diagnosed with cancer typically between the ages of 50 and 70.

The diagnosis of orofacial myofunctional disorder affects speech sounds because of weak tongue tip muscles, although a person's speech may not be affected at all.

Stuttering is a problem that most likely will manifest itself during childhood rather than adulthood.

— Meghan Gourley