Tachylalia: symptoms, causes and treatment

An accelerated and difficult to understand speech disorder, appearing from infancy.

Tachylalia is a verbal speech pattern characterized by the utterance of words at an accelerated rate. Although it can occur at different ages, this pattern most often develops during childhood and adolescence.

En this article we will see what tachylalia is, what are some of its possible causes.What are some of its possible causes and how to intervene in it.

Tachylalia: definition and symptoms

The term "tachylalia refers to the excessive rapidity of speech. Such rapidity is characterized by the omission of sounds and syllables, which in turn results in significant difficulty in understanding what the person is trying to express.

Other characteristics of tachylalia are few pauses in the speech and a motor restlessness, which may be mild or very noticeable. On the other hand, there is not necessarily a semantic or syntactic disorganization of the speech, but sounds are replaced by similar ones, due to the speed of speech.

Likewise, the person may be aware of the acceleration of his or her speech, and of the difficulty that others have in understanding it, however, such acceleration does not diminish easily in spite of the effort to control it..

Tachylalia, dysphemia or stuttering?

Tachylalia is also considered a type of dysphemia. The latter is a speech fluency disorder, or communication disorder, characterized by frequent, prolonged and involuntary repetition of sounds, syllables or words, as well as hesitations or pauses that often interrupt the rhythmic flow of speech.

These characteristics are visible, so they are known as primary behaviors. However, dysphemia is also characterized by the presence of secondary behaviors, However, dysphemia is also characterized by the presence of secondary behaviorswhich are not easily observed but which also affect the person's quality of life. These are manifestations such as fear, anxiety or avoidance.

Dysphemia is considered by some specialists as a synonym of stuttering, so in some contexts both can be called "speech fluency disorder" or "communication disorder". In any case, being a broad spectrum of both primary and secondary behaviors, dysphemia may have some particular manifestations. Among these is tachylalia.

Possible causes

As with other speech fluency disorders, tachytalgia is a multicausal communication pattern. This means that it can be caused by a variety of factors, including emotional coping patterns in stressful situations, parenting styles, the presence of stressful stimuli in the surrounding contexts, or it can also occur as one ofIt can also present itself as one of the manifestations of medical conditions, disability, anxiety disorders, etc.

Likewise, and from the most classical studies of child psychology, some specialists have suggested that one of the main triggers of fluency disorders is the external pressure to deliver intelligible speechThis is mainly because the person faces difficulties that are beyond his or her immediate control.

In other words, one of the most common triggers of speech disorders is the discomfort generated when the person becomes aware that he/she is not being understood by others, and forces him/herself to improve his/her fluency as soon as possible, again hindering communication.

Dimensions for assessment

Tachylalia may represent a problematic speech pattern especially when it occurs in school-aged children, as it can affect both peer relationships and academic performance. In fact, one of the most common consequences is avoidance of situations that require interactionfor fear of being criticized or teased. Therefore, it is essential that the intervention begins with a thorough exploration of the manifestations and circumstances surrounding tachymalgia.

According to Moreno and García-Baamonde (2003) and Prieto (2010), an assessment, both of tachylalia and other speech fluency disorders, can be performed through the following dimensions:

• Assessment of anxiety and depressionAssessment of anxiety and depression, to determine the degree of difficulty in social interaction and the subjective experiences related to this.
• Assessment of speech, both quantitatively and qualitativelyfor example through readings that scale from simple to complex and exercises that allow observing attention and body relation, as well as using psychometric scales.
• Evaluate communicative exchanges of the family unit by means of observations by means of observations to determine listening skills, interruptions, eye contacts, reactions, etcetera.

This is complemented by means of in-depth interviews with caregivers, teachers and the child him/herself. Once the assessment has been completed, a specific intervention process can be initiated, prioritizing what has been most significant in the different dimensions.

Intervention strategies

After conducting an assessment of the situation of the person with tachymalgia, it is important to initiate the intervention with clearly defined objectives agreed with the parents or guardians. In a case study conducted with a 13-year-old boy, Moreno and García-Baamonde (2003) conducted periodic sessions of 45 minutes each, twice a week. These sessions sought to gradually achieve the following objectives:

• Reduce the child's speech flow..
• Adequacy of the child's Respiratory function.
• To increase the mobility of the oral area when speaking, in order to speed up articulation.
• Involve parents in the sessions and provide them with strategies to reinforce the child's slow speech, for example, give him/her enough time to respond, avoid repeating his/her words as he/she pronounces themavoid repeating his words as he pronounces them, do breathing and relaxation exercises at home, among others.

Once the objectives were set, some of the techniques used during the intervention sessions were the following:

• Breathing activities..
• Progressive relaxation training.
• Monitoring, feedback and self-correction of read text.
• Techniques for reading transition.
• Systematic desensitization.
• Massage, facial gestures, buccofacial praxias, repetition exercises.
• Emotional accompanimentEmotional support for possible alterations in the child's self-image as a result of teasing, criticism or external pressures.
• Involving the child, trying to make him/her aware of the situations in which it is generated and motivating me to continue the intervention.

After 25 sessions of a planned and joint intervention (with family and school), Moreno and García-Baamonde (2003) highlight the positive impact of the intervention, both on the child and his or her immediate environment.

Bibliographical references:

• Dysphemias: causes, evolution and treatment (2018). Universitat de Valencia. Retrieved August 28, 2018. Available at https://www.uv.es/uvweb/master-intervencion-logopedica/es/blog/disfemia-causas-evolucion-tratamiento-1285881139898/GasetaRecerca.html?id=1285969311828.
• Castejón, J. L. and Navas, L. (2013). Childhood and primary learning and developmental difficulties and disorders. ECU: Alicante.
• Prieto, M.A. (2010). Alterations in language acquisition. Innovación y Experiencias Educativas, 36: 1-8. ISSN 1988-6047.
• Moreno, J. M. and García-Baamonde, M.E. (2003). Intervention in a case of infantile tachylalia. Journal of Speech Therapy, Phoniatrics and Audiology, 23(3): 164-172.