college essays about speech impediment

"Overcoming My Speech Impediment" UW personal statement

josie94 1 / 3   Nov 27, 2011   #2 Since around the first grade I had been going to speech therapy for a severe speech impediment . I n my case, I had what is commonly called "block" stuttering, and was told one of my main "triggers" [what does that mean? Please explain or reword] was speaking to an audience. I was 12 years old. That day I was to tell my English class about Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet; I knew it front ways and back ways, no problem. As I approached the front of the room, one hand held a couple of note cards, the other clenched tightly in fear. I had not told my teacher of my problem as I had in years past, excusing me from certain situations such as this. I had vowed to finally face this no matter what. I looked out at about thirty of my peers and started to speak, glanced at a note card and stopped. I did not stop by choice but because my voice was gone; I was physically unable to form the word my mind had prepared. I looked up, bit my tongue, begging [verb agreement-begged ?] for a distraction, and pushed up my glasses while my throat became more and more tense. The silence became to o long to be considered merely just a pause, and everyone was now confused and whispering. I eventually finished my presentation, but I was humiliated. I continued to dread any form of public speaking. I was still not fully over my block stutter, a bit better, but not over. Definitely reword this previous sentence. As for tense, "I am", perhaps?] I was am now 17 years old. This time I was standing in front of a room of about a hundred high school students. It was my turn to introduce my proposed resolution paper on the topic of the Somali conflict at the 31st Virginia Model United Nations. I was fed up with my fear of public speaking; I had voluntarily come on this trip to exterminate it. I began reading with a very large lump in my throat; there were a few pauses but they were just that, pauses. The delegate to my left believed I could not pronounce the words, and probably, so did everyone else; I accepted this. I was sure I could get through this. Everyone clapped, and I returned to my seat. A while later, while chatting with another delegate, he casually commented that he really liked the way I introduced my paper and claimed that I was a good speaker. That was sincerely the greatest compliment I had ever received. After living most of my life with a completely unpredictable speech impediment, after seeing seven different speech therapists, I had long lost all confidence in public speaking and many other aspects of ordinary life. I knew that it could come up in any situation and fitted my life around it. Although I know this is something that may very well stay with me for the remainder of my life, I now feel as though I have overcome it. I know I will continue to face many barriers and obstacles throughout college and beyond, but through this experience I have gained the confidence to face and handle them. I suggest ending with a metaphor that ties in your speech impediment--give it a little pizzazz! hehe] Overall, very good topic to write about! I really liked the organization. Just fix a few of the grammatical and awkward statements, and I believe this could be a great essay :) Would you be so kind as to review my essay as well? :D

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Home / Blog

Speech Impediment Guide: Definition, Causes, and Resources

December 8, 2020 

Tables of Contents

What Is a Speech Impediment?

Types of speech disorders, speech impediment causes, how to fix a speech impediment, making a difference in speech disorders.

Communication is a cornerstone of human relationships. When an individual struggles to verbalize information, thoughts, and feelings, it can cause major barriers in personal, learning, and business interactions.

Speech impediments, or speech disorders, can lead to feelings of insecurity and frustration. They can also cause worry for family members and friends who don’t know how to help their loved ones express themselves.

Fortunately, there are a number of ways that speech disorders can be treated, and in many cases, cured. Health professionals in fields including speech-language pathology and audiology can work with patients to overcome communication disorders, and individuals and families can learn techniques to help.

Commonly referred to as a speech disorder, a speech impediment is a condition that impacts an individual’s ability to speak fluently, correctly, or with clear resonance or tone. Individuals with speech disorders have problems creating understandable sounds or forming words, leading to communication difficulties.

Some 7.7% of U.S. children — or 1 in 12 youths between the ages of 3 and 17 — have speech, voice, language, or swallowing disorders, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). About 70 million people worldwide, including some 3 million Americans, experience stuttering difficulties, according to the Stuttering Foundation.

Common signs of a speech disorder

There are several symptoms and indicators that can point to a speech disorder.

• Unintelligible speech — A speech disorder may be present when others have difficulty understanding a person’s verbalizations.
• Omitted sounds — This symptom can include the omission of part of a word, such as saying “bo” instead of “boat,” and may include omission of consonants or syllables.
• Added sounds — This can involve adding extra sounds in a word, such as “buhlack” instead of “black,” or repeating sounds like “b-b-b-ball.”
• Substituted sounds — When sounds are substituted or distorted, such as saying “wabbit” instead of “rabbit,” it may indicate a speech disorder.
• Use of gestures — When individuals use gestures to communicate instead of words, a speech impediment may be the cause.
• Inappropriate pitch — This symptom is characterized by speaking with a strange pitch or volume.

In children, signs might also include a lack of babbling or making limited sounds. Symptoms may also include the incorrect use of specific sounds in words, according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). This may include the sounds p, m, b, w, and h among children aged 1-2, and k, f, g, d, n, and t for children aged 2-3.

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Categories of Speech Impediments

Speech impediments can range from speech sound disorders (articulation and phonological disorders) to voice disorders. Speech sound disorders may be organic — resulting from a motor or sensory cause — or may be functional with no known cause. Voice disorders deal with physical problems that limit speech. The main categories of speech impediments include the following:

Fluency disorders occur when a patient has trouble with speech timing or rhythms. This can lead to hesitations, repetitions, or prolonged sounds. Fluency disorders include stuttering (repetition of sounds) or   (rapid or irregular rate of speech).

Resonance disorders are related to voice quality that is impacted by the shape of the nose, throat, and/or mouth. Examples of resonance disorders include hyponasality and cul-de-sac resonance.

Articulation disorders occur when a patient has difficulty producing speech sounds. These disorders may stem from physical or anatomical limitations such as muscular, neuromuscular, or skeletal support. Examples of articulation speech impairments include sound omissions, substitutions, and distortions.

Phonological disorders result in the misuse of certain speech sounds to form words. Conditions include fronting, stopping, and the omission of final consonants.

Voice disorders are the result of problems in the larynx that harm the quality or use of an individual’s voice. This can impact pitch, resonance, and loudness.

Impact of Speech Disorders

Some speech disorders have little impact on socialization and daily activities, but other conditions can make some tasks difficult for individuals. Following are a few of the impacts of speech impediments.

• Poor communication — Children may be unable to participate in certain learning activities, such as answering questions or reading out loud, due to communication difficulties. Adults may avoid work or social activities such as giving speeches or attending parties.
• Mental health and confidence — Speech disorders may cause children or adults to feel different from peers, leading to a lack of self-confidence and, potentially, self-isolation.

Resources on Speech Disorders

The following resources may help those who are seeking more information about speech impediments.

Health Information : Information and statistics on common voice and speech disorders from the NIDCD

Speech Disorders : Information on childhood speech disorders from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Speech, Language, and Swallowing : Resources about speech and language development from the ASHA

Children and adults can suffer from a variety of speech impairments that may have mild to severe impacts on their ability to communicate. The following 10 conditions are examples of specific types of speech disorders and voice disorders.

1. Stuttering

This condition is one of the most common speech disorders. Stuttering is the repetition of syllables or words, interruptions in speech, or prolonged use of a sound.

This organic speech disorder is a result of damage to the neural pathways that connect the brain to speech-producing muscles. This results in a person knowing what they want to say, but being unable to speak the words.

This consists of the lost ability to speak, understand, or write languages. It is common in stroke, brain tumor, or traumatic brain injury patients.

4. Dysarthria

This condition is an organic speech sound disorder that involves difficulty expressing certain noises. This may involve slurring, or poor pronunciation, and rhythm differences related to nerve or brain disorders.

The condition of lisping is the replacing of sounds in words, including “th” for “s.” Lisping is a functional speech impediment.

6. Hyponasality

This condition is a resonance disorder related to limited sound coming through the nose, causing a “stopped up” quality to speech.

7. Cul-de-sac resonance

This speech disorder is the result of blockage in the mouth, throat, or nose that results in quiet or muffled speech.

8. Orofacial myofunctional disorders

These conditions involve abnormal patterns of mouth and face movement. Conditions include tongue thrusting (fronting), where individuals push out their tongue while eating or talking.

9. Spasmodic Dysphonia

This condition is a voice disorder in which spasms in the vocal cords produce speech that is hoarse, strained, or jittery.

10. Other voice disorders

These conditions can include having a voice that sounds breathy, hoarse, or scratchy. Some disorders deal with vocal folds closing when they should open (paradoxical vocal fold movement) or the presence of polyps or nodules in the vocal folds.

Speech Disorders vs. Language Disorders

Speech disorders deal with difficulty in creating sounds due to articulation, fluency, phonology, and voice problems. These problems are typically related to physical, motor, sensory, neurological, or mental health issues.

Language disorders, on the other hand, occur when individuals have difficulty communicating the meaning of what they want to express. Common in children, these disorders may result in low vocabulary and difficulty saying complex sentences. Such a disorder may reflect difficulty in comprehending school lessons or adopting new words, or it may be related to a learning disability such as dyslexia. Language disorders can also involve receptive language difficulties, where individuals have trouble understanding the messages that others are trying to convey.  

Resources on Types of Speech Disorders

The following resources may provide additional information on the types of speech impediments.

Common Speech Disorders: A guide to the most common speech impediments from GreatSpeech

Speech impairment in adults: Descriptions of common adult speech issues from MedlinePlus

Stuttering Facts: Information on stuttering indications and causes from the Stuttering Foundation

Speech disorders may be caused by a variety of factors related to physical features, neurological ailments, or mental health conditions. In children, they may be related to developmental issues or unknown causes and may go away naturally over time.

Physical and neurological issues. Speech impediment causes related to physical characteristics may include:

• Brain damage
• Nervous system damage
• Respiratory system damage
• Hearing difficulties
• Cancerous or noncancerous growths
• Muscle and bone problems such as dental issues or cleft palate

Mental health issues. Some speech disorders are related to clinical conditions such as:

• Autism spectrum disorder
• Down syndrome or other genetic syndromes
• Cerebral palsy or other neurological disorders
• Multiple sclerosis

Some speech impairments may also have to do with family history, such as when parents or siblings have experienced language or speech difficulties. Other causes may include premature birth, pregnancy complications, or delivery difficulties. Voice overuse and chronic coughs can also cause speech issues.

The most common way that speech disorders are treated involves seeking professional help. If patients and families feel that symptoms warrant therapy, health professionals can help determine how to fix a speech impediment. Early treatment is best to curb speech disorders, but impairments can also be treated later in life.

Professionals in the speech therapy field include speech-language pathologists (SLPs) . These practitioners assess, diagnose, and treat communication disorders including speech, language, social, cognitive, and swallowing disorders in both adults and children. They may have an SLP assistant to help with diagnostic and therapy activities.

Speech-language pathologists may also share a practice with audiologists and audiology assistants. Audiologists help identify and treat hearing, balance, and other auditory disorders.

How Are Speech Disorders Diagnosed?

Typically, a pediatrician, social worker, teacher, or other concerned party will recognize the symptoms of a speech disorder in children. These individuals, who frequently deal with speech and language conditions and are more familiar with symptoms, will recommend that parents have their child evaluated. Adults who struggle with speech problems may seek direct guidance from a physician or speech evaluation specialist.

When evaluating a patient for a potential speech impediment, a physician will:

• Conduct hearing and vision tests
• Evaluate patient records
• Observe patient symptoms

A speech-language pathologist will conduct an initial screening that might include:

• An evaluation of speech sounds in words and sentences
• An evaluation of oral motor function
• An orofacial examination
• An assessment of language comprehension

The initial screening might result in no action if speech symptoms are determined to be developmentally appropriate. If a disorder is suspected, the initial screening might result in a referral for a comprehensive speech sound assessment, comprehensive language assessment, audiology evaluation, or other medical services.

Initial assessments and more in-depth screenings might occur in a private speech therapy practice, rehabilitation center, school, childcare program, or early intervention center. For older adults, skilled nursing centers and nursing homes may assess patients for speech, hearing, and language disorders.

How Are Speech Impediments Treated?

Once an evaluation determines precisely what type of speech sound disorder is present, patients can begin treatment. Speech-language pathologists use a combination of therapy, exercise, and assistive devices to treat speech disorders.

Speech therapy might focus on motor production (articulation) or linguistic (phonological or language-based) elements of speech, according to ASHA. There are various types of speech therapy available to patients.

Contextual Utilization  — This therapeutic approach teaches methods for producing sounds consistently in different syllable-based contexts, such as phonemic or phonetic contexts. These methods are helpful for patients who produce sounds inconsistently.

Phonological Contrast — This approach focuses on improving speech through emphasis of phonemic contrasts that serve to differentiate words. Examples might include minimal opposition words (pot vs. spot) or maximal oppositions (mall vs. call). These therapy methods can help patients who use phonological error patterns.

Distinctive Feature — In this category of therapy, SLPs focus on elements that are missing in speech, such as articulation or nasality. This helps patients who substitute sounds by teaching them to distinguish target sounds from substituted sounds.

Core Vocabulary — This therapeutic approach involves practicing whole words that are commonly used in a specific patient’s communications. It is effective for patients with inconsistent sound production.

Metaphon — In this type of therapy, patients are taught to identify phonological language structures. The technique focuses on contrasting sound elements, such as loud vs. quiet, and helps patients with unintelligible speech issues.

Oral-Motor — This approach uses non-speech exercises to supplement sound therapies. This helps patients gain oral-motor strength and control to improve articulation.

Other methods professionals may use to help fix speech impediments include relaxation, breathing, muscle strengthening, and voice exercises. They may also recommend assistive devices, which may include:

• Radio transmission systems
• Personal amplifiers
• Picture boards
• Touch screens
• Text displays
• Speech-generating devices
• Hearing aids
• Cochlear implants

Resources for Professionals on How to Fix a Speech Impediment

The following resources provide information for speech therapists and other health professionals.

Assistive Devices: Information on hearing and speech aids from the NIDCD

Information for Audiologists: Publications, news, and practice aids for audiologists from ASHA

Information for Speech-Language Pathologists: Publications, news, and practice aids for SLPs from ASHA

Speech Disorder Tips for Families

For parents who are concerned that their child might have a speech disorder — or who want to prevent the development of a disorder — there are a number of activities that can help. The following are tasks that parents can engage in on a regular basis to develop literacy and speech skills.

• Introducing new vocabulary words
• Reading picture and story books with various sounds and patterns
• Talking to children about objects and events
• Answering children’s questions during routine activities
• Encouraging drawing and scribbling
• Pointing to words while reading books
• Pointing out words and sentences in objects and signs

Parents can take the following steps to make sure that potential speech impediments are identified early on.

• Discussing concerns with physicians
• Asking for hearing, vision, and speech screenings from doctors
• Requesting special education assessments from school officials
• Requesting a referral to a speech-language pathologist, audiologist, or other specialist

When a child is engaged in speech therapy, speech-language pathologists will typically establish collaborative relationships with families, sharing information and encouraging parents to participate in therapy decisions and practices.

SLPs will work with patients and their families to set goals for therapy outcomes. In addition to therapy sessions, they may develop activities and exercises for families to work on at home. It is important that caregivers are encouraging and patient with children during therapy.  

Resources for Parents on How to Fix a Speech Impediment

The following resources provide additional information on treatment options for speech disorders.

Speech, Language, and Swallowing Disorders Groups: Listing of self-help groups from ASHA

ProFind: Search tool for finding certified SLPs and audiologists from ASHA

Baby’s Hearing and Communication Development Checklist: Listing of milestones that children should meet by certain ages from the NIDCD

If identified during childhood, speech disorders can be corrected efficiently, giving children greater communication opportunities. If left untreated, speech impediments can cause a variety of problems in adulthood, and may be more difficult to diagnose and treat.

Parents, teachers, doctors, speech and language professionals, and other concerned parties all have unique responsibilities in recognizing and treating speech disorders. Through professional therapy, family engagement, positive encouragement and a strong support network, individuals with speech impediments can overcome their challenges and develop essential communication skills.

Additional Sources

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Speech Sound Disorders

Identify the Signs, Signs of Speech and Language Disorders

Intermountain Healthcare, Phonological Disorders

MedlinePlus, Speech disorders – children

National Institutes of Health, National Institutes on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, “Quick Statistics About Voice, Speech, Language”

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Finding My Voice

I looked up and flinched slightly. There were at least sixty of them, far more than expected. I had thirty weeks to teach them the basics of public speaking. Gritting my teeth, I split my small group of tutors among the crowd and sat down for an impromptu workshop with the eighth graders. They were inexperienced, monotone, and quiet. In other words, they reminded me of myself…

I was born with a speech impediment that weakened my mouth muscles. My speech was garbled and incomprehensible. Understandably, I grew up quiet. I tried my best to blend in and give the impression I was silent by choice. I joined no clubs in primary school, instead preferring isolation. It took six years of tongue twisters and complicated mouth contortions in special education classes for me to produce the forty-four sounds of the English language.

Then, high school came. I was sick of how confining my quiet nature had become. For better or for worse, I decided to finally make my voice heard.

Scanning the school club packet, I searched for my place. Most activities just didn’t feel right. But then, I sat in on a debate team practice and was instantly hooked. I was captivated by how confidently the debaters spoke and how easily they commanded attention. I knew that this was the path forward.

Of course, this was all easier said than done. Whenever it was my turn to debate, I found that I was more of a deer in the headlights than a person enjoying the spotlight. My start was difficult, and I stuttered more than I spoke in those first few weeks. Nonetheless, I began using the same tools as I did when I learned to speak all those years ago: practice and time. I watched the upperclassmen carefully, trying to speak as powerfully as they did. I learned from my opponents and adapted my style through the hundreds of rounds I lost. With discipline, I drilled, repeating a single speech dozens of times until I got it right.

Day by day, I began to stand a little taller and talk a little louder both inside and outside of debate. In a few months, my blood no longer froze when I was called on in class. I found I could finally look other people in the eyes when I talked to them without feeling embarrassed. My posture straightened and I stopped fidgeting around strangers. I began to voice my opinions as opposed to keeping my ideas to myself. As my debate rank increased from the triple to single-digits, so too did my standing at school. I began interacting with my teachers more and leading my peers in clubs. In discussions, I put forward my ideas with every bit as much conviction as my classmates. When seniors began to ask me for advice and teachers recruited me to teach underclassmen, I discovered not only that I had been heard, but that others wanted to listen. At heart, I am still reserved (some things never change), but in finding my voice, I found a strength I could only dream of when I stood in silence so many years ago.

Standing in front of the crowd of students, it was my hope that by founding this program, I could give them an experience that was as empowering as mine had been for me. As the weeks passed, the students inched past their insecurities and towards finding their voices, just as I had always wanted to do. On the last day of class for that year, I looked up and saw each of the students standing confidently, equipped and ready to speak their minds in whatever they wanted to do. They had come a long way from being the shy and stuttering novices that they were just thirty weeks before—I can’t wait to see how far they can go from here.

Admissions Committee Comments

Jerry’s essay helped the admissions committee understand his background and how he persevered and grew through debate. Although we had already learned about Jerry’s enthusiasm for debate in other parts of his application, this essay gave so much more depth into why this activity is meaningful for him. Given what he shared in his essay, we can imagine Jerry being an active participant both in and out of the classroom.

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Types of Speech Impediments

Phynart Studio / Getty Images

Articulation Errors

Ankyloglossia, treating speech disorders.

A speech impediment, also known as a speech disorder , is a condition that can affect a person’s ability to form sounds and words, making their speech difficult to understand.

Speech disorders generally become evident in early childhood, as children start speaking and learning language. While many children initially have trouble with certain sounds and words, most are able to speak easily by the time they are five years old. However, some speech disorders persist. Approximately 5% of children aged three to 17 in the United States experience speech disorders.

There are many different types of speech impediments, including:

• Articulation errors

This article explores the causes, symptoms, and treatment of the different types of speech disorders.

Speech impediments that break the flow of speech are known as disfluencies. Stuttering is the most common form of disfluency, however there are other types as well.

Symptoms and Characteristics of Disfluencies

These are some of the characteristics of disfluencies:

• Repeating certain phrases, words, or sounds after the age of 4 (For example: “O…orange,” “I like…like orange juice,” “I want…I want orange juice”)
• Adding in extra sounds or words into sentences (For example: “We…uh…went to buy…um…orange juice”)
• Elongating words (For example: Saying “orange joooose” instead of "orange juice")
• Replacing words (For example: “What…Where is the orange juice?”)
• Hesitating while speaking (For example: A long pause while thinking)
• Pausing mid-speech (For example: Stopping abruptly mid-speech, due to lack of airflow, causing no sounds to come out, leading to a tense pause)

In addition, someone with disfluencies may also experience the following symptoms while speaking:

• Vocal tension and strain
• Head jerking
• Eye blinking
• Lip trembling

Causes of Disfluencies

People with disfluencies tend to have neurological differences in areas of the brain that control language processing and coordinate speech, which may be caused by:

• Genetic factors
• Trauma or infection to the brain
• Environmental stressors that cause anxiety or emotional distress
• Neurodevelopmental conditions like attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Articulation disorders occur when a person has trouble placing their tongue in the correct position to form certain speech sounds. Lisping is the most common type of articulation disorder.

Symptoms and Characteristics of Articulation Errors

These are some of the characteristics of articulation disorders:

• Substituting one sound for another . People typically have trouble with ‘r’ and ‘l’ sounds. (For example: Being unable to say “rabbit” and saying “wabbit” instead)
• Lisping , which refers specifically to difficulty with ‘s’ and ‘z’ sounds. (For example: Saying “thugar” instead of “sugar” or producing a whistling sound while trying to pronounce these letters)
• Omitting sounds (For example: Saying “coo” instead of “school”)
• Adding sounds (For example: Saying “pinanio” instead of “piano”)
• Making other speech errors that can make it difficult to decipher what the person is saying. For instance, only family members may be able to understand what they’re trying to say.

Causes of Articulation Errors

Articulation errors may be caused by:

• Genetic factors, as it can run in families
• Hearing loss , as mishearing sounds can affect the person’s ability to reproduce the sound
• Changes in the bones or muscles that are needed for speech, including a cleft palate (a hole in the roof of the mouth) and tooth problems
• Damage to the nerves or parts of the brain that coordinate speech, caused by conditions such as cerebral palsy , for instance

Ankyloglossia, also known as tongue-tie, is a condition where the person’s tongue is attached to the bottom of their mouth. This can restrict the tongue’s movement and make it hard for the person to move their tongue.

Symptoms and Characteristics of Ankyloglossia

Ankyloglossia is characterized by difficulty pronouncing ‘d,’ ‘n,’ ‘s,’ ‘t,’ ‘th,’ and ‘z’ sounds that require the person’s tongue to touch the roof of their mouth or their upper teeth, as their tongue may not be able to reach there.

Apart from speech impediments, people with ankyloglossia may also experience other symptoms as a result of their tongue-tie. These symptoms include:

• Difficulty breastfeeding in newborns
• Trouble swallowing
• Limited ability to move the tongue from side to side or stick it out
• Difficulty with activities like playing wind instruments, licking ice cream, or kissing
• Mouth breathing

Causes of Ankyloglossia

Ankyloglossia is a congenital condition, which means it is present from birth. A tissue known as the lingual frenulum attaches the tongue to the base of the mouth. People with ankyloglossia have a shorter lingual frenulum, or it is attached further along their tongue than most people’s.

Dysarthria is a condition where people slur their words because they cannot control the muscles that are required for speech, due to brain, nerve, or organ damage.

Symptoms and Characteristics of Dysarthria

Dysarthria is characterized by:

• Slurred, choppy, or robotic speech
• Rapid, slow, or soft speech
• Breathy, hoarse, or nasal voice

Additionally, someone with dysarthria may also have other symptoms such as difficulty swallowing and inability to move their tongue, lips, or jaw easily.

Causes of Dysarthria

Dysarthria is caused by paralysis or weakness of the speech muscles. The causes of the weakness can vary depending on the type of dysarthria the person has:

• Central dysarthria is caused by brain damage. It may be the result of neuromuscular diseases, such as cerebral palsy, Huntington’s disease, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Central dysarthria may also be caused by injuries or illnesses that damage the brain, such as dementia, stroke, brain tumor, or traumatic brain injury .
• Peripheral dysarthria is caused by damage to the organs involved in speech. It may be caused by congenital structural problems, trauma to the mouth or face, or surgery to the tongue, mouth, head, neck, or voice box.

Apraxia, also known as dyspraxia, verbal apraxia, or apraxia of speech, is a neurological condition that can cause a person to have trouble moving the muscles they need to create sounds or words. The person’s brain knows what they want to say, but is unable to plan and sequence the words accordingly.

Symptoms and Characteristics of Apraxia

These are some of the characteristics of apraxia:

• Distorting sounds: The person may have trouble pronouncing certain sounds, particularly vowels, because they may be unable to move their tongue or jaw in the manner required to produce the right sound. Longer or more complex words may be especially harder to manage.
• Being inconsistent in their speech: For instance, the person may be able to pronounce a word correctly once, but may not be able to repeat it. Or, they may pronounce it correctly today and differently on another day.
• Grasping for words: The person may appear to be searching for the right word or sound, or attempt the pronunciation several times before getting it right.
• Making errors with the rhythm or tone of speech: The person may struggle with using tone and inflection to communicate meaning. For instance, they may not stress any of the words in a sentence, have trouble going from one syllable in a word to another, or pause at an inappropriate part of a sentence.

Causes of Apraxia

Apraxia occurs when nerve pathways in the brain are interrupted, which can make it difficult for the brain to send messages to the organs involved in speaking. The causes of these neurological disturbances can vary depending on the type of apraxia the person has:

• Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS): This condition is present from birth and is often hereditary. A person may be more likely to have it if a biological relative has a learning disability or communication disorder.
• Acquired apraxia of speech (AOS): This condition can occur in adults, due to brain damage as a result of a tumor, head injury , stroke, or other illness that affects the parts of the brain involved in speech.

If you have a speech impediment, or suspect your child might have one, it can be helpful to visit your healthcare provider. Your primary care physician can refer you to a speech-language pathologist, who can evaluate speech, diagnose speech disorders, and recommend treatment options.

The diagnostic process may involve a physical examination as well as psychological, neurological, or hearing tests, in order to confirm the diagnosis and rule out other causes.

Treatment for speech disorders often involves speech therapy, which can help you learn how to move your muscles and position your tongue correctly in order to create specific sounds. It can be quite effective in improving your speech.

Children often grow out of milder speech disorders; however, special education and speech therapy can help with more serious ones.

For ankyloglossia, or tongue-tie, a minor surgery known as a frenectomy can help detach the tongue from the bottom of the mouth.

A Word From Verywell

A speech impediment can make it difficult to pronounce certain sounds, speak clearly, or communicate fluently. 

Living with a speech disorder can be frustrating because people may cut you off while you’re speaking, try to finish your sentences, or treat you differently. It can be helpful to talk to your healthcare providers about how to cope with these situations.

You may also benefit from joining a support group, where you can connect with others living with speech disorders.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Language and speech disorders .

Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Stuttering .

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Quick statistics about voice, speech, and language .

Cleveland Clinic. Speech impediment .

Lee H, Sim H, Lee E, Choi D. Disfluency characteristics of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms . J Commun Disord . 2017;65:54-64. doi:10.1016/j.jcomdis.2016.12.001

Nemours Foundation. Speech problems .

Penn Medicine. Speech and language disorders .

Cleveland Clinic. Tongue-tie .

University of Rochester Medical Center. Ankyloglossia .

Cleveland Clinic. Dysarthria .

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Apraxia of speech .

Cleveland Clinic. Childhood apraxia of speech .

Stanford Children’s Hospital. Speech sound disorders in children .

Abbastabar H, Alizadeh A, Darparesh M, Mohseni S, Roozbeh N. Spatial distribution and the prevalence of speech disorders in the provinces of Iran . J Med Life . 2015;8(Spec Iss 2):99-104.

By Sanjana Gupta Sanjana is a health writer and editor. Her work spans various health-related topics, including mental health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness.

10 Most Common Speech-Language Disorders & Impediments

As you get to know more about the field of speech-language pathology you’ll increasingly realize why SLPs are required to earn at least a master’s degree . This stuff is serious – and there’s nothing easy about it.

In 2016 the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders reported that 7.7% of American children have been diagnosed with a speech or swallowing disorder. That comes out to nearly one in 12 children, and gets even bigger if you factor in adults.

Whether rooted in psycho-speech behavioral issues, muscular disorders, or brain damage, nearly all the diagnoses SLPs make fall within just 10 common categories…

Types of Speech Disorders & Impediments

Apraxia of speech (aos).

Apraxia of Speech (AOS) happens when the neural pathway between the brain and a person’s speech function (speech muscles) is lost or obscured. The person knows what they want to say – they can even write what they want to say on paper – however the brain is unable to send the correct messages so that speech muscles can articulate what they want to say, even though the speech muscles themselves work just fine. Many SLPs specialize in the treatment of Apraxia .

There are different levels of severity of AOS, ranging from mostly functional, to speech that is incoherent. And right now we know for certain it can be caused by brain damage, such as in an adult who has a stroke. This is called Acquired AOS.

However the scientific and medical community has been unable to detect brain damage – or even differences – in children who are born with this disorder, making the causes of Childhood AOS somewhat of a mystery. There is often a correlation present, with close family members suffering from learning or communication disorders, suggesting there may be a genetic link.

Mild cases might be harder to diagnose, especially in children where multiple unknown speech disorders may be present. Symptoms of mild forms of AOS are shared by a range of different speech disorders, and include mispronunciation of words and irregularities in tone, rhythm, or emphasis (prosody).

Stuttering – Stammering

Stuttering, also referred to as stammering, is so common that everyone knows what it sounds like and can easily recognize it. Everyone has probably had moments of stuttering at least once in their life. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders estimates that three million Americans stutter, and reports that of the up-to-10-percent of children who do stutter, three-quarters of them will outgrow it. It should not be confused with cluttering.

Most people don’t know that stuttering can also include non-verbal involuntary or semi-voluntary actions like blinking or abdominal tensing (tics). Speech language pathologists are trained to look for all the symptoms of stuttering , especially the non-verbal ones, and that is why an SLP is qualified to make a stuttering diagnosis.

The earliest this fluency disorder can become apparent is when a child is learning to talk. It may also surface later during childhood. Rarely if ever has it developed in adults, although many adults have kept a stutter from childhood.

Stuttering only becomes a problem when it has an impact on daily activities, or when it causes concern to parents or the child suffering from it. In some people, a stutter is triggered by certain events like talking on the phone. When people start to avoid specific activities so as not to trigger their stutter, this is a sure sign that the stutter has reached the level of a speech disorder.

The causes of stuttering are mostly a mystery. There is a correlation with family history indicating a genetic link. Another theory is that a stutter is a form of involuntary or semi-voluntary tic. Most studies of stuttering agree there are many factors involved.

Dysarthria is a symptom of nerve or muscle damage. It manifests itself as slurred speech, slowed speech, limited tongue, jaw, or lip movement, abnormal rhythm and pitch when speaking, changes in voice quality, difficulty articulating, labored speech, and other related symptoms.

It is caused by muscle damage, or nerve damage to the muscles involved in the process of speaking such as the diaphragm, lips, tongue, and vocal chords.

Because it is a symptom of nerve and/or muscle damage it can be caused by a wide range of phenomena that affect people of all ages. This can start during development in the womb or shortly after birth as a result of conditions like muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy. In adults some of the most common causes of dysarthria are stroke, tumors, and MS.

A lay term, lisping can be recognized by anyone and is very common.

Speech language pathologists provide an extra level of expertise when treating patients with lisping disorders . They can make sure that a lisp is not being confused with another type of disorder such as apraxia, aphasia, impaired development of expressive language, or a speech impediment caused by hearing loss.

SLPs are also important in distinguishing between the five different types of lisps. Most laypersons can usually pick out the most common type, the interdental/dentalised lisp. This is when a speaker makes a “th” sound when trying to make the “s” sound. It is caused by the tongue reaching past or touching the front teeth.

Because lisps are functional speech disorders, SLPs can play a huge role in correcting these with results often being a complete elimination of the lisp. Treatment is particularly effective when implemented early, although adults can also benefit.

Experts recommend professional SLP intervention if a child has reached the age of four and still has an interdental/dentalised lisp. SLP intervention is recommended as soon as possible for all other types of lisps. Treatment includes pronunciation and annunciation coaching, re-teaching how a sound or word is supposed to be pronounced, practice in front of a mirror, and speech-muscle strengthening that can be as simple as drinking out of a straw.

Spasmodic Dysphonia

Spasmodic Dysphonia (SD) is a chronic long-term disorder that affects the voice. It is characterized by a spasming of the vocal chords when a person attempts to speak and results in a voice that can be described as shaky, hoarse, groaning, tight, or jittery. It can cause the emphasis of speech to vary considerably. Many SLPs specialize in the treatment of Spasmodic Dysphonia .

SLPs will most often encounter this disorder in adults, with the first symptoms usually occurring between the ages of 30 and 50. It can be caused by a range of things mostly related to aging, such as nervous system changes and muscle tone disorders.

It’s difficult to isolate vocal chord spasms as being responsible for a shaky or trembly voice, so diagnosing SD is a team effort for SLPs that also involves an ear, nose, and throat doctor (otolaryngologist) and a neurologist.

Have you ever heard people talking about how they are smart but also nervous in large groups of people, and then self-diagnose themselves as having Asperger’s? You might have heard a similar lay diagnosis for cluttering. This is an indication of how common this disorder is as well as how crucial SLPs are in making a proper cluttering diagnosis .

A fluency disorder, cluttering is characterized by a person’s speech being too rapid, too jerky, or both. To qualify as cluttering, the person’s speech must also have excessive amounts of “well,” “um,” “like,” “hmm,” or “so,” (speech disfluencies), an excessive exclusion or collapsing of syllables, or abnormal syllable stresses or rhythms.

The first symptoms of this disorder appear in childhood. Like other fluency disorders, SLPs can have a huge impact on improving or eliminating cluttering. Intervention is most effective early on in life, however adults can also benefit from working with an SLP.

Muteness – Selective Mutism

There are different kinds of mutism, and here we are talking about selective mutism. This used to be called elective mutism to emphasize its difference from disorders that caused mutism through damage to, or irregularities in, the speech process.

Selective mutism is when a person does not speak in some or most situations, however that person is physically capable of speaking. It most often occurs in children, and is commonly exemplified by a child speaking at home but not at school.

Selective mutism is related to psychology. It appears in children who are very shy, who have an anxiety disorder, or who are going through a period of social withdrawal or isolation. These psychological factors have their own origins and should be dealt with through counseling or another type of psychological intervention.

Diagnosing selective mutism involves a team of professionals including SLPs, pediatricians, psychologists, and psychiatrists. SLPs play an important role in this process because there are speech language disorders that can have the same effect as selective muteness – stuttering, aphasia, apraxia of speech, or dysarthria – and it’s important to eliminate these as possibilities.

And just because selective mutism is primarily a psychological phenomenon, that doesn’t mean SLPs can’t do anything. Quite the contrary.

The National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke estimates that one million Americans have some form of aphasia.

Aphasia is a communication disorder caused by damage to the brain’s language capabilities. Aphasia differs from apraxia of speech and dysarthria in that it solely pertains to the brain’s speech and language center.

As such anyone can suffer from aphasia because brain damage can be caused by a number of factors. However SLPs are most likely to encounter aphasia in adults, especially those who have had a stroke. Other common causes of aphasia are brain tumors, traumatic brain injuries, and degenerative brain diseases.

In addition to neurologists, speech language pathologists have an important role in diagnosing aphasia. As an SLP you’ll assess factors such as a person’s reading and writing, functional communication, auditory comprehension, and verbal expression.

Speech Delay – Alalia

A speech delay, known to professionals as alalia, refers to the phenomenon when a child is not making normal attempts to verbally communicate. There can be a number of factors causing this to happen, and that’s why it’s critical for a speech language pathologist to be involved.

The are many potential reasons why a child would not be using age-appropriate communication. These can range anywhere from the child being a “late bloomer” – the child just takes a bit longer than average to speak – to the child having brain damage. It is the role of an SLP to go through a process of elimination, evaluating each possibility that could cause a speech delay, until an explanation is found.

Approaching a child with a speech delay starts by distinguishing among the two main categories an SLP will evaluate: speech and language.

Speech has a lot to do with the organs of speech – the tongue, mouth, and vocal chords – as well as the muscles and nerves that connect them with the brain. Disorders like apraxia of speech and dysarthria are two examples that affect the nerve connections and organs of speech. Other examples in this category could include a cleft palette or even hearing loss.

The other major category SLPs will evaluate is language. This relates more to the brain and can be affected by brain damage or developmental disorders like autism. There are many different types of brain damage that each manifest themselves differently, as well as developmental disorders, and the SLP will make evaluations for everything.

Issues Related to Autism

While the autism spectrum itself isn’t a speech disorder, it makes this list because the two go hand-in-hand more often than not.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that one out of every 68 children in our country have an autism spectrum disorder. And by definition, all children who have autism also have social communication problems.

Speech-language pathologists are often a critical voice on a team of professionals – also including pediatricians, occupational therapists, neurologists, developmental specialists, and physical therapists – who make an autism spectrum diagnosis .

In fact, the American Speech-Language Hearing Association reports that problems with communication are the first detectable signs of autism. That is why language disorders – specifically disordered verbal and nonverbal communication – are one of the primary diagnostic criteria for autism.

So what kinds of SLP disorders are you likely to encounter with someone on the autism spectrum?

A big one is apraxia of speech. A study that came out of Penn State in 2015 found that 64 percent of children who were diagnosed with autism also had childhood apraxia of speech.

This basic primer on the most common speech disorders offers little more than an interesting glimpse into the kind of issues that SLPs work with patients to resolve. But even knowing everything there is to know about communication science and speech disorders doesn’t tell the whole story of what this profession is all about. With every client in every therapy session, the goal is always to have the folks that come to you for help leave with a little more confidence than when they walked in the door that day. As a trusted SLP, you will build on those gains with every session, helping clients experience the joy and freedom that comes with the ability to express themselves freely. At the end of the day, this is what being an SLP is all about.

Ready to make a difference in speech pathology? Learn how to become a Speech-Language Pathologist today

• Emerson College - Master's in Speech-Language Pathology online - Prepare to become an SLP in as few as 20 months. No GRE required. Scholarships available.
• Arizona State University - Online - Online Bachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science - Designed to prepare graduates to work in behavioral health settings or transition to graduate programs in speech-language pathology and audiology.
• NYU Steinhardt - NYU Steinhardt's Master of Science in Communicative Sciences and Disorders online - ASHA-accredited. Bachelor's degree required. Graduate prepared to pursue licensure.
• Calvin University - Calvin University's Online Speech and Hearing Foundations Certificate - Helps You Gain a Strong Foundation for Your Speech-Language Pathology Career.

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What I’ve Learned First-Hand About Getting Ahead at Work With a Speech Impediment

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“Did you forget your name?” someone asked me at a networking event for marketing professionals a few years ago after it took me almost a minute to say it.

“No, I stutter,” I politely replied.

“Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry,” he said “I had no idea.”

I wasn’t upset. He’s right: He didn’t know. There’s so much mystery surrounding stuttering—a communication disorder that involves the involuntary repetition of words along with pauses and other disfluencies. But it’s actually quite common. According to The Stuttering Foundation of America , 1% of people worldwide stutter. That’s 70 million people in total and three million in the United States alone.

I’ve had a speech impediment since I was three years old. In my case, stuttering usually manifests itself in terms of repetitions or prolongations: “My name is S-S-S-S-Samuel” or “Hhhhhello, hhhhow are you?”

Instead of being unhappy about the encounter at the networking event, I felt proud that I’d brought up my stuttering. I wasn’t always so forthcoming about my speech impediment: When I was growing up and into my adolescence, I hardly spoke. Whether it was at school or at work, I avoided most social situations out of embarrassment and fear of being ridiculed.

But in my early 20s, I was seeing a speech therapist who pushed me to be more open. In 2011, I attended the National Stuttering Association conference, the largest gathering of stutterers worldwide, and it marked a turning point.

It was the first time I’d met so many other professionals who stutter—lawyers, doctors, actors, and more—all in one place. It felt surreal, like some alternate reality where stuttering was the norm. To my surprise, everyone spoke without fear or embarrassment. They didn’t care. In fact, they were proud. Stuttering was celebrated. That’s when I first realized that stuttering isn’t something to be ashamed of—it’s just something I happen to do, and that’s okay.

The transition didn’t happen overnight, but over the last eight years, I’ve started to bring up my stuttering more. I’ve talked to friends, family, and colleagues. I’ve mentioned it in every job interview and been open about it at every organization I’ve worked for. Here’s what I’ve learned first-hand about succeeding with a speech impediment.

I Learned the Power of Owning My Stutter

It’s so easy to give in to the fear and avoid speaking up, especially when people react negatively. Because it does happen.

One of my first jobs was a summer internship at a nonprofit organization. One week, I had to cover the front desk and answer the phone, which terrified me to my very core. When I picked up a call from a woman asking about donations, I started to stutter and I could tell she was getting impatient.

“Can you just transfer me to someone else?” she asked.

“Okay,” I replied. “Who would you like me to transfer you to?”

“Anyone but you,” she said.

I immediately went to the bathroom and broke down into tears. I didn’t regret being put on the phones, but I wished I had said something to her about my stuttering. At the time, I hadn’t yet opened up about it and this faceless woman on the phone confirmed my worst fears about how people would perceive me. But it turned out that she was an anomaly.

Three years later, I was interviewing for a PR role at another nonprofit organization and I told the executive director that I stutter. This was the first time that I disclosed my stuttering in an interview, and he surprised me by saying, “Oh, that’s cool.” He proceeded to ask me questions: When did I start stuttering? Do I stutter more on certain words? Does it get worse in specific situations? We talked for nearly 40 minutes. Later that afternoon, he emailed me. I got the job.

I’m not sure whether he hired me because he respected my honesty, because he enjoyed our conversation or—could it be?!—because he was impressed with my qualifications. But I learned an important truth: Most people don’t care about my stuttering, certainly not in the negative way I’d thought they would. They look beyond it and actually listen.

I realized how much I’d been limiting myself due to the fear of what others may think. In the past, I’d avoided contributing in meetings, even when I had something to say, and I didn’t get to know my colleagues as much as I wanted to.

But after that interview, I started stuttering openly and mentioning my stuttering more at work. I was no longer afraid of picking up the phone. I was speaking up in meetings and socializing with colleagues. I was owning my stuttering and no longer giving in to the fear. It felt like I’d removed a weight off my shoulders, which allowed me to focus on my work and let my talents speak for themselves. My confidence was growing and, finally, I felt like myself.

I Learned There Are Lots of Ways to Talk About My Stuttering

Since I started to open up about my stuttering in interviews and on the job, I’ve explored several different ways of bringing it up.

I’ve tried the straightforward reveal of saying, “I stutter, so it may take me slightly longer to say what I have to say.” Other times, I’ve alluded to it by mentioning my involvement in the stuttering community. There’s also the humorous approach that I’ve taken in stand-up comedy and sometimes also use to break the ice with colleagues: “I stutter, so if you have plans tomorrow, you should probably cancel them.” Over time, I’ve evolved to the wear-my-stutter-on-my-sleeve approach. Well, more like a keep-my-stutter-on-my-desk approach. I now have a coffee mug with the words “Keep calm and stutter on” scrawled across the side.

No matter how I bring up my stuttering, it helps my colleagues and bosses understand me and work with me better and it increases people’s understanding of stuttering and other communication disorders in general. Because there are so many misconceptions.

About three years ago, I disclosed my stuttering in a job interview, to which the employer replied, “Oh, I just thought you were talking that way because you were nervous.” I was nervous, but it’s the other way around: I don’t stutter because I’m nervous, I’m nervous because I stutter.

According to the National Stuttering Association, this idea that people stutter because they’re nervous is one of a long list of myths that also includes false notions attributing stuttering to shyness, lower intelligence, bad parenting, emotional trauma, and more. Just like with any disability, employers may overlook people who stutter due to these stereotypes.

By being open about my stuttering, I’m dispelling these myths, letting employers know that I’m not ashamed about how I talk, and, most importantly, reinforcing that my stuttering doesn’t impede my job performance. And if they learn as much about me, they might also be more inclusive of others who stutter in the future.

I Learned to Embrace the Benefits of My Speech Impediment

I would argue that having a stutter enhances my job performance. Yes, you read that right. Stuttering actually has benefits in the workplace. It’s taught me compassion, as I’ve become sympathetic to other people’s needs. It’s taught me perseverance, as I’ve learned to cope and manage my stuttering. It’s even allowed me to get to know my colleagues better.

Eight years after the dreadful call with the woman during my internship, I was working for another nonprofit organization. I was in the kitchen when a colleague entered and glanced at the “Keep calm and stutter on” mug I was filling up.

“You know,” she said, “one of my former professors stutters, too. He was my favorite professor. He was engaging and hilarious.”

Back at my desk, I couldn’t help but smile. My stuttering was out in the open and my colleagues didn’t care. They accepted it. The interaction reinforced something I learned back in 2011 at the conference: Despite and sometimes because of the fact that I speak differently, I can still make an impact and succeed at work.

While my stuttering doesn’t define me, it’s still a part of my life. And when I share it with others, it encourages them to open up, too. My stuttering has allowed me to connect with my co-workers and develop not only stronger personal ties with them, but also more productive working relationships.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still frustrating when it takes me a minute to say my name or when I know exactly what I want to say, but I just can’t seem to get the words out. But today I own up to my stuttering and I don’t let it hold me back. Instead, I let it propel me forward and help me thrive at work and outside of it.

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College Essay Examples | What Works and What Doesn't

Published on November 8, 2021 by Kirsten Courault . Revised on August 14, 2023.

One effective method for improving your college essay is to read example essays . Here are three sample essays, each with a bad and good version to help you improve your own essay.

Table of contents

Essay 1: sharing an identity or background through a montage, essay 2: overcoming a challenge, a sports injury narrative, essay 3: showing the influence of an important person or thing, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about college application essays.

This essay uses a montage structure to show snapshots of a student’s identity and background. The writer builds her essay around the theme of the five senses, sharing memories she associates with sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste.

In the weak rough draft, there is little connection between the individual anecdotes, and they do not robustly demonstrate the student’s qualities.

In the final version, the student uses an extended metaphor of a museum to create a strong connection among her stories, each showcasing a different part of her identity. She draws a specific personal insight from each memory and uses the stories to demonstrate her qualities and values.

How My Five Senses Record My Life

Throughout my life, I have kept a record of my life’s journey with my five senses. This collection of memories matters a great deal because I experience life every day through the lens of my identity.

“Chinese! Japanese!”

My classmate pulls one eye up and the other down.

“Look what my parents did to me!”

No matter how many times he repeats it, the other kids keep laughing. I focus my almond-shaped eyes on the ground, careful not to attract attention to my discomfort, anger, and shame. How could he say such a mean thing about me? What did I do to him? Joseph’s words would engrave themselves into my memory, making me question my appearance every time I saw my eyes in the mirror.

Soaking in overflowing bubble baths with Andrew Lloyd Webber belting from the boombox.

Listening to “Cell Block Tango” with my grandparents while eating filet mignon at a dine-in show in Ashland.

Singing “The Worst Pies in London” at a Korean karaoke club while laughing hysterically with my brother, who can do an eerily spot-on rendition of Sweeney Todd.

Taking car rides with Mom in the Toyota Sequoia as we compete to hit the high note in “Think of Me” from The Phantom of the Opera . Neither of us stands a chance!

The sweet scent of vegetables, Chinese noodles, and sushi wafts through the room as we sit around the table. My grandma presents a good-smelling mixture of international cuisine for our Thanksgiving feast. My favorite is the Chinese food that she cooks. Only the family prayer stands between me and the chance to indulge in these delicious morsels, comforting me with their familiar savory scents.

I rinse a faded plastic plate decorated by my younger sister at the Waterworks Art Center. I wear yellow rubber gloves to protect my hands at Mom’s insistence, but I can still feel the warm water that offers a bit of comfort as I finish the task at hand. The crusted casserole dish with stubborn remnants from my dad’s five-layer lasagna requires extra effort, so I fill it with Dawn and scalding water, setting it aside to soak. I actually don’t mind this daily chore.

I taste sweat on my upper lip as I fight to continue pedaling on a stationary bike. Ava’s next to me and tells me to go up a level. We’re biking buddies, dieting buddies, and Saturday morning carbo-load buddies. After the bike display hits 30 minutes, we do a five-minute cool down, drink Gatorade, and put our legs up to rest.

My five senses are always gathering new memories of my identity. I’m excited to expand my collection.

Word count: 455

College essay checklist

Topic and structure

• I’ve selected a topic that’s meaningful to me.
• My essay reveals something different from the rest of my application.
• I have a clear and well-structured narrative.
• I’ve concluded with an insight or a creative ending.

Writing style and tone

• I’ve crafted an introduction containing vivid imagery or an intriguing hook that grabs the reader’s attention.
• I’ve written my essay in a way that shows instead of tells.
• I’ve used appropriate style and tone for a college essay.
• I’ve used specific, vivid personal stories that would be hard to replicate.
• I’ve demonstrated my positive traits and values in my essay.
• My essay is focused on me, not another person or thing.
• I’ve included self-reflection and insight in my essay.
• I’ve respected the word count , remaining within 10% of the upper word limit.

Making Sense of My Identity

Welcome to The Rose Arimoto Museum. You are about to enter the “Making Sense of My Identity” collection. Allow me to guide you through select exhibits, carefully curated memories from Rose’s sensory experiences.

First, the Sight Exhibit.

“Chinese! Japanese!”

“Look what my parents did to me!”

No matter how many times he repeats it, the other kids keep laughing. I focus my almond-shaped eyes on the ground, careful not to attract attention as my lip trembles and palms sweat. Joseph couldn’t have known how his words would engrave themselves into my memory, making me question my appearance every time I saw my eyes in the mirror.

Ten years later, these same eyes now fixate on an InDesign layout sheet, searching for grammar errors while my friend Selena proofreads our feature piece on racial discrimination in our hometown. As we’re the school newspaper editors, our journalism teacher Ms. Riley allows us to stay until midnight to meet tomorrow’s deadline. She commends our work ethic, which for me is fueled by writing一my new weapon of choice.

Next, you’ll encounter the Sound Exhibit.

Still, the world is my Broadway as I find my voice on stage.

Just below, enter the Smell Exhibit.

While I help my Pau Pau prepare dinner, she divulges her recipe for cha siu bau, with its soft, pillowy white exterior hiding the fragrant filling of braised barbecue pork inside. The sweet scent of candied yams, fun see , and Spam musubi wafts through the room as we gather around our Thankgsiving feast. After our family prayer, we indulge in these delicious morsels until our bellies say stop. These savory scents of my family’s cultural heritage linger long after I’ve finished the last bite.

Next up, the Touch Exhibit.

I rinse a handmade mug that I had painstakingly molded and painted in ceramics class. I wear yellow rubber gloves to protect my hands at Mom’s insistence, but I can still feel the warm water that offers a bit of comfort as I finish the task at hand. The crusted casserole dish with stubborn remnants from my dad’s five-layer lasagna requires extra effort, so I fill it with Dawn and scalding water, setting it aside to soak. For a few fleeting moments, as I continue my nightly chore, the pressure of my weekend job, tomorrow’s calculus exam, and next week’s track meet are washed away.

Finally, we end with the Taste Exhibit.

My legs fight to keep pace with the stationary bike as the salty taste of sweat seeps into corners of my mouth. Ava challenges me to take it up a level. We always train together一even keeping each other accountable on our strict protein diet of chicken breasts, broccoli, and Muscle Milk. We occasionally splurge on Saturday mornings after interval training, relishing the decadence of everything bagels smeared with raspberry walnut cream cheese. But this is Wednesday, so I push myself. I know that once the digital display hits 30:00, we’ll allow our legs to relax into a five-minute cool down, followed by the fiery tang of Fruit Punch Gatorade to rehydrate.

Thank you for your attention. This completes our tour. I invite you to rejoin us for next fall’s College Experience collection, which will exhibit Rose’s continual search for identity and learning.

Word count: 649

• I’ve crafted an essay introduction containing vivid imagery or an intriguing hook that grabs the reader’s attention.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

This essay uses a narrative structure to recount how a student overcame a challenge, specifically a sports injury. Since this topic is often overused, the essay requires vivid description, a memorable introduction and conclusion , and interesting insight.

The weak rough draft contains an interesting narrative, insight, and vivid imagery, but it has an overly formal tone that distracts the reader from the story. The student’s use of elaborate vocabulary in every sentence makes the essay sound inauthentic and stilted.

The final essay uses a more natural, conversational tone and chooses words that are vivid and specific without being pretentious. This allows the reader to focus on the narrative and appreciate the student’s unique insight.

One fateful evening some months ago, a defensive linebacker mauled me, his 212 pounds indisputably alighting upon my ankle. Ergo, an abhorrent cracking of calcified tissue. At first light the next day, I awoke cognizant of a new paradigm—one sans football—promulgated by a stabbing sensation that would continue to haunt me every morning of this semester.

It’s been an exceedingly taxing semester not being able to engage in football, but I am nonetheless excelling in school. That twist of fate never would have come to pass if I hadn’t broken my ankle. I still limp down the halls at school, but I’m feeling less maudlin these days. My friends don’t steer clear anymore, and I have a lot more of them. My teachers, emboldened by my newfound interest in learning, continually invite me to learn more and do my best. Football is still on hold, but I feel like I’m finally playing a game that matters.

Five months ago, right after my ill-fated injury, my friends’ demeanor became icy and remote, although I couldn’t fathom why. My teachers, in contrast, beckoned me close and invited me on a new learning journey. But despite their indubitably kind advances, even they recoiled when I drew near.

A few weeks later, I started to change my attitude vis-à-vis my newfound situation and determined to put my energy toward productive ends (i.e., homework). I wasn’t enamored with school. I never had been. Nevertheless, I didn’t abhor it either. I just preferred football.

My true turn of fate came when I started studying more and participating in class. I started to enjoy history class, and I grew interested in reading more. I discovered a volume of poems written by a fellow adventurer on the road of life, and I loved it. I ravenously devoured everything in the writer’s oeuvre .

As the weeks flitted past, I found myself spending my time with a group of people who were quite different from me. They participated in theater and played instruments in marching band. They raised their hands in class when the teacher posed a question. Because of their auspicious influence, I started raising my hand too. I am no longer vapid, and I now have something to say.

I am certain that your school would benefit from my miraculous academic transformation, and I entreat you to consider my application to your fine institution. Accepting me to your university would be an unequivocally righteous decision.

Word count: 408

• I’ve chosen a college essay topic that’s meaningful to me.
• I’ve respected the essay word count , remaining within 10% of the upper word limit.

As I step out of bed, the pain shoots through my foot and up my leg like it has every morning since “the game.” That night, a defensive linebacker tackled me, his 212 pounds landing decidedly on my ankle. I heard the sound before I felt it. The next morning, I awoke to a new reality—one without football—announced by a stabbing sensation that would continue to haunt me every morning of this semester.

My broken ankle broke my spirit.

My friends steered clear of me as I hobbled down the halls at school. My teachers tried to find the delicate balance between giving me space and offering me help. I was as unsure how to deal with myself as they were.

In time, I figured out how to redirect some of my frustration, anger, and pent-up energy toward my studies. I had never not liked school, but I had never really liked it either. In my mind, football practice was my real-life classroom, where I could learn all I ever needed to know.

Then there was that day in Mrs. Brady’s history class. We sang a ridiculous-sounding mnemonic song to memorize all the Chinese dynasties from Shang to Qing. I mumbled the words at first, but I got caught up in the middle of the laughter and began singing along. Starting that day, I began browsing YouTube videos about history, curious to learn more. I had started learning something new, and, to my surprise, I liked it.

With my afternoons free from burpees and scrimmages, I dared to crack open a few more of my books to see what was in them. That’s when my English poetry book, Paint Me Like I Am , caught my attention. It was full of poems written by students my age from WritersCorps. I couldn’t get enough.

I wasn’t the only one who was taken with the poems. Previously, I’d only been vaguely aware of Christina as one of the weird kids I avoided. Crammed in the margins of her high-top Chuck Taylors were scribbled lines of her own poetry and infinite doodles. Beyond her punk rock persona was a sensitive artist, puppy-lover, and environmental activist that a wide receiver like me would have never noticed before.

With Christina, I started making friends with people who once would have been invisible to me: drama geeks, teachers’ pets, band nerds. Most were college bound but not to play a sport. They were smart and talented, and they cared about people and politics and all sorts of issues that I hadn’t considered before. Strangely, they also seemed to care about me.

I still limp down the halls at school, but I don’t seem to mind as much these days. My friends don’t steer clear anymore, and I have a lot more of them. My teachers, excited by my newfound interest in learning, continually invite me to learn more and do my best. Football is still on hold, but I feel like I’m finally playing a game that matters.

My broken ankle broke my spirit. Then, it broke my ignorance.

Word count: 512

This essay uses a narrative structure to show how a pet positively influenced the student’s values and character.

In the weak draft, the student doesn’t focus on himself, instead delving into too much detail about his dog’s positive traits and his grandma’s illness. The essay’s structure is meandering, with tangents and details that don’t communicate any specific insight.

In the improved version, the student keeps the focus on himself, not his pet. He chooses the most relevant stories to demonstrate specific qualities, and the structure more clearly builds up to an insightful conclusion.

Man’s Best Friend

I desperately wanted a cat. I begged my parents for one, but once again, my sisters overruled me, so we drove up the Thompson Valley Canyon from Loveland to Estes Park to meet our newest family member. My sisters had already hatched their master plan, complete with a Finding Nemo blanket to entice the pups. The blanket was a hit with all of them, except for one—the one who walked over and sat in my lap. That was the day that Francisco became a Villanova.

Maybe I should say he was mine because I got stuck with all the chores. As expected, my dog-loving sisters were nowhere to be found! My mom was “extra” with all the doggy gear. Cisco even had to wear these silly little puppy shoes outside so that when he came back in, he wouldn’t get the carpets dirty. If it was raining, my mother insisted I dress Cisco in a ridiculous yellow raincoat, but, in my opinion, it was an unnecessary source of humiliation for poor Cisco. It didn’t take long for Cisco to decide that his outerwear could be used as toys in a game of Keep Away. As soon as I took off one of his shoes, he would run away with it, hiding under the bed where I couldn’t reach him. But, he seemed to appreciate his ensemble more when we had to walk through snowdrifts to get his job done.

When my abuela was dying from cancer, we went in the middle of the night to see her before she passed. I was sad and scared. But, my dad let me take Cisco in the car, so Cisco cuddled with me and made me feel much better. It’s like he could read my mind. Once we arrived at the hospital, the fluorescent lighting made the entire scene seem unreal, as if I was watching the scene unfold through someone else’s eyes. My grandma lay calmly on her bed, smiling at us even through her last moments of pain. I disliked seeing the tubes and machines hooked up to her. It was unnatural to see her like this一it was so unlike the way I usually saw her beautiful in her flowery dress, whistling a Billie Holiday tune and baking snickerdoodle cookies in the kitchen. The hospital didn’t usually allow dogs, but they made a special exception to respect my grandma’s last wishes that the whole family be together. Cisco remained at the foot of the bed, intently watching abuela with a silence that seemed more effective at communicating comfort and compassion than the rest of us who attempted to offer up words of comfort that just seemed hollow and insincere. It was then that I truly appreciated Cisco’s empathy for others.

As I accompanied my dad to pick up our dry cleaner’s from Ms. Chapman, a family friend asked, “How’s Cisco?” before even asking about my sisters or me. Cisco is the Villanova family mascot, a Goldendoodle better recognized by strangers throughout Loveland than the individual members of my family.

On our summer trip to Boyd Lake State Park, we stayed at the Cottonwood campground for a breathtaking view of the lake. Cisco was allowed to come, but we had to keep him on a leash at all times. After a satisfying meal of fish, our entire family walked along the beach. Cisco and I led the way while my mom and sisters shuffled behind. Cisco always stopped and refused to move, looking back to make sure the others were still following. Once satisfied that everyone was together, he would turn back around and continue prancing with his golden boy curly locks waving in the chilly wind.

On the beach, Cisco “accidentally” got let off his leash and went running maniacally around the sand, unfettered and free. His pure joy as he raced through the sand made me forget about my AP Chem exam or my student council responsibilities. He brings a smile not only to my family members but everyone around him.

Cisco won’t live forever, but without words, he has impressed upon me life lessons of responsibility, compassion, loyalty, and joy. I can’t imagine life without him.

Word count: 701

I quickly figured out that as “the chosen one,” I had been enlisted by Cisco to oversee all aspects of his “business.” I learned to put on Cisco’s doggie shoes to keep the carpet clean before taking him out一no matter the weather. Soon after, Cisco decided that his shoes could be used as toys in a game of Keep Away. As soon as I removed one of his shoes, he would run away with it, hiding under the bed where I couldn’t reach him. But, he seemed to appreciate his footwear more after I’d gear him up and we’d tread through the snow for his daily walks.

One morning, it was 7:15 a.m., and Alejandro was late again to pick me up. “Cisco, you don’t think he overslept again, do you?” Cisco barked, as if saying, “Of course he did!” A text message would never do, so I called his dad, even if it was going to get him in trouble. There was no use in both of us getting another tardy during our first-period class, especially since I was ready on time after taking Cisco for his morning outing. Alejandro was mad at me but not too much. He knew I had helped him out, even if he had to endure his dad’s lecture on punctuality.

Another early morning, I heard my sister yell, “Mom! Where are my good ballet flats? I can’t find them anywhere!” I hesitated and then confessed, “I moved them.” She shrieked at me in disbelief, but I continued, “I put them in your closet, so Cisco wouldn’t chew them up.” More disbelief. However, this time, there was silence instead of shrieking.

Last spring, Cisco and I were fast asleep when the phone rang at midnight. Abuela would not make it through the night after a long year of chemo, but she was in Pueblo, almost three hours away. Sitting next to me for that long car ride on I-25 in pitch-black darkness, Cisco knew exactly what I needed and snuggled right next to me as I petted his coat in a rhythm while tears streamed down my face. The hospital didn’t usually allow dogs, but they made a special exception to respect my grandma’s last wishes that the whole family be together. Cisco remained sitting at the foot of the hospital bed, intently watching abuela with a silence that communicated more comfort than our hollow words. Since then, whenever I sense someone is upset, I sit in silence with them or listen to their words, just like Cisco did.

The other day, one of my friends told me, “You’re a strange one, Josue. You’re not like everybody else but in a good way.” I didn’t know what he meant at first. “You know, you’re super responsible and grown-up. You look out for us instead of yourself. Nobody else does that.” I was a bit surprised because I wasn’t trying to do anything different. I was just being me. But then I realized who had taught me: a fluffy little puppy who I had wished was a cat! I didn’t choose Cisco, but he certainly chose me and, unexpectedly, became my teacher, mentor, and friend.

Word count: 617

If you want to know more about academic writing , effective communication , or parts of speech , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Academic writing

• Writing process
• Transition words
• Passive voice
• Paraphrasing

 Communication

• How to end an email
• Ms, mrs, miss
• How to start an email
• I hope this email finds you well
• Hope you are doing well

 Parts of speech

• Personal pronouns
• Conjunctions

A standout college essay has several key ingredients:

• A unique, personally meaningful topic
• A memorable introduction with vivid imagery or an intriguing hook
• Specific stories and language that show instead of telling
• Vulnerability that’s authentic but not aimed at soliciting sympathy
• Clear writing in an appropriate style and tone
• A conclusion that offers deep insight or a creative ending

There are no set rules for how to structure a college application essay , but these are two common structures that work:

• A montage structure, a series of vignettes with a common theme.
• A narrative structure, a single story that shows your personal growth or how you overcame a challenge.

Avoid the five-paragraph essay structure that you learned in high school.

Though admissions officers are interested in hearing your story, they’re also interested in how you tell it. An exceptionally written essay will differentiate you from other applicants, meaning that admissions officers will spend more time reading it.

You can use literary devices to catch your reader’s attention and enrich your storytelling; however, focus on using just a few devices well, rather than trying to use as many as possible.

Most importantly, your essay should be about you , not another person or thing. An insightful college admissions essay requires deep self-reflection, authenticity, and a balance between confidence and vulnerability.

Your essay shouldn’t be a résumé of your experiences but instead should tell a story that demonstrates your most important values and qualities.

When revising your college essay , first check for big-picture issues regarding message, flow, tone, style , and clarity. Then, focus on eliminating grammar and punctuation errors.

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• Speech Pathology Master’s Programs: Which is Right for You?
• What Can You Do with a Bachelor’s in Speech Pathology?
• Speech Pathology Doctoral Programs
• Online Masters in Speech Pathology at Emerson College (sponsored program)
• Online Masters in Speech Pathology at New York University (sponsored program)
• How to Become a Speech Pathologist: A Step-by-Step Guide
• Guide to Applying to Speech Pathology School
• How to Make a Career Change to Speech Pathology
• Is a Speech Pathology Degree Worth It?
• 10 Reasons to Love Being a Speech Pathologist
• What Is a CCC-SLP and Why It’s Important
• CCC-SLP Requirements: Become a CCC-SLP
• Guide to Applying for CCC-SLP Certification
• CCC-SLP Salary and Career Outlook
• The Guide to the ASHA Speech Pathology Certification Standards
• State-by-State Guide for Speech Pathology License Requirements
• 8 SLP Certifications that May Help Advance Your Career
• How to Become an Effective ASHA Clinical Fellowship Mentor
• How to Complete the ASHA Clinical Fellowship
• The Guide to Speech Pathology Job and Salary Negotiations
• What to Expect at Your First Speech Pathologist Job
• Bilingual Speech Pathologist Salary and Careers
• Child Speech Therapist Career and Salary Outlook
• Speech Pathology Assistant Careers and Salary Outlook
• How to Choose Your Speech Pathologist Career Setting
• Become a Speech Pathologist in a School Setting
• Become a Speech Pathologist in a Hospital Work Setting
• Opening a Speech Therapy Telepractice: What You Need to Know
• Speech Pathology Internships Guide
• Guide to Speech Therapy Volunteer Opportunities
• Choosing Between Speech Pathology or Occupational Therapy
• How to Become an Audiologist
• Scholarships
• Day in the Life of an SLP Student

Speech Disorder Resources for College Students

• Common Speech Language Pathology Assessment Tools
• The SLP Guide to Evidence-Based Practice
• When to Take Your Bilingual Child to the Speech Pathologist
• When to Take Your Child to the SLP

Home / Resources

March 1, 2021 

Going to college with a speech or language disorder can be daunting. For many students, this may be the first time that you have to advocate for yourself to get the support you need in the classroom. You may be hesitant to talk with others, making it more challenging to make friends and form new relationships. While some students don’t find that their studies or personal life are impacted by their speech disability, for others it can be challenging to complete projects with oral components, effectively participate in class discussion, or ease the nervousness they feel when speaking to their peers.

Whether your goal is to advocate for alternative assignments, improve a speech, language, or communication disorder, or make friends with others who share and understand your disorder, there are resources out there for you. What is available to you may differ depending on your school, all universities will have some options for students with a wide variety of speech, language, and communication disorders. This guide will explain the resources that you may find on campus and how to find them.

Student Disability Services

A resource you will find on every campus is a student disability services department. Work with this department and your teachers to determine if you can complete oral requirements for your classes in a written way or through other alternatives. If you have a communicative disorder that makes reading and writing difficult, this department will help accommodate you in these situations as well. They may even be able to equip you with Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) tools such as laptops with voice synthesizing or more traditional AAC boards.

To benefit from student disability services, you will need to apply for services and demonstrate that you have a disability. Contact the department do learn how to apply and what you need.

On Campus Speech and Hearing Clinics

Check to see if your school has a communicative sciences and disorders department. If so, there is likely a speech and hearing clinic right on your campus. The clinic will be able to offer you a wide array of speech therapy services, often at a reduced rate. Furthermore, the CSD department may offer group therapy and support group services to students that will allow you to form relationships with other students that share your disability- specific offerings will vary by school. To best understand what your school offers, contact the CSD department directly. Below you will find a sampling of different programs that some campuses offer:

Resources for College Students who Stutter

Avoidance Reduction Therapy:  This therapy helps patients who stutter become confident, efficient speakers. It aims to help those who stutter overcome the enormous amount of mental energy they put into fearing and avoiding stuttering. At some schools, group therapy is available to students who stutter and want to practice their speaking skills together, like University of Maryland’s  Avoidance Reduction Group Therapy

Stuttering Support Groups:  Some schools offer  stuttering support groups , where those who stutter can meet in a group session and also get the opportunity for individual therapy sessions. The groups may offer avoidance reduction therapy, fluency, coaching, and other techniques. Support groups allow you to meet others who stutter and build relationships with people who share that experience.

Stuttering Apps:   The Stuttering Foundation  has a great list of apps designed for those who stutter, including fluency coaching apps and other useful tools. These apps can help you practice your speaking to reduce instances of stuttering. Apps are cheaper alternatives to speech monitoring devices, which can cost several thousand dollars.

Stuttering Blog:  The  My Stutter Video Series  shares stories and experiences from adults and teens who stutter. The videos offer inspiration from successful fellow stutterers and advice from real life personal experiences. You also have the opportunity to share your own story and be a source of wisdom and inspiration to others.

Stuttering Podcasts:  If you want a weekly podcast offering a wide range of information, expertise, and perspective on stuttering,  StutterTalk  is a great podcast to check out. For women, there is also  Women Who Stutter , which provides a place for women to share their thoughts and feelings about stuttering, as the stuttering community as a whole is mostly male.

Stuttering Associations:  The  National Stuttering Association  is the largest non-profit in the world specifically supporting people who stutter, their families, and the professionals who help them through research, advocacy, and education.  The Stuttering Foundation  is another great organization that aims to help make the best stuttering treatments available to adults and teens.

Resources for College Students with Voice Therapy Needs

Voice Therapy for Transgender Students:  Many schools are now offering therapy sessions for transgender students looking to express themselves in their most authentic voices. These programs may offer one on one therapy sessions as well as  support groups . Support groups are a great way to meet others, share thoughts and feelings, and find strength through others going through the same experience.

Neurological Voice Disorder Therapy:  Therapy options exist that can help with  neurological voice disorders  such as spasmodic dysphonia. If you have a disorder that affects the strength of your voice or your control over your voice, this therapy may be able to help you improve your speech.

Voice Disorder Blog:  If you are looking for a perspective on voice disorders geared towards speech professionals,  A Tempo Voice Center  offers a blog that shares news, research, and general information about voice disorders. While not specifically written for those who have voice disorders themselves, the information is interesting if you want to learn more about these disorders.

Online AAC for Voice Disorders:  If you have trouble speaking loudly or clearly in class, there are apps and programs that can help.  iSpeech  is one resource that provides a free online service that takes text that you type and turns it into speech. The app store also has many voice amplifiers that take your spoken words and make them louder. There are also apps available that allow you to customize picture boards to aid your communication.

Voice Disorder Associations:  The Voice Foundation  supports resource and education surrounding voice disorders. It is the most prominent, oldest organization of its kind with specific intent to improve diagnosis, treatment, science, education, and general awareness of voice disorders. If you are interested in a career helping others with voice disorders, there are local chapters you can join.

Resources for College Students with Aphasia

Aphasia Therapy Groups:  These groups, such as The College of Saint Rose’s umbrella of  Traumatic Brain Injury-Stroke Services , can help you with various aphasia-related issues, including writing, reading, listening, thinking, and conversation. Joining a therapy group is a great way to meet other people who are facing the challenges that aphasia entails- not only do you get therapy offered by a professional, you get wisdom, advice, and support from others going through the same experience.

Traumatic Brain Injury Support Groups:  Some campus speech and hearing clinics offer  support groups  (for example, NYU Langone’s Rusk Rehabilitation) where those with aphasia can come together and interact with others affected by aphasia. Interacting in a setting where others are dealing with the same language disorder is a good way to let your guard down while practicing communication with others, get advice, and find support.

Associations:  The  National Aphasia Association  is an association that advocates for patients and families affected by aphasia, promoting community as well as research and education. For those who have aphasia caused by a brain injury, the  Brain Injury Association of America ,  Brain Trauma Foundation ,  International Brain Injury Association  also advocate for those affected by such injuries.

Aphasia Podcast:   Aphasia Access  is a good source of information on resources, advice, and inspiration for aphasia patients. There is also good information on funding strategies for support groups if you are interested in starting a group of your own. Each episode features a different guest with extensive knowledge in the field.

Aphasia Scholarship:  The  Traumatic Brain Injury Scholarship  is a $1,000 scholarship available to college students who have survived a traumatic brain injury. Applicants must be US citizens and enrolled in or accepted to an accredited US university. The application submission deadline is in July of each year.

Aphasia Blog:  Blue Banana  is a blog written by the husband of a woman who suffered from stroke in early 2017. The blog details the aftermath of the stroke and her recovery since, including the aphasia that she has had to deal with. If you are looking for a detailed personal account of aphasia’s effect on everyday life, this is a great place to go.

Resources for College Students with Autism and Communicative Disorders

Social Interaction Groups:  There are groups available on many campuses that can help you with  social interaction skills  such as conversation, listening, body language, making friends, and interviewing. These skills will help you build personal and professional relationships outside of the groups, while getting the opportunity to meet people with the same social interaction difficulties inside the group.

Apps:  Many  Augmentative and Alternative Communication apps  exist that offer resources such as digital AAC boards that you can customize. These are easy to take to class for times that you may not be able to effectively verbally communicate. The section of this page dedicated to voice disorders also lists other useful AAC resources if you are interested in text to speech tools.

College Autism Network :  The  College Autism Network  (CAN) is dedicated to making autistic students feel confident in their ability to pursue and receive a degree, ensure that colleges are appreciative of and accommodating to autistic students, and maximizing outcomes for these students through training, research and advocacy. CAN is also largely open access, making the materials and resources they develop free and accessible to the public.

Associations:  There are several great associations dedicated to autism research, education, and advocacy. The  Autism Society  is an organization that is responsible for much local, state, and national autism legislation. The  National Autism Association  provides AAC to those who need it and other resources and toolkits for those with autism and their families. The  American Autism Association  is another source of resources and advocacy that also offers a good selection of autism related grants and scholarships.

Communicative Disorder Scholarships:  There are many scholarships available to students with autism who are looking to pursue a college degree, including several  scholarship lists  where you can find these scholarships. New scholarship opportunities come up frequently, so doing a google search can help you find new additional opportunities.

Resources for College Students with Executive Functioning Disorders

Thought Organization:  Your school may  offer programs  as BGSU does for students who have trouble reading for class, writing papers, and staying organized. If you find that you have issues in these areas that affect your ability to complete assignments or properly plan, these programs can help you improve these skills. Many of these programs are low cost or free of charge.

Strategies:  If you are not looking to enroll in a program to improve your executive function skills, there are simple tips and tricks you can use to help yourself improve your memory and organization. Just reading  these strategies can help you find ways to improve executive function . University of Michigan also has a great  list of strategies for improving executive function  that you can quickly read and learn.

Executive Function Apps:  Several  apps  exist that can aid in executive function related tasks such as planning and organizing. From simple calendar or alarm apps to more complex organizational apps to rehabilitative activity apps, there are many ways to plan and stay organized right on your smartphone.

Blog:  Want an ongoing source of new executive function information? The  Executive Functioning Success  blog and  Executive Functioning Strategies  blog are two great blogs that are frequently updated and completely dedicated to offering information and advice about executive function.

Organizational Podcasts:  Want to take executive function to the next level? There are many  organizational podcasts  focusing on how to maximize productivity and get things done. Many of these feature inspirational guests, interesting data, and simple hacks for maximizing time usage and work product.

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Overcoming Speech Impediment: Symptoms to Treatment

There are many causes and solutions for impaired speech

• Types and Symptoms
• Speech Therapy
• Building Confidence

Speech impediments are conditions that can cause a variety of symptoms, such as an inability to understand language or speak with a stable sense of tone, speed, or fluidity. There are many different types of speech impediments, and they can begin during childhood or develop during adulthood.

Common causes include physical trauma, neurological disorders, or anxiety. If you or your child is experiencing signs of a speech impediment, you need to know that these conditions can be diagnosed and treated with professional speech therapy.

This article will discuss what you can do if you are concerned about a speech impediment and what you can expect during your diagnostic process and therapy.

FG Trade / Getty Images

Types and Symptoms of Speech Impediment

People can have speech problems due to developmental conditions that begin to show symptoms during early childhood or as a result of conditions that may occur during adulthood. 

The main classifications of speech impairment are aphasia (difficulty understanding or producing the correct words or phrases) or dysarthria (difficulty enunciating words).

Often, speech problems can be part of neurological or neurodevelopmental disorders that also cause other symptoms, such as multiple sclerosis (MS) or autism spectrum disorder .

There are several different symptoms of speech impediments, and you may experience one or more.

Can Symptoms Worsen?

Most speech disorders cause persistent symptoms and can temporarily get worse when you are tired, anxious, or sick.

Symptoms of dysarthria can include:

• Slurred speech
• Slow speech
• Choppy speech
• Hesitant speech
• Inability to control the volume of your speech
• Shaking or tremulous speech pattern
• Inability to pronounce certain sounds

Symptoms of aphasia may involve:

• Speech apraxia (difficulty coordinating speech)
• Difficulty understanding the meaning of what other people are saying
• Inability to use the correct words
• Inability to repeat words or phases
• Speech that has an irregular rhythm

You can have one or more of these speech patterns as part of your speech impediment, and their combination and frequency will help determine the type and cause of your speech problem.

Causes of Speech Impediment

The conditions that cause speech impediments can include developmental problems that are present from birth, neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease , or sudden neurological events, such as a stroke .

Some people can also experience temporary speech impairment due to anxiety, intoxication, medication side effects, postictal state (the time immediately after a seizure), or a change of consciousness.

Speech Impairment in Children

Children can have speech disorders associated with neurodevelopmental problems, which can interfere with speech development. Some childhood neurological or neurodevelopmental disorders may cause a regression (backsliding) of speech skills.

Common causes of childhood speech impediments include:

• Autism spectrum disorder : A neurodevelopmental disorder that affects social and interactive development
• Cerebral palsy :  A congenital (from birth) disorder that affects learning and control of physical movement
• Hearing loss : Can affect the way children hear and imitate speech
• Rett syndrome : A genetic neurodevelopmental condition that causes regression of physical and social skills beginning during the early school-age years.
• Adrenoleukodystrophy : A genetic disorder that causes a decline in motor and cognitive skills beginning during early childhood
• Childhood metabolic disorders : A group of conditions that affects the way children break down nutrients, often resulting in toxic damage to organs
• Brain tumor : A growth that may damage areas of the brain, including those that control speech or language
• Encephalitis : Brain inflammation or infection that may affect the way regions in the brain function
• Hydrocephalus : Excess fluid within the skull, which may develop after brain surgery and can cause brain damage

Do Childhood Speech Disorders Persist?

Speech disorders during childhood can have persistent effects throughout life. Therapy can often help improve speech skills.

Speech Impairment in Adulthood

Adult speech disorders develop due to conditions that damage the speech areas of the brain.

Common causes of adult speech impairment include:

• Head trauma 
• Nerve injury
• Throat tumor
• Stroke 
• Parkinson’s disease 
• Essential tremor
• Brain tumor
• Brain infection

Additionally, people may develop changes in speech with advancing age, even without a specific neurological cause. This can happen due to presbyphonia , which is a change in the volume and control of speech due to declining hormone levels and reduced elasticity and movement of the vocal cords.

Do Speech Disorders Resolve on Their Own?

Children and adults who have persistent speech disorders are unlikely to experience spontaneous improvement without therapy and should seek professional attention.

Steps to Treating Speech Impediment 

If you or your child has a speech impediment, your healthcare providers will work to diagnose the type of speech impediment as well as the underlying condition that caused it. Defining the cause and type of speech impediment will help determine your prognosis and treatment plan.

Sometimes the cause is known before symptoms begin, as is the case with trauma or MS. Impaired speech may first be a symptom of a condition, such as a stroke that causes aphasia as the primary symptom.

The diagnosis will include a comprehensive medical history, physical examination, and a thorough evaluation of speech and language. Diagnostic testing is directed by the medical history and clinical evaluation.

Diagnostic testing may include:

• Brain imaging , such as brain computerized tomography (CT) or magnetic residence imaging (MRI), if there’s concern about a disease process in the brain
• Swallowing evaluation if there’s concern about dysfunction of the muscles in the throat
• Electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction studies (aka nerve conduction velocity, or NCV) if there’s concern about nerve and muscle damage
• Blood tests, which can help in diagnosing inflammatory disorders or infections

Your diagnostic tests will help pinpoint the cause of your speech problem. Your treatment will include specific therapy to help improve your speech, as well as medication or other interventions to treat the underlying disorder.

For example, if you are diagnosed with MS, you would likely receive disease-modifying therapy to help prevent MS progression. And if you are diagnosed with a brain tumor, you may need surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation to treat the tumor.

Therapy to Address Speech Impediment

Therapy for speech impairment is interactive and directed by a specialist who is experienced in treating speech problems . Sometimes, children receive speech therapy as part of a specialized learning program at school.

The duration and frequency of your speech therapy program depend on the underlying cause of your impediment, your improvement, and approval from your health insurance.

If you or your child has a serious speech problem, you may qualify for speech therapy. Working with your therapist can help you build confidence, particularly as you begin to see improvement.

Exercises during speech therapy may include:

• Pronouncing individual sounds, such as la la la or da da da
• Practicing pronunciation of words that you have trouble pronouncing
• Adjusting the rate or volume of your speech
• Mouth exercises
• Practicing language skills by naming objects or repeating what the therapist is saying

These therapies are meant to help achieve more fluent and understandable speech as well as an increased comfort level with speech and language.

Building Confidence With Speech Problems 

Some types of speech impairment might not qualify for therapy. If you have speech difficulties due to anxiety or a social phobia or if you don’t have access to therapy, you might benefit from activities that can help you practice your speech. 

You might consider one or more of the following for you or your child:

• Joining a local theater group
• Volunteering in a school or community activity that involves interaction with the public
• Signing up for a class that requires a significant amount of class participation
• Joining a support group for people who have problems with speech

Activities that you do on your own to improve your confidence with speaking can be most beneficial when you are in a non-judgmental and safe space.

Many different types of speech problems can affect children and adults. Some of these are congenital (present from birth), while others are acquired due to health conditions, medication side effects, substances, or mood and anxiety disorders. Because there are so many different types of speech problems, seeking a medical diagnosis so you can get the right therapy for your specific disorder is crucial.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Language and speech disorders in children .

Han C, Tang J, Tang B, et al. The effectiveness and safety of noninvasive brain stimulation technology combined with speech training on aphasia after stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis . Medicine (Baltimore). 2024;103(2):e36880. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000036880

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Quick statistics about voice, speech, language .

Mackey J, McCulloch H, Scheiner G, et al. Speech pathologists' perspectives on the use of augmentative and alternative communication devices with people with acquired brain injury and reflections from lived experience . Brain Impair. 2023;24(2):168-184. doi:10.1017/BrImp.2023.9

Allison KM, Doherty KM. Relation of speech-language profile and communication modality to participation of children with cerebral palsy . Am J Speech Lang Pathol . 2024:1-11. doi:10.1044/2023_AJSLP-23-00267

Saccente-Kennedy B, Gillies F, Desjardins M, et al. A systematic review of speech-language pathology interventions for presbyphonia using the rehabilitation treatment specification system . J Voice. 2024:S0892-1997(23)00396-X. doi:10.1016/j.jvoice.2023.12.010

By Heidi Moawad, MD Dr. Moawad is a neurologist and expert in brain health. She regularly writes and edits health content for medical books and publications.

College Is All About Curiosity. And That Requires Free Speech.

True learning can only happen on campuses where academic freedom is paramount — within and outside the classroom.

Credit... Illustration by Andrew Rae

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By Stephen L. Carter

• Jan. 24, 2024

I have served happily as a professor at Yale for most of my adult life, but in my four-plus decades at the mast, I have never seen campuses roiled as they’re roiling today. On the one hand are gleeful activists on the right, taking victory laps over the tragic tumble from grace of Harvard’s president, Claudine Gay. On the other is a campus left that has spent years crafting byzantine and vague rules on hate speech that it suddenly finds turned back on its allies. For those of us who love the academy, these are unhappy times.

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The controversy began with criticisms of some universities, Harvard included, for soft-pedaling their responses to the horrific Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, and for then ignoring the overheated rhetoric of many pro-Palestinian protesters on campus. It has since spiraled into a full-bore battle in the never-ending culture wars.

There’s something sad but deeply American about the way that the current crisis stems not from the terror attacks but from a subsequent congressional hearing at which the presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology gave such cautious responses that it was hard to understand their positions. It was all very embarrassing; and, in its way, very McCarthyist.

Still, some good may yet come of the debacle. I have in mind not, as the left might think, a fresh rallying of the angry troops; nor, as the right might think, an eager readiness for the next battle. Rather, the controversy provides us with an opportunity to engage in a serious debate about what higher education is for.

The Oct. 7 attack was hardly an auspicious moment to unfurl campus demands that the world pay attention to the context underlying the vicious assault. Measured by casualties, the Hamas attack is the third-deadliest terror incident in the half century for which we have data; measured in per capita terms, it was by far the worst, with more than 1 in every 10,000 Israelis killed. I have a fair degree of sympathy — quite a lot, actually — for many aspects of decolonial theory. I have taught, for example, the works of Frantz Fanon and Talal Asad, both of whom seek, in different ways, to offer an explanation for anti-Western violence that most observers find inexplicable. I have no sympathy whatsoever for the intentional targeting of children and the weaponization of sexual violence. Drawing a distinction between civilian and military targets might benefit the more powerful side, but the distinction is nonetheless correct.

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How do I write in this topic without sounding pathetic?

<p>I have a speech impediment that I’ve been dealing with all my life. People usually don’t believe me when I say I do but I do get called out a lot on the fact that I can’t pronounce things right. It hasn’t really affected my social life but it has affected the way I feel about myself. How can I write an essay talking about this problem without sounding depressing. </p>

<p><em>SHORTENING</em> how can I write about my speech problem without sounding like a chump </p>

<p>And sorry I post so much, I just my writing to improve.</p>

<p>Is this for the common ap? Do you really want to write about it? Will writing about this make the readers enthusiastic about you as a student? If any of these answers is no, find something else to write about that you are enthusiastic about.</p>

<p>Colleges don’t want to hear about all the depressing things you’ve had to deal with in your life. They want to hear how you have overcome those challenges, they want to know that you’ve become a better person despite all the adversity. I’m stealing this from “Hunt”, who posted the below in another thread today:</p>

<p>Thanks guys! And @gibby would something along the lines of: “I have a speech impediment but I hold a leadership role which involves a lot of talking” work?</p>

<p>Yes AAA, if you have overcome such an impediment and excelled in spite of it, then that will make an excellent essay.</p>

<p>However, I don’t think it is enough to say that you merely press through whatever you have to say in this position, it would be optimal if you could describe in detail the ways that you have learned to be a far more effective communicator BECAUSE of this impediment.</p>

<p>Ex. You describe how this impediment has given you strong incentive to learn how to make careful selection of your words, simultaneously minimizing the noticeable effects it has on your speech and allowing you to convey your message in a concise and powerful way, commanding the attention of others.</p>

<p>I don’t know your exact situation, but I’m sure you’ll devise something genius. Good luck.</p>

<p>Where are you applying?</p>

<p>@AAAcollege: Sure, it might work. Along the lines of “Hunt’s” quote in Post #3 , I could envision an award winning Speech & Debate team member who rose to the top despite having a speech impediment – sort of like Geoffrey Rush in “The King’s Speech.” That would be a wonderful essay! (It WAS a great movie!)</p>

<p>I don’t know. This still doesn’t sound like an interesting essay topic to me. Overcoming an impediment like this is commendable, but is it really that interesting? Overcoming and winning something – hasn’t this been done again and again? I would dig deeper for a topic, unless you can think of some creative angle you haven’t mentioned.</p>

<p>If I read energia’s example above, I would throw it out as BS talk. Sounds like a resume, not like a personal essay.</p>

<p>It is very difficult for a young person to know how something has affected them. You might hash this over with an adult who cares about you to get some ideas of how to make your idea work. You might be able to make it somewhat humorous by talking about some words you struggle with or about being misunderstood. It is not funny on its face, but there may be some humor looking back. Struggling gives people great compassion in many cases. Good luck. I think it is a workable topic, but you need to pinpoint how it makes you better.</p>

<p>Agree with gibby, could be good, maybe inspirational. But remember, it’s going to need “show, not tell.” Swift and with a good hand. You want the adcoms to get a paragraph in and think, good kid. Not, oh, poor dear.</p>

<p> affected the way I feel about myself <br> Take some time now to rethink how you feel about yourself. Glass at least half full.</p>

<p>Just a tip: “I have a speech impediment but I hold a leadership role which involves a lot of talking” is “telling.” How can you “show” you don’t hold yourself back?</p>

<p>I think I’m with redpoint. If the prompt is to describe an event or situation that challenged you…or made you a stronger person…I think it would be super. But for an open/free write essay, I think it’s been done. Alot.</p>

<p>Did you consider that that is because it’s a 50 word summary, not a 500 word essay?</p>

<p>The actual essay would provide a narrative that would give insight into not only how the impediment initially brought AAA down, but the specific ways in which he strengthened himself because of it. You can get creative with it, do some internal monologue, some stream of consciousness writing, Faulkner style (maybe a little more intelligible). There are ways to make this an interesting and compelling read, but that won’t happen if you write the essay like everyone else writes their essays about challenges.</p>

<p>Insofar as linguistic thought is a massive part of our cognitive processes, the adaptations made for an impediment could very well change the way that a person thinks about everything.</p>

<p>EDIT: If you’re going to use it, use it for prompt 1, and obviously take the angle that this impediment changed how you think, and therefore, who you are.</p>

<p>AAAcollege will have to examine how he has actually handled his speech impediment. If you don’t have some inspiring life material to work with, it’s not really possible to make the essay inspiring. However, if you have handled it well at all, there are several ways I can think of to make this essay creative and original.</p>

<p>If you think that how you’ve adapted is less than special, then don’t write about it, but a defeatist attitude toward essay writing is not going to result in inspiring work. Good luck with it all.</p>

<p>It’s a college app essay, not a writing assignment of the sort in hs. It should engage the reader, not seek to educate, reveal great life truths, philosophize or get experimental beyond the writer’s abilities.</p>

<p>And, the reason the challenge prompt is popular is because it is a very effective way to communicate how one thinks, acts, reacts and, hopefully, evolves. </p>

<p>There are some kids who can write impressive intellectual pieces, but that requires a high level of skill that isn’t often honed in high school. Or by 17.</p>

<p>You can write a nice tale that reveals the personal qualities and strengths adcoms need to see. Show, not tell.</p>

<p>Thanks for the input everybody! I see how it can be a basic story but I’m going to try and make it sound like happy maybe even inspirational. I’ll start a new thread asking if anyone would like to read the rough draft after I’m finished. </p>

<p>@energia I’m applying to mainly Florida schools like UF FSU UCF</p>

<p>Btw I’m a girl</p>

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Who is Gus Walz and what is a non-verbal learning disorder?

Midway through Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's keynote address Wednesday night accepting the Democratic Party's nomination for vice president , he turned to his family and said: "Hope, Gus and Gwen, you are my entire world, and I love you."

His son Gus stood up, clapping with unrestrained emotion and pride, repeating "That's my dad!" The crowd at the Democratic National Convention erupted into applause and soon, social media erupted either because of the sheer emotion of the moment or because people wanted to express pride in having their own neurodivergent child or being neurodivergent themselves.

In a speech centered on gun control, reproductive rights, being a good neighbor and supporting one another despite what separates us , this extraordinary moment between father and son has ignited a conversation not often broached in political arenas.

Here's what to know.

What is Gus Walz's condition?

The vice presidential nominee's son, 17, has ADHD, an anxiety disorder and a non-verbal learning disorder, according to his parents.

The non-verbal learning disorder, which his dad calls his "secret power" is shared by millions of Americans. Despite the 3% to 4% of people (both children and adults) who have the condition, it's not nearly as understood as Gus's other diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

According to the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) , it's estimated that upwards of 2 million children and adolescents in North America may have a non-verbal learning disorder. Here's what to know about this lesser known but not uncommon disability.

Despite its name, children with a non-verbal learning disorder can not only speak but exhibit strong verbal skills. Their challenges revolve around processing non-verbal or visual information, Marcia Eckerd, a licensed psychologist who specializes in autism spectrum disorder and anxiety, told Psychology Today .

It's the difference between having a conversation and absorbing details of that conversation.

OPINION: Gus Walz loves his dad, Tim. Anyone who doesn't see the beauty of this is weird.

How does the disorder present itself?

Children and adolescents with non-verbal learning disorders tend to struggle with at least one of the following areas:

• Visual and spatial awareness
• Comprehending the big picture
• Social communication
• Math concepts
• Executive functions

When it comes to a deficit in visual and spatial awareness, the best way to think about it is to imagine a child being told to draw a shape like a cube or an octagon. Children with a non-verbal learning disability may not accurately produce this shape from recall. It can also mean that children grapple with how they navigate the space around them. They might move with some degree of awkwardness.

Big picture deficits, or difficulty comprehending higher order thinking, may show itself as being unable to convey the main idea of a story. Students may not be able to discern the crucial points in a teacher's lecture and will, instead, write everything they say down.

Children with a non-verbal learning disability also may not pick up on facial expressions during a conversation. They may miss social patterns that other children automatically pick up on, and have trouble knowing what the appropriate behavior should be.

Math tends to be a strength among children with non-verbal learning disabilities up to a point. These children excel at rote learning, or memorization techniques based on repetition, but as these math concepts advance, similar to social communication, they may have trouble recognizing patterns.

Finally, problem solving is a cornerstone of executive functioning. Children with a non-verbal learning disability may not be able to break problems down into smaller pieces, or even conceive the steps necessary to accomplish a task.

What is ADHD?

Attention deficity hyperactivity disorder is marked by difficulty maintaining attention and being easily distracted, as well as having excessive energy and difficulty with self-control.

It has come to be an umbrella term for multiple degrees of the disability, with people who may have wide variances in symptoms, and who may be able to manage over time with treatment.

Wednesday's images from the DNC generated overflowing support

In the wake of the third night of the DNC, parents tweeted photos of their own children, stating "This is my Gus Walz." Others shared heartwarming photos of Tim and Gus Walz hugging on the national stage, praising the men for being open with their emotions.

Others saw themselves in Gus Walz. Many took to social media to share their own journeys of being accepted for their unique learning disabilities.

The images of Gus Walz also generated insensitivity

Conservative pundit Ann Coulter saw the display of emotions as an opportunity to deride the family. In a since deleted tweet, Coulter shared a gif of Gus Walz at the DNC and called it "weird," an obvious reference to Tim Walz popularizing the idea that MAGA people are "weird."

Closer to home, Jay Weber, a radio host for 1130 WISN-AM, tweeted, "If the Walzs [sic] represent today's American man, this country is screwed: 'Meet my son, Gus. He's a blubbering bitch boy. His mother and I are very proud'." The now-deleted tweet was screenshotted and shared by Milwaukee County Board Supervisor Shawn Rolland to hold Weber accountable.

Weber apologized for the tweet, stating that he didn't realize Gus Walz had a disability.

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Hope Walz gets a shoutout in Gov. Tim Walz' speech on Wednesday at the DNC

Elena Moore

Who is Hope Walz?

Hope Walz, daughter of Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, cheers during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Wednesday. Erin Hooley/AP hide caption

The NPR Network will be reporting live from Chicago throughout the week bringing you  the latest on the Democratic National Convention .

Hope Walz had a job to do: film a PSA with her dad, Gov. Tim Walz, as Minnesota enacted hands-free driving.

This was 2019 and Hope Walz, sitting in the driver's seat of a car, joked with her dad about just who was doing the texting and driving.

"We want to make sure our teen drivers are not texting—" Tim Walz started.

"No, no, no," Hope Walz interjected. "I think it's actually mostly bald men."

"Cut!" the governor called.

The video is just one of the snapshots into the relationship between Hope and Gov. Walz that has resurfaced and gone viral since Vice President Harris was deciding who to choose as her running mate.

Another video shows the two at the Minnesota State Fair in 2023.

The two had an agreement: Dad picks something old to do and Hope picks something new. Her choice? The slingshot, an extreme ride that bungees riders in an open sphere into the air and back down over and over.

Then, he said, it would be time to eat. The governor called for corndogs.

"I'm vegetarian," Hope reminded him.

"Turkey then," Walz quipped.

My daughter, Hope, tricked me into doing the most extreme ride at the Minnesota State Fair. pic.twitter.com/YeMEocwJRv — Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) September 4, 2023

The videos with his daughter are a new political dynamic that has rarely been seen on the campaign trail, according to historian Kate Anderson Brower.

"I think that's what makes it unique is her comfort level and the fact that she does seem really charismatic," Brower explained. "And the fact that they can use her in a way to tell their story."

Now that Walz has joined Harris on the ticket — Hope is on the campaign trail, even sporting a Harris-Walz camouflage hat that nods to her dad's style and, potentially, to pop culture.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and his daughter Hope, wearing a camouflage hat that has gone viral as she has stumped with her father on the campaign trail, joined Rep. Ruben Gallego, Democratic senatorial candidate in Arizona, on a campaign stop August 9 in Phoenix. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption

It's not new to see first and second children getting involved in politics while their parents are in office, but it’s still very common for families to stay private.

Harris’s two adult step-children, Ella and Cole Emhoff, have largely stayed out of the political spotlight during her time as vice president.

Now, both have a role at the convention. On Tuesday night, Cole honored his dad and Harris in a video.

What a gift from Cole. I’ll never forget this. pic.twitter.com/Hhjv99cLhJ — Doug Emhoff (@DouglasEmhoff) August 21, 2024

However, Gov. Walz enters the national spotlight with a family that is used to being a part of his political messaging.

After joining Harris on the ticket, Walz repeatedly told the story of how he and his wife struggled to start a family, undergoing years of fertility treatments.

Finally, they were able to have their first child, Hope, a story he repeated during his convention speech Wednesday in Chicago.

At one Arizona rally, the crowd started chanting: "Hope, Hope, Hope" as Hope herself looked on.

"I'm not crying, you're crying," an emotional Tim Walz said.

Brower, the historian, saw that moment as particularly striking.

"We haven't seen that sort of level of intimacy between a candidate and their child so early on in an election cycle," she said.

"I think part of that is there's kind of a sense now in this race that they've got to move things along fast because it changed very late in the game," she added. "I don't think they're going to waste any time to try to get people to know who Tim Walz is."

Hope Walz, left, wearing a campaign t-shirt, holds hands with her dad, Tim Walz, as he campaigned for Congress in 2005. William Handke hide caption

Longtime Republican strategist Kevin Madden worked on Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in 2008 and 2012. Romney's large family joined the campaign trail and Madden viewed that as an asset.

"When you see a candidate with their family, and you see a candidate that is close to their family, traveling with their family, it helps folks identify with that candidate more easily," Madden said. "That does, oftentimes, give you another opportunity to then make an appeal on issues, on policy."

Hope may offer another advantage: appealing to young voters, a group Harris and Walz are courting.

Her dad is open to hearing from them. While running for governor, he credited his daughter for influencing his own views after the 2018 mass shooting in Parkland, Fla.

"Hope woke up like many of you did five weeks ago and said, ‘Dad, you’re the only person I know who is in elected office. You need to stop what’s happening with this,'" Walz said at the time.

Gov. @Tim_Walz : I spent 25 years in the Army and I hunt. I’ve been voting for common sense legislation that protects the Second Amendment, but we can do background checks. We can research the impacts of gun violence. We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war,… pic.twitter.com/3IVaXi2RP2 — Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) August 6, 2024

This deviates from past relationships between political leaders and their children, said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history at Princeton University.

"The kids were kind of just, you know, 'props," he said. "This is very different."

But while the Walz family adjusts to the national attention, it is doing so with family dynamics in full display.

On the first day of the Democratic National Convention, as Walz spoke with a reporter in the stands, Hope and her teenage brother did what many kids would do if their parents were on camera. They held up bunny ears behind his head.

Soon after, Walz himself shared the video on Twitter, saying, “my kids keep me humble.”

My kids keep me humble. https://t.co/XP9kpIYjgl — Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) August 20, 2024

• election 2024

What to know about Gov. Tim Walz's wife and kids ahead of DNC acceptance speech

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz will headline the penultimate night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Wednesday.

Vice President Kamala Harris selected the Minnesota governor as her running mate earlier this month, one of her first decisions as the presidential nominee.

Born in Nebraska, Waltz is also a husband and father to two children, who've been at the convention alongside as well — and were seen doing bunny ears behind him while on national TV. "My kids keep me humble," Walz later wrote on X .

Who is Tim Walz's wife, Gwen Walz?

Gwen Walz was born in Glencoe, Minn., to parents who were public school educators and small business owners, according to her official biography from the governor's office . She grew up in western Minnesota with three sisters, before moving to western Nebraska to teach high school English.

There, she met Walz, who was a social studies teacher at the same high school. The couple married in 1994, and co-founded an organization that funded summer trips to China for their students until 2003. One of these trips also served as their honeymoon, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune .

In 1996, the Walz couple moved to Mankato, Minnesota, according to the governor's website . Gwen continued teaching in her home state and later served as an administrator and coordinator in the Mankato Area Public Schools for more than 20 years.

As first lady of Minnesota, she has focused on reinforcing and expanding education access, particularly in prisons.

"She has worked across the country to bring educational opportunities to incarcerated women and men, or as Gwen notes: students," her biography reads.

Who are Tim Walz's children?

Tim and Gwen Walz have two children — Hope and Gus. His son is 17 and starting his senior year at St. Paul Central High School this fall, according to the  Star Tribune . Hope, 23, recently graduated from Montana State University and works as a social worker in Montana.

Earlier this month, the Walz family said Gus has a "non-verbal learning disorder," ADHD and an anxiety disorder in a  statement  released to People magazine. "What became so immediately clear to us was that Gus’ condition is not a setback — it’s his secret power," the statement to People said.

In his  first speech  as Kamala Harris' official VP pick, Walz shared with Americans that he and his wife struggled to get pregnant and start a family. They turned to infertility treatments, which some conservative groups have criticized as unnatural or not aligned with Christian values.

The Walz family's fertility treatments led to Hope's birth. "It wasn't by chance that, when we welcomed our daughter into the world, we named her Hope," Tim Walz said.

Who are Tim Walz's dog and cat?

In 2019, the family in troduced a new member , Scout, a black Lab mix adopted from a local shelter. "I fulfilled my commitment to get my son a dog if I was elected Governor," Walz wrote on Instagram.

Thanks @VogueMagazine for making our dog Scout a cover model. Let’s hope this fame doesn’t go to his head. https://t.co/PlnjV1py3S pic.twitter.com/4ODDk2pqZf — Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) August 14, 2024

The family also has a rescue cat, Honey .

Say hello to Honey! The newest member of the Walz family.    She’s a rescue-pet and already has a few favorite spots: under the tree and right on top of whatever I'm trying to read. pic.twitter.com/UgJmfmOo98 — Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) December 21, 2023

When does Tim Walz speak during the DNC?

The exact time of Walz's speech is not known. He is expected to close the evening programming on Wednesday with the acceptance of the Democratic vice-presidential nomination.

RELATED: Tim Walz's kids have a little on-camera fun during interview. Bunny ears are involved.

Tim Walz's son Gus breaks down in tears during dad's DNC speech: Meet the VP pick's family

Walz and his wife Gwen met when they were both public school teachers.

The selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as Kamala Harris ' vice presidential running mate put the Midwesterner in the national spotlight.

The spotlight on Walz, 60, is also on his wife and two children , who have spent the past six years as the first family of Minnesota.

Walz's children, Gus and Hope, and his wife Gwen Walz were front and center Wednesday night as Tim Walz delivered his vice presidential nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

As Tim Walz gave his speech, Gus was spotted in tears listening to his father speak, while Hope Walz was seen holding up a heart to him.

The Walz family then joined the Democratic vice presidential nominee on stage after he wrapped up his remarks.

Earlier in the week, on Monday, Gus and Hope had some fun in the spotlight when they held up bunny ears behind their dad's head during an interview at the DNC .

The moment went viral on social media, and was acknowledged by Tim Walz himself, who reposted the clip on X and wrote, "My kids keep me humble."

Here are four things to know about Tim Walz's family.

1. Tim and Gwen Walz met as high school teachers

Gwen Walz, whose maiden name is Whipple, is a Minnesotan native whose parents were also educators, according to her official bio.

After graduating from college in Minnesota, Gwen Walz began her teaching career in Nebraska, where she met her future husband.

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Gwen Walz was an English teacher in Alliance, Nebraska, at the same school where Tim Walz had begun his career as a teacher and football coach after serving in the Army National Guard, according to the governor's bio.

The couple wed in 1994 and moved to Mankato, Minnesota, where they both continued teaching.

According to Gwen Walz's biography, she and her husband together created a summer trip to China for students and traveled there "nearly every summer" for almost a decade.

2. The Walzes say they struggled with infertility

Tim Walz has said he and his wife went through fertility treatments at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester for seven years before becoming pregnant with their first child, a daughter they named Hope, who was born in 2001.

The Democratic vice presidential nominee told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune newspaper in March that he still remembers the day Gwen Walz called him in tears with the good news that she was pregnant.

"I said, 'Not again,'" Tim Walz recalled, according to the newspaper. "She said, 'No, I'm pregnant.' It's not by chance that we named our daughter Hope."

Harris officially names Tim Walz as vice presidential running mate

In his acceptance speech at the DNC, Tim Walz said of his family, "It took Gwen and I years, but we had access to fertility treatments. And when our daughter was born, we named her Hope. Hope, Gus and Gwen, you are my entire world, and I love you."

The Harris campaign highlighted the Walzes' personal experience with infertility in the selection announcement, writing, "Governor Walz and Mrs. Walz struggled with years of fertility challenges and had their daughter, Hope, through reproductive health care like IVF - further cementing his commitment to ensuring all Americans have access to this care."

On Aug. 19, Gwen Walz shared for the first time the specifics of her treatment, which she said was intrauterine insemination, or IUI.

"Like millions of families across the country, for years, Tim and I tried to start a family through fertility treatments. We followed the journey that is infertility -- the anxiety, the agony, and the desperation that can eat away at your soul," Gwen Walz said in comments first given to Glamour , and then shared with ABC News by the Harris Walz campaign.

"Knowing that pain, I cannot fathom the cruelty of politicians who want to take away the freedom for couples to access the care they need. After seeing the extreme attacks on reproductive health care across the country -- particularly, the efforts in Alabama that jeopardized access to fertility treatments -- Tim and I agreed that it was time to formally speak out about our experience," she said.

In IUI, healthy sperm, provided by the woman’s partner or a donor, is, “placed in the uterus as close to the time of ovulation as possible,” according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

The discrepancy over the type of infertility treatment Gwen Walz received -- she said she underwent IUI, and not IVF, as was broadly assumed -- quickly became political fodder in the presidential campaign.

Unlike IVF, the procedure does not involve freezing, transferring, or storing embryos.

3. Hope Walz appears on her dad's social media

Hope Walz graduated high school in 2019, according to her dad's Facebook post.

Tim Walz celebrated his daughter's 23rd birthday earlier this year on Jan. 9, sharing a photo on Instagram of Hope Walz posing in front of ski slopes, writing, "Happy Birthday, Hope! 23 runs for 23 years."

Hope Walz is a frequent presence on her dad's social media accounts, including a video on Instagram that Tim Walz reposted last Thanksgiving in which he humorously tries to convince his daughter to eat some turkey.

"I'm vegetarian," Hope Walz says in the video.

Last year, Hope Walz also joined her dad on what he described as the "most extreme ride" at the annual Minnesota State Fair.

In September, Tim Walz celebrated his daughter on National Daughter's Day, writing on Instagram, "I have the best daughter a dad could possibly ask for."

4. Gus Walz has a non-verbal learning disorder, his parents have shared

Gus Walz is a high school student who lives with his mom and dad in St. Paul, the state capital of Minnesota.

The 17-year-old has a non-verbal learning disorder as well as ADHD and an anxiety disorder, conditions that his parents describe as his “secret power.”

Tim and Gwen Walz told People magazine in an Aug. 7 statement that Gus received the diagnoses several years ago.

"When our youngest Gus was growing up, it became increasingly clear that he was different from his classmates. Gus preferred video games and spending more time by himself,” the Walzes told People. “When he was becoming a teenager, we learned that Gus has a non-verbal learning disorder in addition to an anxiety disorder and ADHD, conditions that millions of Americans also have."

"Like so many American families, it took us time to figure out how to make sure we did everything we could to make sure Gus would be set up for success as he was growing up," the Walzes continued. "It took time, but what became so immediately clear to us was that Gus’ condition is not a setback — it’s his secret power.”

A non-verbal learning disorder is defined by the American Psychological Association as a type of learning disorder “characterized by limited skills in critical thinking and deficits in processing nonverbal information.”

According to the APA, the disorder can affect how a child learns as well as other areas including emotional functioning and social competencies.

5. The Walzes have a pet cat and dog

In 2019, the Walz family welcomed a new member to the family, a rescue Labrador mix named Scout, that Gus was credited with bringing into the family fold.

Tim Walz said in an Instagram post that the dog was adopted to fulfill a promise he made to Gus.

"I'm excited to announce that Minnesota has a new First Dog! And more importantly, I fulfilled my commitment to get my son a dog if I was elected Governor," he wrote alongside several photos of Scout and the family.

More recently, in December, the Walzes welcomed another four-legged member of the family, an orange and white rescue cat named Honey.

"Say hello to Honey! The newest member of the Walz family," Tim Walz wrote on X on Dec. 20, 2023. "She's a rescue-pet and already has a few favorite spots: under the tree and right on top of whatever I'm trying to read."

Editor’s note: This report has been updated to reflect Gwen Walz’s comments first given to Glamour on her infertility treatments.

ABC News' Molly Nagle, Cheyenne Haslett, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Elizabeth Schulze contributed to this report.

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