Taquilalia: symptoms, causes and treatment

April 4, 2024

Taquilalia is a pattern of verbal language characterized by the emission of words at an accelerated rate. Although it can occur at different ages, this pattern develops more frequently during childhood and adolescence.

ANDIn this article we will see what taquilalia is , what are some of its possible causes and in what way it can be intervened in it.

Related article: "The 8 types of speech disorders"

Taquilalia: definition and symptoms

The term "taquilalia" refers to the excessive speed of speech . This rapidity is characterized by the omission of sounds and syllables, which in turn has as a consequence a major difficulty in understanding what the person is trying to express.

Other characteristics of the taquilalia are the few pauses in the discourse and a motive restlessness, that can be slight or very well-known. On the other hand, there is not necessarily a semantic or syntactic disorganization of discourse, but rather the substitution of sounds for similar ones, due to the speed of speech itself.

Also, the person may be aware of the acceleration of his speech, and the difficulty that others have to understand, however, such acceleration does not diminish easily despite the effort to control it .

Taquilalia, disfemia or stuttering?

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

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

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

Maybe you're interested: "Stuttering (dyspnea): symptoms, types, causes and treatment"

Possible causes

As with other speech fluency disorders, taquilalia is a pattern of multi-causal communication. This means that it can be caused by different factors, among which are emotional coping strategies for stress situations, parenting styles, the presence of stressors in the next contexts , or it can also be presented as one of the manifestations of medical conditions, disability, anxiety disorders, etcetera.

Likewise and from the most classic studies of child psychology, some specialists have suggested that one of the main triggers of the disorders of fluency is external pressure by emitting intelligible speech , especially because the person faces difficulties that escape their immediate will.

In other words, one of the most common triggers of speech disorders is the discomfort generated when the person becomes aware that he is not being understood by the rest, and forces himself to improve his fluency as soon as possible, hampering communication again.

Dimensions for evaluation

Taquilalia can represent a problematic speech pattern, especially when it occurs in school-age children, as it can affect both peer relationships and academic performance. In fact, one of the most common consequences is the avoidance of situations that require interaction , for fear of receiving criticism or ridicule. For this reason, it is essential that the intervention begin with a deep exploration of the manifestations and circumstances surrounding taquilalia.

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

Evaluation of anxiety and depression , to determine the degree of difficulty in social interaction and subjective experiences related to this.
Speech assessment, both quantitatively and qualitatively , for example through readings that scale from simple to complex and exercises that allow observing attention and body relationship, as well as using psychometric scales.
Evaluate communicative exchanges of the family unit by means of observations, to determine listening capacity, interruptions, eye contacts, reactions, and so on.

This is complemented by in-depth interviews with caregivers, teachers and the child himself. Once the evaluation is completed, it can be initiated with a specific intervention process, prioritizing what has been most significant in the different dimensions.

Intervention strategies

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

Reduce the flow of the child's speech .
Adapt your respiratory function.
Increase the mobility of the oral area when talking, to speed up the articulation.
Involve parents in the sessions and provide strategies to reinforce the child's slow speech, for example, Give him enough time to answer , avoid repeating your words as you pronounce them, doing breathing exercises and relaxation at home, among others.

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

Respiratory activities .
Progressive relaxation training.
Follow-up, feedback and self-correction of read text.
Techniques for reading transition .
Systematic desensitization.
Massages, facial gestures, orofacial praxies, repetition exercises.
Emotional accompaniment , for possible alterations in the child's self-image as a result of teasing, criticism or external pressures.
Involve the child trying to be aware of the situations in which it is generated and motivating me to continue the intervention.

After 25 sessions of a planned and joint intervention (with family and school), Moreno and García-Baamonde (2003) highlight the positive impact of the intervention, both in the child and in their immediate surroundings.

Bibliographic references:

Dysfemias: causes, evolution and treatment (2018). University of Valencia. Retrieved August 28, 2018. Available at //www.uv.es/uvweb/master-intervencion-logopedica/es/blog/disfemia-causas-evolucion-tratamiento-1285881139898/GasetaRecerca.html?id=1285969311828.
Castejón, J. L. and Navas, L. (2013). Difficulties and disorders of learning and child and primary development. ECU: Alicante.
Prieto, M.A. (2010). Alterations in language acquisition. Innovation and Educational Experiences, 36: 1-8. ISSN 1988-6047.
Moreno, J. M. and García-Baamonde, M.E. (2003). Intervention in a case of infantile tachylia. Journal of Speech Therapy, Phoniatrics and Audiology, 23 (3): 164-172.