What does DVD mean in CLINICAL MEDICINE

Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia (DVD) is a communication disorder that affects an individual's ability to produce speech accurately and clearly. It can occur in infancy or early childhood and can lead to difficulties with pronunciation, articulation, fluency, and motor planning of speech production.

DVDs can affect individuals of all ages but are most commonly diagnosed in infants or young children.

Symptoms of DVDs include difficulty producing sounds correctly, difficulty initiating movement patterns needed for speech production, lack of awareness of sounds produced during speaking and trouble making them louder or softer to produce clear articulation, slow rate of speech production due to poor motor planning, poor memory for verbal information such as words needed for communication purposes, pronouncing unfamiliar words incorrectly, difficulty carrying on a conversation due to inadequate expressive language abilities, poor facial expressions associated with weak muscles used for talking.

DVD is typically diagnosed by a team of professionals after completion of physical examinations along with cognitive testing and language assessments. An audiologist may also be consulted in order to look further into any hearing problems that could be interfering with the child's ability to produce proper vocalizations.

There are various treatment approaches that can be used to reduce the effects of DVD depending on the severity. These include working on fine-motor skills through structured activities; addressing any underlying hearing issues; utilizing different tools such as visual aids or therapeutic toys; teaching alternative communication methods such as sign language if necessary; doing practice exercises focused on pronunciation; and practicing strategies to help reduce anxiety related to speaking. Speech therapy sessions are also recommended in order to learn how to improve one's use of language through small goals set by the therapist.