TAQUILALIA: SYMPTOMS, CAUSES, COMORBIDITY, TREATMENT - ECONOMÍA - 2025

The tachylalia is a type of language disorder in which the person speaks with a much faster rate than normal. In general, this excessive speed is also accompanied by a great disorder in the speech. Sometimes this problem is also known as tachyphemia.

Taquilalia is normally considered not to be caused by physical causes, such as failure of the speaking organs. On the contrary, it has more to do with a lack of coordination between thoughts (which go much faster than normal) and the ability to move the organs responsible for language.

Source: pixabay.com

On many occasions, taquilalia occurs together with other language disorders. For example, it is common to see this problem together with stuttering (whose technical name is dysphemia). This can lead to confusion between the two; however, they are normally considered to be separate conditions.

In this article we will see exactly what the taquilalia consists of; In addition, we will study why it occurs, the disorders with which it normally occurs, and the most effective treatments to combat it.

Symptoms and characteristics

Next we will see what are the most common symptoms that people with taquilalia present.

Fast and irregular rhythm in speech

The most important characteristic of the language of a patient with taquilalia is that their rate of speech is extremely fast. This causes that, in many occasions, it is difficult to understand what it means; the words will sound hasty, and difficult to distinguish from each other.

However, this problem will not present itself in the same way at all times. It usually only occurs when the person is comfortable or especially excited. This occurs, for example, in conversations with someone close or in familiar contexts.

On the other hand, when the affected person has to think more carefully about what he is going to say, his rhythm when speaking will become more normal. The same will happen with reading aloud: the person will only read very fast when they already know the text.

On the contrary, when it is one with which you are not familiar, you will be able to interpret it at normal speed.

Difficulty organizing thoughts

As we have said previously, taquilalia is not generally produced by a physical cause. On the contrary, the problem usually comes from the mind going much faster than the speed at which the organs can produce articulate sounds.

In addition to speech problems, this often causes the person not to have a particularly coherent speech. On many occasions, those affected by taquilalia are unable to organize their ideas; therefore, they will jump from topic to topic in a seemingly random fashion.

If we add this to the joint problem, in the most serious cases of this disorder, other people will have great difficulty understanding what those affected want to tell them.

Poor articulation and word changes

Because they try to speak at an excessively fast pace, most of the time people with taquilalia articulate words very poorly.

In addition, to save time in their pronunciation, it is quite common for those affected to make changes in some phonemes, syllables or in whole words.

Thus, for example, it is common for a person with taquilalia to link the end of one word with the beginning of the next. You can also change some sounds for others that are easier to pronounce, or directly eliminate a syllable.

All of this combined will make it even more difficult to understand what the person is saying. Especially in the case of children, who are most affected by this particular symptom, listeners will often have to make real efforts to decipher what their interlocutor wants to convey to them.

Repetitions, blocks and fillers

Difficulty organizing your own thoughts into a coherent speech will often mean that what the person says is not produced fluently.

Because those affected tend to get lost in their own thoughts, many characteristics will appear in their speech that are typical of those who do not know what to say.

Among other things, this will be seen in the form of repetitions of words to give them time to think. The same can happen with the use of fillers; that is, set phrases that don't require mental effort and that give you a few moments to organize what you want to say next.

On some occasions, the person can even get completely blocked without knowing what to say. This is not as common, but it will especially frustrate those affected by taquilalia.

Lack of awareness about speech problems

The problems caused by taquilalia are compounded by a very curious symptom. Usually the person is not aware that he is not producing a coherent speech or that he is doing it too quickly. Also, you will not realize that your interlocutors have trouble understanding you.

This is in contrast to other language problems such as stuttering. In them, those affected are perfectly aware of what is happening, and tend to suffer from social anxiety and fear of relating to others; however, this also helps them correct their dysfunction more easily.

In the case of the person with taquilalia, on the other hand, it is very difficult for her to realize that she has a problem. So sometimes they won't seek help until someone close to them points out that they need to learn to communicate more effectively.

Problems in paralinguistics

Finally, speaking very fast makes people with taquilalia not adequately express their emotions through language.

Typically, they will tend to use a monotonous tone of voice without inflections, which will make it even more difficult for other people to understand what you want to convey.

The use of inflections, different tones of voice, and emotional nuances in speech is known as paralinguistics. Those affected by taquilalia will also have to work on this aspect of communication, in addition to simply reducing the speed at which they express themselves.

Causes

Like most language disorders, taquilalia is considered to have a multicausal origin. In other words, a single element cannot be singled out for causing a person to speak faster and in a more disorganized way than normal.

However, this disorder is not normally considered to have a physical component; that is to say, generally the people affected by it do not have any problem in their speech or respiratory organs.

In general, the appearance of this language dysfunction is attributed to two types of causes: neurological and hereditary, and psychological and emotional.

Neurological and hereditary causes

Some research shows that people affected by taquilalia tend to show certain developmental problems in the nervous system.

Among other things, there are often connection problems between the two cerebral hemispheres; in addition to a lack of development in some key areas for language and motor skills.

Certain experts believe that these brain problems may be due to genetic causes, and therefore be hereditary. However, it is not clear that this is so, as the person may have simply learned to imitate the speech of their parents. This could lead to a lack of development in the previously mentioned brain areas.

Therefore, more research is needed on the origin of these problems. It is hoped that in the future we will have more knowledge in this regard.

Psychological and emotional factors

In most cases, taquilalia is present in people with a series of psychological and personality characteristics. Thus, those affected tend to be outgoing, nervous, hyperactive and highly emotional.

Because of this, some authors believe that taquilalia cannot be considered an isolated disorder. For these people, it would be more of a symptom of other psychological characteristics. Either way, more studies are needed on the subject to better understand the relationship between all these elements.

Pathophysiology

Unlike most language disorders, the speech and respiratory organs do not present any problems. The only factor related to them is the inability to produce and articulate sounds at the speed that the person needs to express their ideas correctly.

However, this has nothing to do with a malfunction of the organs; on the contrary, it is due more to the presence of an overactive mind and a trampling of the thoughts that want to express.

Comorbidity

Taquilalia usually occurs in isolation. However, on some occasions it can appear together with other language or psychological disorders. The most common are stuttering, and social anxiety.

In the case of stuttering, the origin of this would be the same as that of the taquilalia itself. It would be an inability to articulate sounds and words properly. On the occasions when both occur together, it is often difficult to separate the symptoms caused by each of them.

Regarding social anxiety, the relationship between it and taquilalia is rather causal. When a person understands that others do not understand them properly, they may feel ashamed, fearful, or even anxious at the prospect of talking to other people.

The biggest problem with this is that those affected by taquilalia and social anxiety will tend to isolate themselves from the rest. Usually this will lead to your problem becoming more and more serious; therefore, the experts in charge of treating these patients must be able to make them face their fears as soon as possible.

Treatment

The causes of taquilalia are more psychological than physical. Therefore, the speech therapists who treat it focus above all on the mental component of the patients. In general, they will have to intervene in three areas: self-awareness, relaxation, and articulation of language.

Self-awareness

The first thing that a person with taquilalia will have to work on is their ability to examine the way in which they are producing language. Almost always, those affected by this disorder are unable to realize that they speak too fast.

Therefore, the speech therapist should encourage them to reflect on the way they are speaking. To do this, you can use techniques such as recording the person speaking and making her listen to the audios later. This will help the patient to realize (many times for the first time) what is their real way of speaking.

Relaxation

Once the patient is aware that they have a problem, the next step will be to learn to relax. Physical arousal is one of the main causes of taquilalia; therefore, lowering the nerves will be very helpful in reducing the speed of language production.

Luckily, there are many techniques that can be used to promote relaxation. Among others, some of the most effective are progressive Jacobson relaxation, or the use of deep breaths.

The idea with these tools is not that the person uses them while they are speaking. On the contrary, what is sought is that their state of habitual activation decreases. This way, you will have less difficulty staying calm in a social context.

In addition, this will also be very helpful in cases where taquilalia is present along with a phobia or social anxiety.

Language articulation

The last step a person must take to overcome taquilalia is to learn to emit language more effectively. To do this, once you have managed to be aware of your problem and relax, you will have to eliminate those speech habits that you have acquired over the years.

Thus, for example, the patient will have to learn to articulate whole words without eliminating parts of them. In addition, you will need to practice to better use paralinguistics, and express your emotions through language.

Once these three goals are achieved, the person affected by taquilalia will no longer have communication problems in most cases.

References

1. "Taquilalia or taquifemia" in: Logopedia Sanchinarro. Retrieved on: July 14, 2018 from Logopedia Sanchinarro: logopediasanchinarro.es.
2. "What is the taquilalia?" in: Speech Therapy and more. Retrieved on: July 14, 2018 from Logopedia and more: logopediaymas.es.
3. "Taquilalia or fast talk" in: Mindic Salud. Retrieved on: July 14, 2018 from Mindic Salud: mindicsalud.com.
4. "Taquilalia" in: Psychiatry. Retrieved on: July 14, 2018 from Psychiatry: psiquiatria.com.
5. "Taquilalia" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved: July 14, 2018 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org.