MAY DESIGNATED AS BETTER HEARING AND SPEECH MONTH

May has been designated as Better Hearing and Speech Month to inform people about hearing, speech and language disorders and about help available to handle those problems.

"More than 21 million Americans have a hearing disorder," said Mary Donnelly-Billmeyer, supervisor of speech and hearing therapy at St. Francis Medical Center. "Speech or language disorders such as aphasia, stuttering, articulation and voice problems, and language delays affect more than three million children and adults."

She said that in the Cape Girardeau area, an estimated one in three families has a member with a hearing, speech or language problem.

"Left undetected and untreated, speech and language disorders limit the ability of adults and children to do well at work or in school and to enjoy fully their relationships with friends and family," she said. "But advances in treatments, technology, and understanding speech, language and hearing problems offer new hope to many of these people."

Free information brochures on speech, language and hearing disorders are available from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's toll-free hotline, 1-800-638-8255.