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Children with Communication Disorders
Speech and language disorders refer to problems in
communication and related areas such as oral motor
function. These delays and disorders range from simple
sound substitutions to the inability to understand or
use language or use the oral-motor mechanism for
functional speech and feeding. Some causes of speech and
language disorders include hearing loss, neurological
disorders, brain injury, mental retardation, drug abuse,
physical impairments such as cleft lip or palate, and
vocal abuse or misuse. Frequently, however, the cause is
unknown.
More than one million of the students served in the
public schools’ special education programs in the
2000-2001 school year were categorized as having a
speech or language impairment. This estimate does not
include children who have speech/language problems
secondary to other conditions such as deafness. Language
disorders may be related to other disabilities such as
mental retardation, autism, or cerebral palsy. It is
estimated that communication disorders (including
speech, language, and hearing disorders) affect one of
every 10 people in the United States.
A child's communication is considered delayed when the
child is noticeably behind his or her peers in the
acquisition of speech and/or language skills. Sometimes
a child will have greater receptive (understanding) than
expressive (speaking) language skills, but this is not
always the case.
Speech disorders refer to difficulties producing speech
sounds or problems with voice quality. They might be
characterized by an interruption in the flow or rhythm
of speech, such as stuttering, which is called
dysfluency. Speech disorders may be problems with the
way sounds are formed, called articulation or
phonological disorders, or they may be difficulties with
the pitch, volume or quality of the voice. There may be
a combination of several problems. People with speech
disorders have trouble using some speech sounds, which
can also be a symptom of a delay. They may say "see"
when they mean "ski" or they may have trouble using
other sounds like "l" or "r." Listeners may have trouble
understanding what someone with a speech disorder is
trying to say. People with voice disorders may have
trouble with the way their voices sound.
A language disorder is an impairment in the ability to
understand and/or use words in context, both verbally
and nonverbally. Some characteristics of language
disorders include improper use of words and their
meanings, inability to express ideas, inappropriate
grammatical patterns, reduced vocabulary and inability
to follow directions. One or a combination of these
characteristics may occur in children who are affected
by language learning disabilities or developmental
language delay. Children may hear or see a word but not
be able to understand its meaning. They may have trouble
getting others to understand what they are trying to
communicate.
- National Dissemination Center for Children with
Disabilities (NICHCY)
Childhood Communication Disorders FAQ
What Is Meant
by "Communication Disorders"?
The term communication disorders encompasses
a wide variety of problems in language, speech,
and hearing. Speech and language impairments
include articulation problems, voice disorders,
fluency problems (such as stuttering), aphasia
(difficulty in using words, usually as a result
of a brain injury), and delays in speech and/or
language. Speech and language delays may be due
to many factors, including environmental factors
or hearing loss.
Hearing impairments include partial hearing and
deafness. Deafness may be defined as a loss
sufficient to make auditory communication
difficult or impossible without amplification.
There are four types of hearing loss. Conductive
hearing losses are caused by diseases or
obstructions in the outer or middle ear and can
usually be helped with a hearing aid.
Sensorineural losses result from damage to the
sensory hair cells of the inner ear or the
nerves that supply it and may not respond to the
use of a hearing aid. Mixed hearing losses are
those in which the problem occurs both in the
outer or middle ear and in the inner ear. A
central hearing loss results from damage to the
nerves or brain.
Many communication disorders result from other
conditions such as learning disabilities,
cerebral palsy, mental retardation, or cleft lip
or cleft palate.
What Are Some Characteristics of Children with
Communication Disorders?
A child with speech or language delays may
present a variety of characteristics including
the inability to follow directions, slow and
incomprehensible speech, and pronounced
difficulties in syntax and articulation. Syntax
refers to the order of words in a sentence, and
articulation refers to the manner in which
sounds are formed. Articulation disorders are
characterized by the substitution of one sound
for another or the omission or distortion of
certain sounds.
Stuttering or dysfluency is a disorder of speech
flow that most often appears between the ages of
3 and 4 years and may progress from a sporadic
to a chronic problem. Stuttering may
spontaneously disappear by early adolescence,
but speech and language therapy should be
considered.
Typical voice disorders include hoarseness,
breathiness, or sudden breaks in loudness or
pitch. Voice disorders are frequently combined
with other speech problems to form a complex
communication disorder.
A child with a possible hearing problem may
appear to strain to hear, ask to have questions
repeated before giving the right answer,
demonstrate speech inaccuracies (especially
dropping the beginnings and endings of words),
or exhibit confusion during discussion.
Detection and diagnosis of hearing impairment
have become very sophisticated. It is possible
to detect the presence of hearing loss and
evaluate its severity in a newborn child.
Students who speak dialects different from
standard English may have communication problems
that represent either language differences or,
in more severe instances, language disorders.
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How Many Children Have Communication
Disorders?
The overall estimate for speech and language
disorders is widely agreed to be 5% of
school-aged children. This figure includes voice
disorders (3%) and stuttering (1%). The
incidence of elementary school children who
exhibit delayed phonological (articulation)
development is 2% to 3%, although the percentage
decreases steadily with age.
Estimates of hearing impairments vary
considerably, with one widely accepted figure of
5% representing the portion of school-aged
children with hearing levels outside the normal
range. Of this number, 10% to 20% require some
type of special education. Approximately
one-third of students who are deaf attend
residential schools. Two-thirds attend day
programs in schools for students who are deaf or
day classes located in regular schools. The
remainder are mainstreamed into regular school
programs.
What Are the Educational Implications of
Communication Disorders?
Many speech problems are developmental rather
than physiological, and as such they respond to
remedial instruction. Language experiences are
central to a young child's development. In the
past, children with communication disorders were
routinely removed from the regular class for
individual speech and language therapy. This is
still the case in severe instances, but the
trend is toward keeping the child in the
mainstream as much as possible. In order to
accomplish this goal, teamwork among the
teacher, speech and language therapist,
audiologist, and parents is essential. Speech
improvement and correction are blended into the
regular classroom curriculum and the child's
natural environment.
Amplification may be extremely valuable for the
child with a hearing impairment. Students whose
hearing is not completely restored by hearing
aids or other means of amplification have unique
communication needs. Children who are deaf are
not automatically exposed to the enormous
amounts of language stimulation experienced by
hearing children in their early years. For deaf
children, early, consistent, and conscious use
of visible communication modes such as sign
language, finger spelling, and cued speech
and/or amplification and aural/oral training can
help reduce this language delay. Some educators
advocate a strict oral approach in which the
child is required to use as much speech as
possible, while others favor the use of sign
language and finger spelling combined with
speech, an approach known as total
communication. There is increasing consensus
that whatever system works best for the
individual should be used.
Many children with hearing impairments can be
served in the regular classroom with support
services. In addition to amplification,
instructional aids such as captioned films and
high interest/low vocabulary reading materials
are helpful. For most children with hearing
impairments, language acquisition and
development are significantly delayed, sometimes
leading to an erroneously low estimate of
intelligence.
Students whose physical problems are so severe
that they interfere with or completely inhibit
communication can frequently take advantage of
technological advances that allow the individual
to make his or her needs and wants known,
perhaps for the first time.
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Resources For Parents
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This audio program helps teens cope with peer pressure, enjoy school, say “no” to drugs, and build self-worth while improving family and social relationships. It also assists in developing character and a winning personality. This program will help make the teen years much happier and productive.
- Self-Image For Children (CD) -
More and more parents are realizing the importance of developing a strong, positive self-image early in childhood. Although self-image can be improved at any age, the earlier we start, the better. This audio program is for children under the age of eight
- Go For Your Goals: Goal Setting for Kids -
Goal Setting & Visualization for Kids - Designed to Help You Guide Your Kids to Achieve Great Success in Life. Improves self-esteem and achievement motivation.
- The Anxiety Free Child Program -
A comprehensive multimedia program to help children overcome anxiety. Created by a child psychologist and uses evidence based strategies.
- Better Behavior Wheel Parenting Tool -
A unique software program based on proven behavior modification principles that makes providing appropriate consequences for behavior easy and actually fun for parents and kids.
- Discipline Your Kid The Right Way Without Shouting or Spanking -
The road to good discipline begins with you and your child, and your commitment to a better way! This Parent Education Module will show you how to break your old habits, stop spanking and yelling, and learn new techniques that will make you and your children happier and make your relationship more rewarding!
- Child Anger Management for Parents -
An effective, simple, easy to use solution for handling anger and temper tantrums. Uses positive discipline approach based on proven behavior modification principles.
- Brain Training To Improve Attention & Learning -
Lumosity.com provides fun video games developed by a team of neuro-scientists and video game developers for kids and adults to improve working memory, attention, processing speed and other brain functions. Highly affordable monthly subscriptions.
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