SPEECH-LANGUAGE DISORDERS

OVERVIEW OF CHILDHOOD

SPEECH-LANGUAGE

DISORDERSDevelopment of Young Children with Disabilities

#872.514 (61)Carol Ann Heath

Sources Used:

Hart, B. (2000). A natural history of early language Experience. TECSE 20:1, 28-32. Lesaux, N. K. (2004 Presentation at Ready by Five Symposium, Baltimore, Maryland)

Promoting Language and Literacy in Young Children from Diverse Backgrounds. Lyon, G. R. What Happens Early Really Matters. Informal Presentation In Maryland.

Source: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Child Development Institute,

http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/disorders/children_with_communication_disorders.shtml

Language

Can be defined as a set of symbols used for communication

Symbols are used to organize thoughts and new learning and to communicate with others

May be spoken or take a visual form as through gestures or written language

Language

Involves the understanding and use of sounds, words, and the rules for combining their use

Involves both receptive and expressive processes

Development of OralLanguage

Involves the understanding and use of

* Phonology

* Semantics

* Morphology

* Syntax or grammar

* Pragmatics

Phonology

Refers to the sound system of a language and the rules that govern the sound combinations

Research has demonstrated that by the age of six months, infants have learned to differentially respond to the sounds of their native language

Semantics

Refers to the system that governs the meanings of words and sentences

Morphology

Refers to the system that governs the structure of words and the construction of word forms

Syntax

Refers to the system governing the order and combinations of words to form sentences, and the relationship among the elements of the sentence

Pragmatics

Refers to the system that combines the above language components in functional and socially appropriate communication

May involve the tone of voice used, rules for turn-taking in conversation, facial expressions and gestures used to accompany speech

Normal LanguageDevelopment

Language develops rapidly and easily in most children despite variation in environment and intelligence

Communication Disorder

An impairment in the ability to receive, send, process, and comprehend concepts or verbal, nonverbal and graphic symbol systems

May be evident in the processes of hearing, language, and/or speech

Communication Disorder

May range in severity May be developmental or acquiredMay result in a primary disability or it

may be secondary to other disabilities

Prevalence

Rates vary from 2-3% to about 20 % depending upon the age of the children studied

10% of children will have a moderate to severe speech and/or language delay at eh time of school entrance

Language Disorder

Impaired comprehension and/or use of spoken, written and/or other symbol systems

May involve the form of language (phonology, morphology, syntax), the content of language (semantics), and/or the function of language (pragmatics) in any combination

Children At Risk forLanguage Delay

Intellectual disabilityHearing LossCentral Nervous System Impairment

affecting the speech production mechanism

Autism Spectrum DisordersEmotional DisturbanceExtreme environmental deprivation

Child Language Impairments

Difficulty understanding and using language to communicate

Problems understanding and using appropriate vocabulary, word order, or grammar and difficulty following directions or some have difficulty using language, and difficulty staying on topic in a conversation are common characteristics

Child Language –child mayhave some of the following:

Difficulty breaking down language into its parts

Difficulty with social rules of conversation

Infrequently initiating conversation or topics

Child Language – may have some of the following

Delay in onset of language development

Difficult following directions

Problems understanding wh- questions

Difficulty with abstract language

Incorrect grammar usage

Difficulty recalling words

Frequent use of non-specific words

Stories, written and spoken, are disjointed and miss details

Child Language – possible signs of underlying language impairment

Easily distractedLimited attention spanSlower to respond or answer questionsSlower to put thoughts together to

express their ideasSeems vague – disorganized behaviorLack of planning and sequencing

Speech Disorder

An impairment of the articulation of speech sounds, fluency and/or voice

Articulation Impairments

The atypical production of speech sounds characterized by substitutions, omissions, additions or distortions that may interfere with intelligibility

Articulation Impairment

May be caused by a problem in the mouth or nose structures that are used for speech (cleft palate or severe tongue tied)

May be caused by an abnormality in the function of the muscles or nerves in speech production (cerebral palsy)

Some may have no apparent cause

Dyspraxia of Speech

An inability to perform the very fast mouth/tongue movements for speech when there is no hearing, perception, or motor problems

As known as developmental apraxia of speech, developmental verbal dyspraxia, or developmental articulatory dyspraxia

Characteristics of Dyspraxia

Searching or “groping” movements noted during attempts to produce speech sounds

Child can produce some sounds at certain times and not at other times “volitional” or deliberate production may be more difficulty than spontaneous production

Sound errors are inconsistent

Characteristics of Dyspraxia

Does not exhibit typical development speech sound errors

Difficulty with fast repeated speech sequences

Voice Disorder Definition

Characterized by the abnormal production and/ or absences of vocal quality, pitch, loudness, resonance, and/ or duration, which is inappropriate for an individual’s age and/ or sex

Types of Voice Disorders

Quality – hoarseness, hyper/hypo nasality, breathiness

Pitch – pitch breaks, monotone, to high/too low

Loudness – too soft/too loud, inappropriate for situation

Causes of Voice Disorders

May result from physiological changes in the body, such as cancer, severe allergies, or asthma

Organic factors may include vocal nodules and polyps on the vocal cords

Stuttering of FluencyDisorder: Definition

Is an interruption in the flow of speaking characterized by atypical rate, rhythm, and repetitions in sounds, syllables, words, and phrases

May be accompanied by excessive tension, struggle, behavior, and secondary mannerisms

Characteristics of Stuttering

Primary – hesitations; repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words or phrases; and difficulty initiating speech

Secondary – facial grimaces, eye blinking, generalized body tension, and gasping for air

Causes of Stuttering

Several theories about the causes of stuttering exists

“underlying motor problem” – causesDifficulty planning a sequence of speech

movements“stress related”“difficulty coordinating the onset of voice with

breathing and production of speech sounds”

Hearing Disorder

The result of impaired auditory sensitivity of the physiological auditory system

May limit the development, comprehension, production, and/or maintenance of speech and/or language

Referred to as “deaf or hard of hearing”

Deaf

A hearing disorder that limits an individual’s aural/oral communication performance to the extent that the primary sensory input for communication may be other than the auditory channel

Hard of Hearing

A hearing disorder, whether fluctuating or permanent, which adversely affects an individual’s ability to communicate.

The Hard of Hearing individuals relies on the auditory channel as the primary sensory input for communication

Central AuditoryProcessing Disorders

Deficits in the information processing of audible signals not attributed to impaired peripheral hearing sensitivity or intellectual impairment

Limitations in the ongoing transmission, analysis, organization, transformation, elaboration, storage, retrieval, and use of information contained in audible signals

Behaviors AssociatedCAPD

Poor phonological sensitivity combined with deficits in fine auditory discrimination

Auditory comprehension problems due to limited word discrimination and auditory memory

Difficulty procession verbal information where there is competing background noise

Behaviors Associated with CAPD

Diminished word discrimination in a poor acoustic environment or when a message is altered in some way

Difficulty following directionsEasily distractedMay have poor performance in reading,

spelling, and other language-related areas compared to peers

Associated Conditions

Learning disabilityAutism Spectrum DisorderTraumatic Brain Injury

Language Learning Disabilities-problems may include:

Age-appropriate reading, spelling, and/or writing

Difficulty expressing ideas coherently

Difficulty with learning new vocabulary

Difficulty understanding and retaining info

Difficulty with reading comprehension

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Communication problems vary depending upon the intellectual and social development of child

Some may be unable to speak, while others may have rich vocabularies

Communication issues in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Difficulty using language effectively

EcholaliaPoor eye contactDifficulty with topic

initiation

Difficulty with topic maintenance

Problems with word and sentence meaning, intonation, and rhythm

Communication Issues-Traumatic Brain Injury

Slowed processing and poor memory

Impaired ability for self management

Disorientation and confusion

Poor judgment and difficulty with emotional control

Impaired comprehension

Word finding issues Inappropriate

speech

Slowly increasing numbers and proportions of children are being served in programs for the disabled.

During the 1993–94 school year, 12 percent of students were served in these programs compared with 14 percent in 2003–04.

Some of the rise since 1993–94 may be attributed to the increasing proportion of children identified as having speech or language impairments, which rose from 2.3 percent of enrollment to 3.0 percent of enrollment;

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2006). Digest of Education Statistics, 2005 (NCES 2006-030), Chapter 2.