Definition"The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) officially defines speech and language impairments as “a communication disorder such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.” Each point within this official definition represents a speech and language subcategory. “A communication disorder such as stuttering” provides an example of a fluency disorder; other fluency issues include unusual word repetition and hesitant speech. “Impaired articulation” indicates impairments in which a child experiences challenges in pronouncing specific sounds. “A language impairment” can entail difficulty comprehending words properly, expressing oneself and listening to others. Finally, “a voice impairment” involves difficulty voicing words; for instance, throat issues may cause an abnormally soft voice."
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Learning and Behavioral Characteristics |
A child with a communicative problem may have difficulty following directions, conversing, pronouncing words, understanding what was being spoken, expressing themselves, or being understood by those around them.
"Problems with language may involve difficulty expressing ideas coherently, learning new vocabulary, understanding questions, following directions, recalling information, understanding and remembering something that has just been said, reading at a satisfactory pace, comprehending spoken or read material, learning the alphabet, identifying sounds that correspond to letters, perceiving the correct order of letters in words, and possibly, spelling. Difficulties with speech may include being unintelligible due to a motor problem or due to poor learning. Sounding hoarse, breathy or harsh may be due to a voice problem. Stuttering also affects speech intelligibility because the child's flow of speech is interrupted" (Brice). There are three kinds of language disorders; receptive language disorders, expressive language disorders, and aphasia. Receptive language disorders are seen through people having difficulty comprehending what others say. A student may seem to be inattentive throughout a lesson and may have difficulties understanding what you are trying to explain (or with following instructions). This form of a language disorder is a high-risk indicator of other disabilities as well. Expressive language disorders is difficulty with written or spoken language. A student may have a limited vocabulary and could be perceived as immature (often times they use “baby-talk”). Aphasia is a language disorder caused by brain damage. The person seems to suffer with difficulties in understanding and also expression. A child with aphasia tends to start to speak much later than other children; a preschool/elementary teacher may see this with a student having difficulties starting to talk. There are also four different disorders: fluency, delayed speech, articulation, and voice: Fluency is the flow (or fluency) of speech through communication. One form is known as cluttering speech and another is stuttering. Cluttering speech is overly rapid speech that often is disorganized and often irrelevant to the rest of the conversation. Where as stuttering is where the flow of speech is interrupted by repeating words/syllables, blocking, and prolongation of words or syllables. The cause is hard to identify, though it has been suggested to be a symptom of an emotional disturbance, neurological problem, or even that it is a learned behavior.Delayed speech: The ability to speak is much like a younger person. Someone may say “milk” rather than saying “can I have milk?” This can often be seen in someone with a type of hearing loss. There is treatment available to help with this type of disorder. Articulation: likely to have resulted from environmental or psychological influences (example: “wight” substituted for “right”). One cause can be through a physical attribute such as a cleft plate. An individual with a voice disorder usually speaks much louder, higher/lower pitch, and has a different tone than his or her peers. A cause can be “pitch breaks,” which can be through puberty, imitation, or even a hormone imbalance. Language Disorders Receptive Language Disorders Expressive Language Disorders Aphasia Speech Disorders Stuttering Delayed Speech Articulation |
Appropriate Teaching Accommodations |
Students will have an IEP. Some will need the help of specialized professionals to help them in their communicative disorder. Encourage students to talk about events and things going on in their life. Help the student develop and enhance their vocabulary.
"Many communication problems can be improved by therapy. Some problems may never be "cured," but children can learn new strategies to overcome their difficulties (e.g., attention deficit or stuttering). Some children may be able to overcome their deficits as they grow older (e.g., mild language delays), while others may compensate by communicating through electronic means (e.g., an augmentative communication device or hearing aid)." (Brice). For more strategies try here. |