A language disorder is a communication disorder that affects the way a child comprehends or uses language. This is different from a speech disorder, which affects the way a child produces sound.

 

Language disorders are often developmental disorders that start in early childhood and continue into adulthood. About 5% of young children are diagnosed with language disorders between the ages of 3 and 5, and they are twice more common in boys than in girls. 

 

Language disorders typically affect all forms of communication affecting a child’s performance at home, in school, and in social situations. A child with language disorder will have problems in learning all languages.

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There are three different types of language disorders:

Receptive language disorder: Children with receptive language disorder have difficulty understanding language. They struggle to comprehend words they hear or read, as well as what others are saying. They often respond in ways that don’t make sense.

Expressive language disorder: Children with expressive language disorder have trouble using language. They may be able to understand what other people say but have trouble speaking with others and or expressing their thoughts, feelings, needs, and ideas through language. The disorder can affect spoken, written, and sign language

Mixed receptive-expressive language disorder: Children with both disorders at the same time have difficulty understanding what others say as well as being understood by others.

 

What causes language disorders?

Although the exact cause of language disorders is unknown, sometimes it is linked to a health problem or disability, such as:

Brain injury

Brain tumor or brain illness

Developmental disorder (for example, autism)

Damage to the central nervous system

Birth defects, such as Down’s syndrome, fragile X syndrom, or cerebral palsy

 

What are signs and symptoms of language disorders?

 

Language disorders present in early childhood, but symptoms may not be obvious until later when a child begins to be exposed to more complex language. Symptoms may range from mild to severe.

Receptive Language Disorder

The ability to understand language and what it means are the building blocks of communication. The ability to communicate cannot be acquired without the capacity to understand language. Receptive language disorder means the person is struggling with understanding what is said to them. The symptoms can vary but, generally, problems with language comprehension usually begins before the age of four years.

As children acquire language skills, they typically understand spoken language before they can use language to express themselves. Children initially learn to understand basic and familiar vocabulary words such as: bottle, pacifier, and ball. This is commonly seen by their ability to point to these objects before they can say them. Furthermore, children initially learn to follow simple commands such as “sit down”, “give me”, and “wave bye-bye”, before they can repeat these directions independently.

As children grow and develop, common language disorders include difficulty in acquiring vocabulary words, reading comprehension, and understanding concepts such as figurative language and inferencing. Parents typically notice these challenges when their children have difficulty following and understanding a storyline or struggle academically. These challenges continue to effect students as they grow into adulthood and can impact them in professional, personal and social settings

Children with a receptive language disorder may have trouble with:

Understanding meanings of words and sentences

Understanding what people say

Understanding gestures

Learning new words

Understanding what they read

Understanding new concepts and ideas

Answering questions

Following instructions given to them

Organizing their thoughts

Identifying objects

 

Expressive Language Disorder

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Developmental milestones are highly individualized, and some children may reach milestones later than their peers, but eventually they catch up. Growing up in a multilingual home or having limited exposure to language may impact overall language development. These children are commonly referred to as ‘late-talkers’. Children who continue to have difficulty expressing themselves, may be diagnosed with an expressive language disorder or another language impairment.

to join sentences with words like ‘and’, ‘but’ or ‘if’, or a fifteen-year-old who struggles with using appropriate vocabulary and constructing grammatically correct sentences.

Indicators of an expressive language disorder differ from one person to the next and depend on the individual’s age and the degree of the impairment. Common signs include:

Making grammatical errors, leaving off words (such as helper verbs) and using poor or incomplete sentence structure (for example, ‘He going school’ instead of ‘He’s going to school’ and ‘I sleep’ instead of ‘I’m going to sleep’)

Using noticeably fewer words and sentences than same-aged peers

Using shorter, simpler sentence construction than same-aged peers

Having a limited and more basic vocabulary than same-aged peers

Frequently having trouble finding the right word

Using non-specific vocabulary such as ‘like’ or ‘there’

Using the wrong words in sentences or confusing meaning in sentences

Relying on standard phrases and limited content in speech

Sounding hesitant when attempting to converse

Repeating (or ‘echoing’) a speaker’s words

Being unable to come to the point or talking in circles

Having problems with retelling a story or relaying information in an organized or cohesive way

Being unable to start or hold a conversation and not observing general rules of communicating with others

Having difficulty with oral and written work, school assignments and professional responsibilities

 

Language disorders are not limited to children nor is there always a medical reason behind the disorder.   A stroke can cause aphasia, an expressive language disorder in adults. Hearing loss or head injury may also be the cause. Down syndrome, diseases such as meningitis and toxins aka fetal alcohol syndrome may cause language disorders in children. Most cases expressive language will be concurrent with receptive language disorder. children with an expressive language disorder

 

How Can ST&B Help?

Whether there is a medical cause or not, clinical evidence has proven that treatment provided by speech-language pathologists is beneficial, particularly in children. The goal is to stimulate overall language development and teach language skills in an integrated contextual fashion to enhance everyday communication. The good news is that studies have shown that speech therapy not only improves communication skills but also leads to academic and social success and enhanced quality of life.

Speech Therapy and Beyond therapists are specially trained to diagnose and then increase communication through an individually tailored program that primes each client for success.

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