Child
Language Disorders
Children with language disorders have difficulty expressing their thoughts
when talking or writing. They also may have problems understanding what is spoken
or written. Child language disorders may range from mild to severe, and may occur
from infancy through adolescence.
Early intervention can help children communicate effectively and can alleviate
some of the frustration parents and children feel. Early language intervention
also can help reduce or prevent later problems with reading, writing, school
work, and social behavior. Evaluation and intervention services are important
for improving speech and language skills. If you are concerned about your child's
language, please contact a pediatric speech pathologist for an evaluation.
Indicators of Child Language Disorders
- absence of words by
age 18 months
- absence of two-word phrases by 24 months
- inappropriate responses to questions
- echoing of speech
- poor intelligibility of speech (unclear speech)
- undeveloped play skills
- poor understanding or use of descriptive words and
prepositions (in, out, etc.)
- word-finding problems
- dependence on gestures to follow directions
- need for frequent repetitions of
directions
- poor social interaction with peers (does not get along with other children)
- poor school performance
Indicators of Adolescent Language Disorders
- failure to understand
or pay attention to rules of conversation, for example, turn taking, introducing
topics of conversation, and staying on the topic
- difficulty using different language
for different needs of the listener or situation
- incorrect use of grammar
- poor or limited vocabulary
- difficulty requesting further information to aid
understanding
- tendency to ask questions that are too general ("Are you going
out tonight?" when
what is really meant is "Where are you going tonight?")
- tendency to
agree rather than to voice opposition
- indirect requests and ambiguous statements
- class clown behavior
- extreme forgetfulness
- withdrawal or exclusion from group activities
- difficulty with understanding
non-verbal behaviors, such as body language; finding words; puns, idioms, riddles,
jokes, sarcasm, and slang; instructions, especially those that are long or grammatically
complex; words with multiple meanings (bear versus bare); sequencing; expressing
thoughts; organizing information
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