Public School SLPs: Parents

Types of Communication Disorders/Deficits

Articulation: Difficulties with the way sounds are formed and strung together, usually characterized by substituting one sound for another ("wabbit" for "rabbit"), omitting a sound ("han" for "hand") or distorting a sound ("ship" for "sip"). Click here for a chart of speech sounds that shows age compared to expected sounds

Fluency/Stuttering: A interruption in the flow or rhythm of speech characterized by hesitations, repetitions or prolongations of sound, syllables, words or phrases. Click here for more information on what stuttering is and how you can differentiate it from normal nonfluencies

Voice disorders: Characterized by inappropriate pitch (too high, too low, never changing or interrupted by breaks); loudness (too loud or not loud enough); or quality (harsh, hoarse, breathy or nasal). Click here for more tips on how to find out if you or someone you know has a voice disorder.

Delayed language: Characterized by a marked slowness in the development of the vocabulary and grammar necessary for expressing and understanding thoughts and ideas.

Language-based learning disabilities: interfere with age-appropriate reading, spelling, and/or writing. This disorder does not impair intelligence; in fact, most people diagnosed with learning disabilities possess average to superior intelligence.

Pragmatic disorder/Social disorder: An individual may say words clearly and use long, complex sentences with correct grammar, but still have a communication problem - if he or she has not mastered the rules for social language known as pragmatics . Adults may also have difficulty with pragmatics, for example, as a result of a brain injury or stroke.

Pragmatics involve three major communication skills:

Using language for different purposes, such as
- greeting (e.g., hello, goodbye)
- informing (e.g., I'm going to get a cookie)
- demanding (e.g., Give me a cookie)
- promising (e.g., I'm going to get you a cookie)
- requesting (e.g., I would like a cookie, please)
Changing language according to the needs of a listener or situation, such as
- talking differently to a baby than to an adult
- giving background information to an unfamiliar listener
- speaking differently in a classroom than on a playground
Following rules for conversations and storytelling, such as
- taking turns in conversation
- introducing topics of conversation
- staying on topic
- rephrasing when misunderstood
- how to use verbal and nonverbal signals
- how close to stand to someone when speaking
- how to use facial expressions and eye contact

These rules may vary across cultures and within cultures. It is important to understand the rules of your communication partner.

An individual with pragmatic problems may:

say inappropriate or unrelated things during conversations
tell stories in a disorganized way
have little variety in language use

It is not unusual for children to have pragmatic problems in only a few situations. However, if problems in social language use occur often and seem inappropriate considering the child's age, a pragmatic disorder may exist. Pragmatic disorders often coexist with other language problems such as vocabulary development or grammar. Pragmatic problems can lower social acceptance. Peers may avoid having conversations with an individual with a pragmatic disorder.

Click here for tips on helping with pragmatic issues