EDU 3201 Language Deficient Learners LD and Communication Disorders Dr. Ghazali Mustapha

Communication is... 4 a process of exchanging information, thoughts, and ideas 4 encompasses the ability to interpret transmit, and express messages 4 involves tone of voice, rate of delivery, eye contact, facial expression, and body movement

Communication Disorders is... 4 a general term comprising concerns affecting the development of language 4 the ability to exchange information both verbally and non-verbally 4 categorized into problems of articulation, voice disorders, stuttering and language disorders

Communication Disorders is... 4 a child’s disability to understand and/or formulate a message 4 result from both organic or non-organic factors such as biological readiness and cognitive, social, and environmental factors

Types of Communication Disorders 4 Articulation Disorders 4 Voice Disorders 4 Stuttering 4 Language Disorders - Language Processing Disorders -Language-Based Learning Disabilities

Articulation Disorders 4 ability to pronounce vowel and consonant sounds correctly 4 appropriate coordination of movements of the lips, tongue, palate, and jaw are necessary for proper articulation 4 this coordination begins in infancy with the process of sucking, chewing and swallowing

Articulation Disorders 4 as the child grows, drinking from a cup refines coordination of the muscles of the mouth to prepares the child for production of vowel and consonant sounds 4 at the age of 6 – 7 years, most children have learned to produce all of the sounds of their language correctly

Articulation Disorders 4 likely to be present in children who have physical problems 4 children with language delays or structural defects such as cleft palate may have problems with articulation 4 infants with swallowing or chewing difficulties or excessive drooling may also develop articulation problem

Symptoms of Articulation Disorders 4 difficulties learning the rules for sequencing vowel and consonant sounds 4 difficulties learning the rules for the position of these sounds in actual words 4 delay in maturation

Causes of Articulation Disorders 4 physical or structural abnormalities of the mouth, lips, tongue, jaw, or throat 4 neurological impairment 4 imitation of another child with pronunciation problems

Voice Disorders 4 less common in children than in adults 4 referred to as abnormal phonation 4 the conditions of excessive or prolonged hoarseness or a nasal or de-nasal voice 4 it is important to monitor closely any voice changes in the developing child.

Voice Disorders 4 Hoarseness can be caused by chronic irritation of the throat, infection, allergy, and vocal abuse such as yelling or screaming 4 Hypernasality exists when too much sound is passing through the nose. 4 Hyponasality refers to too little sound passing through the nose

Causes of Voice Disorders 4 Blockage of the nasal passages, allergies, and chronic colds can cause hyponasality 4 Hypernasality occurs when the soft palate fails to close the nasal passages, thus allowing air to pass through the nose 4 Children with cleft palate often have his type of voice pattern due to insufficient palatal tissue

Causes of Voice Disorders 4 physical anomalies or misuse of the voice mechanism 4 most often an ear, nose, and throat 4 voice box and oral mechanism often are needed to determine the presence of a structural defect

Stuttering 4 sentence production, occasional repetitions, hesitations, or long pauses 4 also known as stammering 4 a common part of the typical language development process

Stuttering 4 a part of typical conversation for both children and adults 4 parents who are concerned about the disruptions in the rhythm of their child’s conversational speech should consult a professional for evaluation to determine the most appropriate method of intervention

Causes of Stuttering 4 emotional or psychological factors in the family environment of in the children themselves 4 problem to a malfunction of the central nervous system

Language Disorders 4 generally categorized either by cause or in descriptive terms 4 there is not a concise definition for language disorders due to variety of difficulties children can experience during the process of development of communication

Definition of Language Disorders “A language disorder is the abnormal acquisition, comprehension or expression of spoken or written language. The disorder may involve all, one or some of the components of the linguistic system. Individuals with language disorders frequently have problems in sentence processing, abstracting information meaningfully for storage and retrieval from short and long term memory.” American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

Definition of Language Disorders “A language problem can refer to difficulties with sounds (phonological), grammatical structure and use (morphological and syntactical), word meanings (semantic), and the social skills involved in adjusting language to varied situations (pragmatic).”

Causes of Language Disorders Central Nervous System Defects 4 In the development of speech and language, the central nervous system and the nerves that control our senses and muscles play a vital role 4 In order to absorb information from the environment, children must see, hear and feel what is happening around them

Causes of Language Disorders 4 If damage has occurred to any of these sensory systems, delays or disruption of the typical process of speech and language development can occur 4 It is important to recognize these problems early in order to aid the child in developing strategies to compensate for these deficiencies

Causes of Language Disorders 4 two communication disorders caused by problems in the brain itself are expressive aphasia and apraxia 4 refer to the inability to produce language due to problems in processing information and producing responses 4 often are described as a short-circuit in the system of receiving and sending messages

Symptoms of Language Disorders 4 the brain’s system is working at times and failing at others 4 often have echolalic speech 4 tend to be distractible, nonverbal, and easily frustrated by conversations they do not understand 4 often are unable to respond correctly

Language Processing Disorders and Language-Based Learning Disabilities 4 school-age child may have problems in one or more of the following areas 4 understanding spoken or written language 4 expressing ideas either orally or in writing 4 finding the appropriate words 4 processing information through the senses of hearing, seeing, touching, or movement

Language Processing Disorders and Language-Based Learning Disabilities 4 the prevalence is believed to be between 40% and 60% of the population 4 language-based learning disabilities are not easily detected in the preschool years 4 there are early signs that may indicate a language-based learning disability

Symptoms of Language Processing Disorders and Language-Based Learning Disabilities 4 having difficulty focusing on tasks 4 becoming confused easily by lengthy directions or conversations 4 having difficulty attending to and following stories reading aloud 4 verbally rambling without actually communicating an idea

Symptoms of Language Processing Disorders and Language-Based Learning Disabilities 4 difficulty using the correct words in a given situation 4 substituting an explanation for a specific object label 4 having difficulty understanding multiple meanings of words and interpret figurative language literally

Symptoms of Language Processing Disorders and Language-Based Learning Disabilities 4 inability to understand and express the how and why of a situation 4 difficulty making appropriate judgements in social situations 4 misinterpret words that represent time or space concepts 4 using nonspecific words

Incidence 4 variable 4 depends on the age of the population discussed 4 approximately 6% of children ages 6-18 years have problems in the area of voice, articulation, and stuttering 4 not include children with language-based learning difficulties

Treatments 4 Assessment 4 Therapy and Programs 4 Communication Aids 4 Communication Boards (Books) 4 Mechanical Aids 4 Electronic Aids 4 Facilitated Communication

Assessment 4 generally consist of 4 parts 4 sent to a speech-language pathologist for an evaluation 4 examines the physical mechanisms for speech production, hearing ability, speech quality, voice and rhythm patterns, and comprehension and expression of verbal language

Assessment of Oral Mechanism 4 looking at the structure of the mouth and observing the movements of the tongue, lips, and jaw during the production of speech 4 ask the child to imitate various mouth movements patterns, sounds, and words

Assessment of Articulation 4 tested by asking the child to name a specific series of pictures or to tell a story 4 important to hear how a child pronounces each consonant and vowel sound in isolation, in single words, and in conversational speech

Assessment of Articulation 4 pronunciation often seems better in one- word responses than in conversation 4 related to the amount of fine motor coordination involved in producing a long sentence to a single word 4 if mispronounced, the child is to try imitate the appropriate pronunciation to determine if therapy or type of program needed

Assessment of Language Process 4 the most time-consuming part-of the evaluation 4 administers a series of standardized tests to determine a child’s ability to understand and use spoken language 4 type of tests varies, depending on the child’s age, ability, and attention span

Assessment of Language Process 4 involve the use of pictures or toy objects 4 typically measure comprehension of nouns; action words; adjectives; concepts such as size, quality, and quantity; and grammar 4 asking a child to point to the one picture in the group that has been named by the examiner or to follow a series of directions

Assessment of Language Process 4 Test of Auditory Comprehension of Language 4 Zimmerman Pre-School Language Scale 4 Sequenced Inventory of Communication Development 4 Tina Bangs Vocabulary Comprehension Scale 4 Bracken Basic Concept Scale 4 Test of Language Development 4 Clinical Evaluation of Language Function 4 The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 4 MacArthur Commuicative Inventory 4 The Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales

Assessment of Language Process 4 evaluation of expressive language 4 includes the use of vocabulary, sentence structure, thought sequence, ideas, and responses to simple what, when, how, where, and why questions 4 involves the use of common pictures or toys 4 imitate sentences produced by the evaluator

Assessment of Language Process 4 to assess how children formulate their thoughts and communicate these ideas to the listener 4 observes the body movements, gestures, and facial expressions that the child uses in addition to, or in place of, words

Assessment of Language Process (Instruments) 4 Word Test 4 Test of Problem Solving 4 Expressive One Word Picture Vocabulary Test 4 Test of Language Competence

Assessment of Audiological 4 the scores and observations are compiled 4 include medical, educational, or psychological testing, may be recommended at that time to determine the cause of the child’s language problem 4 checklists 4 tape recordings

Therapy and Programs 4 type of communication disorder and the child’s age will determine specific language or speech-language therapy 4 very young children often require ongoing language stimulation activities 4 school-age children may provided with individualized therapy or design programs to be carried out in the classroom

Communication Aids 4 one of the numerous forms of alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) aids available may enable them to express their needs to others 4 facial expressions, gestures, and writing are common examples of nonverbal communication

Communication Aids 4 simple picture, word, or object systems are devised specifically for the individual child 4 technologically sophisticated electronic aids with voice synthesizer or printers are used 4 type of communication aid for the individual depends on age, physical ability, intellectual functioning, sensory adequacy, and other economic and environmental factors

Communication Boards (Books) 4 simplest type of communication aid 4 child’s abilities, the board or book 4 the child simply points to or touches the items shown to communicate 4 children with severe cognitive deficits may communicate with object boards and can be cumbersome to carry around

Mechanical Aids 4 refer to those that have moving parts but are not electronically operated 4 example, old-fashioned non-electric typewriter 4 children with poor fine motor control are unable to write legibly but are able to press keys on a typewriter to express their thought

Electronic Aids 4 can provide a much larger vocabulary and can be programmed or updated relatively easily 4 have voice synthesizers that “speak” for the child 4 comes in various sizes

Facilitated Communication 4 a communication technique in which a person with a language impairment is assisted by another individual to use an alternative communication device, such as a typewriter; computer; picture, letter, word, or symbol board: or other augmentative system

Facilitated Communication 4 facilitator assists the individual with a language impairment by physically supporting the hand, wrist, or forearm, as he or she points to the letters or types a message 4 facilitator’s support reduces the motor control needed to make the selection

Conclusion 4 children with communication impairments cannot wait until definite research results on this subject have been produced 4 communication program should basic components to provide the best possible intervention 4 assume that the child wants to communicate

Conclusion 4 encourage multiple ways of communicating and involve appropriate interests and skills 4 it should be noted that communication skills can vary from one environment to another 4 ultimate goal is to enable the child to communicate with the people who are important to him or her

References 4 Siegfried M. Pueschel, Patricia S. Scola, Leslie E. Weidenman, James C. Bernier; The Special Child - A Source Book for Parents of Children with Developmental Disabilities, 2nd Edition; Maryland, Deena K. Bernstein, Ellenmorris Tiegerman; Language and Communication Disorders in Children, 2nd Edition; New York, 1989

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