Learning Disabilities

Learning Disabilities

* When is a child's communication considered delayed?

Head Start states that “A child's communication is considered delayed when the child is noticeably behind his or her peers in the acquisition of speech and/or language skills.”

Communication is made up of speech and language skills. Speech is the sound that comes out of our mouths by a combined effort in articulation, voice, and fluency. Language is the meaning of the words that come out of our mouths, and includes the ability to combine words and understand word meaning.

There is a broad range of interpretation regarding communication development milestones. It is important to be aware of both speech and language skill levels of the child’s peers, because a child could be behind if one or both of these skills are delayed.

* What are speech disorders and how are they characterized?

When a person has problems with voice or pronouncing sounds correctly, it is a speech disorder. Healthline reports that speech disorders can “affect the vocal cords, muscles, nerves, and other structures within the throat.”

A disruption in speech could be a fluency issue called stuttering. This is the most serious disfluency, and is usually present in children between ages two and six. Another disorder has to do with the quality of the voice. Voice disorders pose an issue with the loudness of the voice, and listeners often have difficulty hearing someone with this pathology. A common speech disorder is articulation, which refers to the formation of sounds, leaving out sounds, and distorting sounds. Apraxia is a motor speech disorder caused by damage to the brain. The weakening of muscles that are imperative for proper speech causes dysarthria, which is another speech disorder.

* What is a language disorders? How does it affect language development and education?

Language disorders are when a person has difficulty with receptive language and expressive language. Receptive language is the...