Speech And Voice Therapy?

Language has to do with meanings, rather than sounds. A language disorder refers to an impaired ability to understand and/or use words in context. A child may have an expressive language disorder (difficulty in expressing ideas or needs), a receptive language disorder (difficulty in understanding what others are saying), or a mixed language disorder (which involves both).

Some characteristics of language disorders Include:

• improper use of words and their meanings,
• inability to express ideas,
• inappropriate grammatical patterns,
• reduced vocabulary, and
• Inability to follow directions.

Children may hear or see a word but not be able to understand its meaning. They may have trouble getting others to understand what they are trying to communicate. These symptoms can easily be mistaken for other disabilities such as autism or learning disabilities, so it is very important to ensure that the child receives a thorough evaluation by a certified speech-language pathologist.

Language is different from speech.

Language is made up of socially shared rules that include the following:

1. What words mean (e.g., "star" can refer to a bright object in the night sky or a celebrity)
2. How to make new words (e.g., friend, friendly, unfriendly)
3. How to put words together (e.g., "Peg walked to the new store" rather than "Peg walk store new")
4. What word combinations are best in what situations ("Would you mind moving your foot?" could quickly change to "Get off my foot, please!" if the first request did not produce results).

Speech is the verbal means of communicating. Speech consists of the following: The characteristics of speech or language impairments will vary depending upon the type of impairment involved. There may also be a combination of several problems.