Communication disorders come in various forms and negatively affect the ways in which people deliver and receive various types of communication. These disorders can present themselves in a number of different ways. While they can occur throughout the life span, there are several communication issues that are seen commonly in childhood. Read on to discover more about these conditions and their symptoms.
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What Is a Communication Disorder?
A communication disorder can take many forms. These conditions cause the ability to receive, deliver, process and understand communications to be impaired. The communication type that is affected can be verbal, nonverbal or even graphic symbols, depending upon the disorder at hand. These conditions can affect language, hearing and/or speech.
The severity varies from mild to severe in each circumstance. A person can be born with a communication disorder or it can be acquired later in life. In addition, these disorders may present themselves alone or in combination. It’s also possible that a communication disorder can be a person’s only or primary condition; it can also present itself as a secondary problem.
Types of Communication Conditions
St. Louis Children’s Hospital discusses four main types of communication disorders in children. These are speech, hearing, language and central auditory processing disorders. Speech disorders impair the ways in which speech sounds or is delivered. Language disorders affect the ways in which a person receives or uses various forms of language.
Hearing disorders develop due to an impairment of the auditory system. These can affect hearing, as well as speech and language. Finally, central auditory processing disorders involve problems in information processing that are not directly related to hearing dysfunction or intellectual difficulties. People who have these disorders simply have a hard time processing information in various ways.
Common Types in Children
There are disordered communication types that are more common in children than adults. Expressive language disorder is one such type. This occurs when a child’s speech is delayed or dysfunctional. Mixed-receptive language disorder involves problems understanding spoken language. Childhood-onset fluency disorder is a condition that’s more commonly known as stuttering, and it can last throughout the life span.
Speech-sound disorders are ones in which suddenly begins to have trouble using words once they reach a certain age. One final type of communication disorder common in children is social communication disorder. This is when an individual has difficulties in both verbal and nonverbal communication; these problems are not associated with any intellectual delays or deficits.
Symptoms of these disorders vary by condition and by individual child. However, there are some that show up quite commonly. Not speaking at all is one thing to look for when considering whether a child is dealing with a communication disorder. Another is having difficulty naming objects or following directions. Having a limited vocabulary is yet another common sign. Look for communication difficulties that are uncommon for a child’s age group, and talk to a physician if there are concerns.
These are some of the ways in which children can experience problems with speech, language, hearing or other processing. Communication disorders that impact children can be addressed positively when properly diagnosed.