Communication Disorders : Lifelong Limitations?
- Inability to Make and Keep Friends
- Treated Differently
- Communications Struggles Lead to Other Problems
- Adult Function Impaired
- Compounds Problems of Aging
Communication disorders are fairly common and affect the way we perceive ourselves and our environments. One source says that ten percent of children have some sort of difficulty, from minor to disabling, in producing or in understanding language. The disorder is defined as “ impairment in the ability to send, receive, process and comprehend concepts or verbal, non-verbal and graphic symbol systems.” That disability may be partly responsible for a number of societal problems including some crimes, and certainly is responsible for limiting the potentials of the people who have the impairments. So great is the impact of these problems, especially upon children, that the government has made these children eligible for special services in the schools. There are many ways that this impairment can affect people; here are five of them.
Related Resource: Top 20 Best Online Communications Degree Programs
1. Inability to Make and Keep Friends
People with these disorders may have trouble hearing conversations or understanding what they hear. Often, they avoid social situations so that they will not be embarrassed, and they become isolated. Because social interactions are necessary for the development of self-esteem and personality, these people may feel inadequate and be unable to “hold their own” in social situations. In fact, one type of communication problem inhibits the ability of the person to understand the give-and-take process of conversation, making him more apt to monopolize it or to react inappropriately. This, in turn, limits the ability of the person not only to make friends, but to retain them.
2. Treated Differently
People, especially children, with problems in language production and comprehension are often seen differently. Those with Childhood Onset Fluency Disorder, or stuttering, may be very bright, but because of their impairment can be perceived as delayed. A research project by Laura Segebart DeThorne and Ruth Watkins focused on the perceptions of children with language impairments by teachers, graduate students, speech-language pathologists and other students. The indications were that the children in the study were consistently perceived more negatively than their peers. A child who stutters, for instance, might be very bright but may be perceived as having cognitive limitations. Those perceptions, expressed in different treatment and expectations for the child, may become a “ self-fulfilling prophecy.”
3. Communications Struggles Lead to other Problems
Social Communication Disorder, one of five areas identified in an article in Psychology Today, can result in the person with the disability having difficulties making inferences from conversations or understanding the “subtleties” of social situations. They might be behind in reading and writing skills and have difficulty in comprehending what they read. This is the foundation of academic skills. Additionally, children with SCD have a greater incidence of hyperactivity and may have behavioral problems.
4. Adult Function Impaired
Adults who cannot interpret traffic signs cannot drive. Additionally, they might find it difficult to understand a job description or a repair manual. They typically have difficulty performing job tasks successfully, and have problems in social situations.
5. Compounds problems of Aging
Aging brings problems including, among others, hearing, vision and cognition impairment. By themselves, these can lead to isolation and further decline, but when there is a communication disorder present as well, the implications for an elderly person can be serious. Multiple sclerosis is associated with communications problems such as changes in speech and cognition. Aging MS patients report needing more assistance and having less freedom than other people of the same age. Nearly half of all healthy seniors have some hearing impairment and some have a degree of aphasia. These normal problems are aggravated when a communication disorder is already present.
Communication is vital at any stage of life. Interventions may occur at any stage as well, but they are more effective if the conditions are diagnosed and treated early. Communication disorders may compound the already sizable difficulties of navigating the social and technical requirements of life today.