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Language Disorders in Children

  Identification of Language Delay

· Language delay is the most common developmental disorder of childhood:

· 15% prevalence at 3 years

· 5% prevalence at school entry

· Early intervention in language disorders results in successful outcomes.

Nomenclature

· Language: A system of symbols constructed to communicate information.

· Speech: The mechanical aspects of language production.

· Expressive language: The generation of symbolic output (spoken or written).

· Receptive language: The ability to decode and extract meaning from the language of others (listening or reading).

Language Disorders

Grammatical Terminology

· Phonology: How sounds (phonemes) are combined into words.

· Syntax: How words are put together into phrases and sentences.

· Semantics: The meaning of words. phrases, and sentences.

· Pragmatics: How words, phrases, sentences and gestures are used to communicate.

Sequence of Language Acquisition

· 0-3 months: Random noises

· 3-6 months: Babbling

· 6-9 Months: Expressive babbling

· 9-12 months: Jargoning

· 12-18 mos: dyslexia, stuttering One word stage

· 18-25 months: Two word stage

· 24-36 months: Telegraphic speech

· 36-48 months: Grammatical refinement

Language Delays

· Impairment can occur anywhere in the Language Process:

· Input: Impaired sensory input (hearing)

· Processing: Impaired decoding, word identification, or meaning formation (related to IQ, vocabulary, reasoning, concept formation)

· Output: Impaired oral-motor ability, expression

Language Delays

· Endogenous Problems

· Hearing impairment dyslexia, stuttering

· Mental retardation

· Learning disabilities

· Neurological deficits

· Pure developmental language disorder

· Exogenous Problems

· Linguistically impoverished environments

· Lack of