General Information
Current Definition:
The nation's special education law provides the most often used definition of speech or language disabilities. The U.S. Department of Education defines "speech or language impairment" in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as the following:
"Speech or language impairment means a communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance" (2004).
This definition shows some of the ways in which speech or language disabilities can be divided. There are a number of different types of speech and language disabilities.
Types of Speech/Language Disabilities:
Speech Impairments
There are three different categories of speech impairments: articulation disorders, fluency disorders, and voice disorders.
Language Impairments
Language impairments can be further divided into three groups: expressive language disorders, receptive language disorders, or mixed language disorders.
Prevalence
In 2006, of the 6.1 million students in public schools served by IDEA, 1.1 million were classified as having a speech or language impairment. This number does not include students who have speech or language impairment as secondary conditions to other disabilities, so the actual prevalence is probably much higher. (2011)
Causes
The causes of speech and language disabilities vary widely and the specific cause of each case is often unknown. However, many of the common causes include hearing loss, neurological disorders, brain injury, intellectual disabilities, drug abuse, physical impairments such as cleft lip or palate, and vocal abuse. (2011)
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of a speech or language impairment typically begins with a parent. Parents are most often the first to notice that their child's speech or language skills are behind those of their peers'. Children's language skills typically develop along a set of fairly specific milestones. The following website is a valuable resource for seeing the typical milestones that children tend to reach at various points in their life:
http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/chart.htm
If a child is not meeting these milestones and is taking longer to develop their language skills, a parent may choose to investigate the possibility of a speech or language disability. To do so they would take their child to a speech and language pathologist. Here the child would typically first have his or her hearing checked as this can often contribute to speech and language disabilities. Next the child would be screened for a possible impairment.
Screening typically involves questionnaires for the parents to get an idea of their evaluation of the child's development as well as forms for the speech and language pathologist to determine how developed the child is. With older children there may also be screens to check for impairments by having them perform tasks such as reading specific words out loud to the screener. After this screens the speech and language pathologist will be able to determine if a diagnosis should be issued and what, if any, intervention should be taken (Prelock, 2008).
The nation's special education law provides the most often used definition of speech or language disabilities. The U.S. Department of Education defines "speech or language impairment" in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as the following:
"Speech or language impairment means a communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance" (2004).
This definition shows some of the ways in which speech or language disabilities can be divided. There are a number of different types of speech and language disabilities.
Types of Speech/Language Disabilities:
Speech Impairments
There are three different categories of speech impairments: articulation disorders, fluency disorders, and voice disorders.
- Articulation Disorders- These are errors in the production of speech sounds. These may be related to anatomical or physiological limitations in the skeletal, muscular, or neuromuscular support for speech production. One common example of an articulation disorder is when students use a "w" sound instead of an "r" sound.
- Fluency Disorders- These are characterized by difficulties with the rhythm and timing of speech. Examples of fluency disorders include stuttering (rapid repetition of sounds especially at the beginning of words) and cluttering (excessively fast and jerky speech).
- Voice Disorders- These are the result of irregularities in the larynx. This results in problems with the quality or use of the voice, including abnormal pitch, loudness, resonance or duration. (Project Ideal, 2008)
Language Impairments
Language impairments can be further divided into three groups: expressive language disorders, receptive language disorders, or mixed language disorders.
- Expressive Language Disorder- The child has a hard time expressing his or her ideas and needs.
- Receptive Language Disorder- The child has difficulty interpreting the speech of others.
- Mixed Language Disorder- This would involve elements of both expressive and receptive language disorders. (NICHCY, 2011)
Prevalence
In 2006, of the 6.1 million students in public schools served by IDEA, 1.1 million were classified as having a speech or language impairment. This number does not include students who have speech or language impairment as secondary conditions to other disabilities, so the actual prevalence is probably much higher. (2011)
Causes
The causes of speech and language disabilities vary widely and the specific cause of each case is often unknown. However, many of the common causes include hearing loss, neurological disorders, brain injury, intellectual disabilities, drug abuse, physical impairments such as cleft lip or palate, and vocal abuse. (2011)
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of a speech or language impairment typically begins with a parent. Parents are most often the first to notice that their child's speech or language skills are behind those of their peers'. Children's language skills typically develop along a set of fairly specific milestones. The following website is a valuable resource for seeing the typical milestones that children tend to reach at various points in their life:
http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/chart.htm
If a child is not meeting these milestones and is taking longer to develop their language skills, a parent may choose to investigate the possibility of a speech or language disability. To do so they would take their child to a speech and language pathologist. Here the child would typically first have his or her hearing checked as this can often contribute to speech and language disabilities. Next the child would be screened for a possible impairment.
Screening typically involves questionnaires for the parents to get an idea of their evaluation of the child's development as well as forms for the speech and language pathologist to determine how developed the child is. With older children there may also be screens to check for impairments by having them perform tasks such as reading specific words out loud to the screener. After this screens the speech and language pathologist will be able to determine if a diagnosis should be issued and what, if any, intervention should be taken (Prelock, 2008).
References
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY). (2011). Speech and
language impairments. Retrieved from http://nichcy.org/disability/specific/speechlanguage
Prelock, P. A. (n.d.). Speech-language impairment: How to identify the most common and least
diagnosed disability of childhood. (2008). The Medscape Journal of Medicine, 10(6), 136
140 inc. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2491683/
Project Ideal. (2008). Speech or Language Impairment. Retrieved from
http://www.projectidealonline.org/speechLanguageImpairments.php
U.S. Department of Education. (2004). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY). (2011). Speech and
language impairments. Retrieved from http://nichcy.org/disability/specific/speechlanguage
Prelock, P. A. (n.d.). Speech-language impairment: How to identify the most common and least
diagnosed disability of childhood. (2008). The Medscape Journal of Medicine, 10(6), 136
140 inc. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2491683/
Project Ideal. (2008). Speech or Language Impairment. Retrieved from
http://www.projectidealonline.org/speechLanguageImpairments.php
U.S. Department of Education. (2004). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.