Definition- - All disorders related to deficiencies in speech, language, and auditory processing.
Background Information
- Language disorder: DSM-IV Combines expressive and mixed receptive-expressive language disorders to create language disorder
- Phonological disorder is now named speech sound disorder
- Stuttering is now called childhood-onset fluency
- In the DSM-IV, people were previously diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder, but now they meet the criteria for social communication disorder.
Sub disorders-
- Language Disorder
- Speech Sound Disorder
- Childhood Onset Fluency Disorder (Stuttering)
- Social Communication Disorder
- Unspecified Communication Disorder
Symptoms-
Individuals with communication disorders often experience these symptoms:
- Repetition of sounds or phrases after age 4
- Unintelligible speech after age 3
- Leaving out consonants of words
- Distortion of sounds
- Frustration and embarrassment with attempts to communicate
- Head jerking and eye blinking while talking
- Pitch, quality, and sound deviations in voice
Causes-
Communication disorders are often caused by:
- Hearing loss
- Neurological disorders
- Brain injury
- Mental retardation
- Drug abuse
- Physical impairments
- Psychiatric disorders
- Developmental disorders
- Other unknown causes
Statistics - According to the American Speech, Language, Hearing Association, 1,460,583 (24.1%) of children in public schools receiving special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) have communication disorders.