Speech or Language Impairment
Definition
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) officially defines speech and language impairments as “a communication disorder such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.” Each point within this official definition represents a speech and language subcategory. “A communication disorder such as stuttering” provides an example of a fluency disorder; other fluency issues include unusual word repetition and hesitant speech. “Impaired articulation” indicates impairments in which a child experiences challenges in pronouncing specific sounds. “A language impairment” can entail difficulty comprehending words properly, expressing oneself and listening to others. Finally, “a voice impairment” involves difficulty voicing words; for instance, throat issues may cause an abnormally soft voice.
Retrieved from: https://www.specialeducationguide.com/disability-profiles/speech-and-language-impairments/
Characteristics
Speech Impairments
There are three basic types of speech impairments: articulation disorders, fluency disorders, and voice disorders.
Articulation disorders are errors in the production of speech sounds that may be related to anatomical or physiological limitations in the skeletal, muscular, or neuromuscular support for speech production. These disorders include:
Fluency disorders are difficulties with the rhythm and timing of speech characterized by hesitations, repetitions, or prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases. Common fluency disorders include:
Voice disorders are problems with the quality or use of one's voice resulting from disorders in the larynx. Voice disorders are characterized by abnormal production and/or absences of vocal quality, pitch, loudness, resonance, and/or duration.
Retrieved from: http://www.projectidealonline.org/v/speech-language-impairments/
Language Impairments
There are five basic areas of language impairments: phonological disorders, morphological disorders, semantic disorders, syntactical deficits, and pragmatic difficulties.
Phonological disorders are defined as the abnormal organization of the phonological system, or a significant deficit in speech production or perception. A child with a phonological disorder may be described as hard to understand or as not saying the sounds correctly. Apraxia of speech is a specific phonological disorder where the student may want to speak but has difficulty planning what to say and the motor movements to use.
Morphological disorders are defined as difficulties with morphological inflections (inflections on nouns, verbs, and adjectives that signal different kinds of meanings).
Semantic disorders are characterized by poor vocabulary development, inappropriate use of word meanings, and/or inability to comprehend word meanings. These students will demonstrate restrictions in word meanings, difficulty with multiple word meanings, excessive use of nonspecific terms (e.g., thing and stuff), and indefinite references (e.g., that and there).
Syntactic deficits are characterized by difficulty in acquiring the rules that govern word order and others aspects of grammar such as subject-verb agreement. Typically, these students produce shorter and less elaborate sentences with fewer cohesive conjunctions than their peers.
Pragmatic difficulties are characterized as problems in understanding and using language in different social contexts. These students may lack an understanding of the rules for making eye contact, respecting personal space, requesting information, and introducing topics.
Retrieved from: http://www.projectidealonline.org/v/speech-language-impairments/
Educational Considerations
Most, if not all, students with a speech or language impairment will need speech-language pathology services. This related service is defined by IDEA as follows:
(15) Speech-language pathology services includes--
(i) Identification of children with speech or language impairments;
(ii) Diagnosis and appraisal of specific speech or language impairments;
(iii) Referral for medical or other professional attention necessary for the habilitation of speech or language impairments;
(iv) Provision of speech and language services for the habilitation or prevention of communicative impairments; and
(v) Counseling and guidance of parents, children, and teachers regarding speech and language impairments. [34 CFR §300.34(c)(15)]
Thus, in addition to diagnosing the nature of a child’s speech-language difficulties, speech-language pathologists also provide:
Speech and/or language therapy may continue throughout a student’s school years either in the form of direct therapy or on a consultant basis.
Assistive technology (AT) can also be very helpful to students, especially those whose physical conditions make communication difficult. Each student’s IEP team will need to consider if the student would benefit from AT such as an electronic communication system or other device. AT is often the key that helps students engage in the give and take of shared thought, complete school work, and demonstrate their learning.
Retrieved from: https://www.parentcenterhub.org/speechlanguage/#educational
Resources
Project IDEAL (Informing and Designing Education for All Learners) is a project of the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities. This site includes teaching modules, videos, articles, and activities as part of a teacher preparation program intended to better prepare teachers to work with students with disabilities.
Webpage: Speech or Language Impairments http://www.projectidealonline.org/v/speech-language-impairments/
Center for Parent Information and Resources
What you will find on the Parent Center Hub:
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) officially defines speech and language impairments as “a communication disorder such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.” Each point within this official definition represents a speech and language subcategory. “A communication disorder such as stuttering” provides an example of a fluency disorder; other fluency issues include unusual word repetition and hesitant speech. “Impaired articulation” indicates impairments in which a child experiences challenges in pronouncing specific sounds. “A language impairment” can entail difficulty comprehending words properly, expressing oneself and listening to others. Finally, “a voice impairment” involves difficulty voicing words; for instance, throat issues may cause an abnormally soft voice.
Retrieved from: https://www.specialeducationguide.com/disability-profiles/speech-and-language-impairments/
Characteristics
Speech Impairments
There are three basic types of speech impairments: articulation disorders, fluency disorders, and voice disorders.
Articulation disorders are errors in the production of speech sounds that may be related to anatomical or physiological limitations in the skeletal, muscular, or neuromuscular support for speech production. These disorders include:
- Omissions: (bo for boat)
- Substitutions: (wabbit for rabbit)
- Distortions: (shlip for sip)
Fluency disorders are difficulties with the rhythm and timing of speech characterized by hesitations, repetitions, or prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases. Common fluency disorders include:
- Stuttering: rapid-fire repetitions of consonant or vowel sounds especially at the beginning of words, prolongations, hesitations, interjections, and complete verbal blocks
- Cluttering: excessively fast and jerky speech
Voice disorders are problems with the quality or use of one's voice resulting from disorders in the larynx. Voice disorders are characterized by abnormal production and/or absences of vocal quality, pitch, loudness, resonance, and/or duration.
Retrieved from: http://www.projectidealonline.org/v/speech-language-impairments/
Language Impairments
There are five basic areas of language impairments: phonological disorders, morphological disorders, semantic disorders, syntactical deficits, and pragmatic difficulties.
Phonological disorders are defined as the abnormal organization of the phonological system, or a significant deficit in speech production or perception. A child with a phonological disorder may be described as hard to understand or as not saying the sounds correctly. Apraxia of speech is a specific phonological disorder where the student may want to speak but has difficulty planning what to say and the motor movements to use.
Morphological disorders are defined as difficulties with morphological inflections (inflections on nouns, verbs, and adjectives that signal different kinds of meanings).
Semantic disorders are characterized by poor vocabulary development, inappropriate use of word meanings, and/or inability to comprehend word meanings. These students will demonstrate restrictions in word meanings, difficulty with multiple word meanings, excessive use of nonspecific terms (e.g., thing and stuff), and indefinite references (e.g., that and there).
Syntactic deficits are characterized by difficulty in acquiring the rules that govern word order and others aspects of grammar such as subject-verb agreement. Typically, these students produce shorter and less elaborate sentences with fewer cohesive conjunctions than their peers.
Pragmatic difficulties are characterized as problems in understanding and using language in different social contexts. These students may lack an understanding of the rules for making eye contact, respecting personal space, requesting information, and introducing topics.
Retrieved from: http://www.projectidealonline.org/v/speech-language-impairments/
Educational Considerations
Most, if not all, students with a speech or language impairment will need speech-language pathology services. This related service is defined by IDEA as follows:
(15) Speech-language pathology services includes--
(i) Identification of children with speech or language impairments;
(ii) Diagnosis and appraisal of specific speech or language impairments;
(iii) Referral for medical or other professional attention necessary for the habilitation of speech or language impairments;
(iv) Provision of speech and language services for the habilitation or prevention of communicative impairments; and
(v) Counseling and guidance of parents, children, and teachers regarding speech and language impairments. [34 CFR §300.34(c)(15)]
Thus, in addition to diagnosing the nature of a child’s speech-language difficulties, speech-language pathologists also provide:
- individual therapy for the child;
- consult with the child’s teacher about the most effective ways to facilitate the child’s communication in the class setting; and
- work closely with the family to develop goals and techniques for effective therapy in class and at home.
Speech and/or language therapy may continue throughout a student’s school years either in the form of direct therapy or on a consultant basis.
Assistive technology (AT) can also be very helpful to students, especially those whose physical conditions make communication difficult. Each student’s IEP team will need to consider if the student would benefit from AT such as an electronic communication system or other device. AT is often the key that helps students engage in the give and take of shared thought, complete school work, and demonstrate their learning.
Retrieved from: https://www.parentcenterhub.org/speechlanguage/#educational
Resources
Project IDEAL (Informing and Designing Education for All Learners) is a project of the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities. This site includes teaching modules, videos, articles, and activities as part of a teacher preparation program intended to better prepare teachers to work with students with disabilities.
Webpage: Speech or Language Impairments http://www.projectidealonline.org/v/speech-language-impairments/
Center for Parent Information and Resources
What you will find on the Parent Center Hub:
- Family-friendly information and research-based materials on key topics for Parent Centers
- Private workspaces for Parent Centers to exchange resources, discuss high-priority topics, and solve mutual challenges
- Coordination of parent training efforts throughout the network
- A twice-monthly e-newsletter with key topics, new resources, upcoming events, and materials to share with families
- Materials from Parent Centers themselves
- Article: Speech and Language Impairments https://www.parentcenterhub.org/speechlanguage/
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), conducts and supports research in the normal and disordered processes of hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech, and language. This site includes articles, research findings, and shares organizations that can answer questions and provide information on various topics.
Article: Specific Language Impairment https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/specific-language-impairment#
The site, Understood for Learning and Attention Issues, contains an abundance of information on learning and attention issues.
Articles:Language Disorders: Your Questions Answered, https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/communication-disorders/language-disorders-your-questions-answered;
Terms You May Hear From Speech-Language Pathologists, https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/getting-started/disability-important-terms/terms-you-may-hear-from-speech-language-pathologists;
What’s the Difference Between Speech Disorders and Language-Based Learning Disabilities? https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/issues-involving-spoken-language/difference-between-speech-disorders-and-language-based-learning-disabilities - What You Need to Know about Speech Therapy https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/treatments-approaches/therapies/what-you-need-to-know-about-speech-therapy