Up                                                                                                                                     Home

LANGUAGE DISORDERS

Some problems encountered in school are due to early language development difficulties.  Some children have difficulty developing and using language as a means of communication at a young age ¹. These children grapple with comprehension and expression problems and have trouble learning to read and write. While these problems are persistent, they are manifested in different ways as the child grows up.

The majority of reading-related disabilities are due to a language problem : 80 % of children with learning disabilities experience problems as a result of delayed oral language development. These children may have receptive and expressive language problems and most of them have phonological processing problems.

¹ Language disorders are divides into three categories : form (speech sounds, grammar); content (meaning of words); and use (utilization of language to ask questions, seek answers, express thoughts in conversation, etc.)

Difference between Language delay and Language disorder :

¨ A language delay is a lag in comparison with the normal language development curve for reception or expression or both, and is related to the child’s particular situation, e.g. social deprivation, multilingualism, low IQ, hearing impairment, repeated ear infections, etc.

¨ A language disorder is reflected in a departure from the normal language development curve and is characterized by atypical development. Language acquisition is unusual and cannot be compared with normal development. Language disorders do not have an apparent cause, cannot be explained by a low IQ, hearing impairment or emotional problems, and are permanent. If the disorder is mild, the problem will not necessarily be detected in the first years of the child’s life and the signs may not become obvious until the child studies written language.

Manifestations :

Language disorders are generally manifested in children with learning disabilities as :

¨ An inability to concentrate on an oral message or understand it, if it is given quickly.

¨ Difficulty expressing ideas orally that seem to have been understood.

¨ Difficulty speaking their mother tongue with adequate grammatical ease.

¨ Difficulty holding or following a conversation on an unfamiliar subject.

¨ Difficulty following the right order of events when telling a story.

¨ Difficulty following oral or written directions.