Apr 29

Language

A language disorder is an impairment in the ability to understand others (receptive language), or in the ability to share thoughts, ideas, and feelings completely (expressive language),

Any speech or language problem is likely to have a significant effect on the child’s social and academic skills and behavior. The earlier a child’s speech and language problems are identified and treated, the less likely it is that problems will persist or get worse. Early speech and language intervention can help children be more successful with reading, writing, schoolwork, and interpersonal relationships.

Please reference the following links to see developmental milestones:

Preschool: Birth to 5 Language Development Milestones
Kindergarten-5th Grade: Kindergarten to 5th Grade Language Development

Apr 29

Fluency

Fluency is the aspect of speech production that refers to continuity, smoothness, rate, and effort. Stuttering, the most common fluency disorder, is an interruption in the flow of speaking characterized by repetitions (sounds, syllables, words, phrases), sound prolongations, blocks, interjections, and revisions, which may affect the rate and rhythm of speech. These disfluencies may be accompanied by physical tension, negative reactions, secondary behaviors, and avoidance of sounds, words, or speaking situations (ASHA, 1993; Yaruss, 1998; Yaruss, 2004). Cluttering, another fluency disorder, is characterized by a perceived rapid and/or irregular speech rate, which results in breakdowns in speech clarity and/or fluency (St. Louis & Schulte, 2011).

ASHA: Fluency

Apr 29

ASHA Speech Sound Disorders: Articulation and Phonology

Most children make some mistakes as they learn to say new words. A speech sound disorder occurs when mistakes continue past a certain age. Every sound has a different range of ages when the child should make the sound correctly. Speech sound disorders include problems with articulation (making sounds) and phonological processes (sound patterns).

ASHA: Speech Sound Disorders