chapter 5: Communication disorders Flashcards
: learning problems that occur in
the absence of other obvious conditions
– The term has been replaced in the DSM-5 by more
specific terms, communication disorders and
learning disorders
– Affects how individuals of at least normal
intelligence take in, retain, or express information
Learning disability
• Co-occurring problems in:
– Reading
– Math
– Written expression
• Determined by achievement test results that are
lower than would be expected for one’s age,
schooling, and intellectual ability
Specific Learning Disorder
by age ___ a child can recognize several words as well
as say a few words to express needs and emotions
1
– Deficits in _____ are a chief reason that
individuals develop communication and learning
disorders
– About 80% of children can use phonemes properly by
the age of 7
•Phonology
– Broad construct that includes recognition of the
relationship that exists between sounds and
letters
– Detection of rhyme and alliteration
– Awareness that sounds can be manipulated within
syllables
Phonological awareness
• Characterized by deficits in expression despite
normal comprehension of speech
– ___ occurs when a child’s language matures at least
12 months behind his or her chronological age
• Children with ___ often have:
– Delayed/slowed speech development; limited
vocabulary; and speech marked by short
sentences and simple grammatical structure
Language Disorder
– difficulty with articulation
or sound production
Speech sound disorder
• Language disorder affects 7% of younger school-age
children
• Communication disorders are identified twice as
often in boys than girls
• Most children acquire normal language by
adolescence
• 50% fully outgrow the problems
• LD is associated with higher-than-normal rates of
negative behaviors
Prevalence
Causes of LD
Genetics
– Temporal processing deficits
• Brain
– Circular feedback loop in the left temporal lobe
– Problems in connections between brain areas and
less brain activity in left temporal region
• Recurrent middle ear infections (otitis media) in first
year of life may lead to speech and language delays
• Home environment
– It is unlikely that communication disorders are
caused by parents
• Except in cases of extreme neglect and abuse
• The repeated and prolonged pronunciation of certain
syllables that interferes with communication
• Prevalence and course
– Gradual onset between ages 2 and 7; peaks at age
5
– About 3% of children are affected
– Affects males about three times more often than
females
– 80% of those who stutter before age 5 stop after a
year in school
Childhood-Onset Fluency Disorder
Causes of COFD
• Genetic factors account for 70% of variance in causes
• Environmental factors account for remaining
influences
• Possible treatments
– Parental changes - speak to the child slowly in
short sentences
– Contingency management procedures
– Habit reversal procedures
• Persistent difficulties in pragmatics (social use of
language and communication)
Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder
• A discrepancy of more than two standard deviations
between the IQ findings and the actual achievement
test findings in a child
• Learning disorders include reading, mathematics,
and writing
• The different learning disorders overlap and build on
the same brain functions
– A person can have more than one form of learning
disorder
Specific Learning Disorder
• Most common underlying feature is the inability to
distinguish or separate sounds in spoken words
• Involves difficulty learning basic sight words, such as:
the, who, what, laugh, said
• Errors in reversals (b/d, p/q), transpositions
(was/saw, scared/sacred.), inversions (m/w, u/n), and
omissions (place for palace, section for selection)
– These errors are common in young children
• Core deficits in reading disorders are in decoding
rapidly enough to read the whole word – coupled
with problems reading single, small words
SLD With Impairment in Reading
• Writing disorders are often associated with problems
with eye/hand coordination
– Leads to poor handwriting
• Children with writing disorders:
– Produce shorter, less interesting, and poorly
organized essays
– Are less likely to review spelling, punctuation, and
grammar to increase clarity
SLD with Impairment in Written Expression
