The characteristics of students with communication disorders vary depending on the components of language or speech that are affected. A speech disorder is an impairment of the articulation of speech sounds, fluency, voice, or all three.
Articulation Disorder
An articulation disorder is the atypical production of speech sounds characterized by substitutions, omissions, additions, or distortions that may interfere with intelligibility. For example, students may substitute one speech sound for another or distort a speech sound (e.g., a whistling “s”). Students may also add an additional sound or omit a sound. Students with an articulation disorder usually have difficulty with only one or two specific sounds.
Fluency Disorder
A fluency disorder is an interruption in the flow of speaking characterized by atypical rate, rhythm, and repetitions in sounds, syllables, words, and phrases. This may be accompanied by excessive tension, struggle behavior, and secondary mannerisms. For example, a student may interject unnecessary words or phrases, use incomplete phrases, use broken words (i.e., include pauses within words), prolong sounds, or repeat sounds of syllables, words, or phrases. The most common fluency disorder is stuttering, which involves the repetition of sounds or syllables or prolonged sounds as primary speech characteristics. Fluency disorders affect students most commonly between the ages of 2 and 10. In addition, boys are more commonly affected than girls. However, many children experience periods of dysfluency lasting about 6 months, usually between ages 2 and 6.
Voice Disorder
A voice disorder is characterized by abnormal production or absence of vocal quality, pitch, loudness, resonance, and/or duration that is inappropriate for an individual’s age and/or sex. For example, students with voice disorders may have a hoarse voice, speak in a high pitch, speak with no changes in pitch, or speak excessively loudly or softly (ASHA, 1993; Smiley et al., 2022).
Characteristics of language disorders are determined by whether they are primary (i.e., the disorder does not arise from an underlying medical condition) or secondary (i.e., the disorder can be attributed to another disability). Characteristics of secondary language disorders are associated with the identified primary disability (Smiley et al., 2022). Language disorders include difficulties with the form of language (i.e., phonology, morphology, or syntax), the content of language (i.e., semantics), or the function of language (i.e., pragmatics).
Form of Language
Students with language disorders that involve the form of language may experience difficulty with phonology or the sound system of a language and the rules that govern the sound combinations. For example, students may substitute one consonant sound for another or omit certain consonant sounds entirely. Students may also struggle with morphology or the system that governs the structure of words and the construction of word forms. For example, students may omit a specific morpheme such as the “s” that makes nouns plural.
Finally, some students may not experience language difficulties until they reach school age and encounter more complex syntax or the system governing the order and combination of words to form sentences, and the relationships among the elements within a sentence. For example, students may have difficulty understanding when to use commas.
Content of Language
Students with language disorders that involve the content of language experience difficulty with semantics or the system that governs the meanings of words and sentences. For example, students may have difficulty understanding metaphors.
Function of Language
Students with language disorders that involve the function of language experience difficulty with pragmatics or the system that combines form of language and content of language into functional and socially appropriate communication. For example, students may have difficulty participating in a conversation.
In addition, educators and clinicians must be aware of regional, social, and cultural or ethnic variations in the use of language. Any difference in language use that can be attributed to these variations is not considered a language disorder. Language disorders may also impact a student’s ability to read and write. For example, a student who is experiencing phonological difficulties may have problems understanding the sound–symbol associations necessary to encode and decode written words. Students with secondary language disorders caused by other disabilities, such as intellectual disabilities, may progress through a normal sequence of linguistic development but at a slower rate than their nondisabled peers. Identifying the characteristics of each student with a communication disorder can facilitate developing appropriate interventions (Smiley et al., 2022).
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (1993). Definitions of communication disorders and variations [Relevant Paper]. https://www.asha.org/policy/rp1993-00208/
Smiley, L. R., Richards, S.B., & Taylor, R. (2022). Exceptional students: Preparing teachers for the 21st century (4th ed.). McGraw Hill.
