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Children affected by receptive language disorders struggle to understand what others say and have difficulty processing verbal information. Expressive language disorders involve difficulty expressing oneself verbally due to deficits related to vocabulary, grammar and/or semantics as well as verbal problem solving skills. If you’re worried about you or your child’s communication skills, visit Eve Spremullo, MS, CCC-SLP, at Honeycomb Speech Services in Warwick, Rhode Island. She provides comprehensive language evaluations and treatment to help children, adolescents and adults manage their language deficits. To learn how Eve can assist you with receptive and/or expressive language disorders, call Honeycomb Speech Services or request an assessment using the online booking feature today.
What are language disorders?
Receptive language disorders make it hard for children to understand what the people talking to them are saying, and they struggle to process verbal information.
Some children have an expressive language disorder, which is the opposite problem — difficulty conveying meaning to people around them through verbal expression skills.
Children could also have a mixed receptive-expressive language disorder, where they struggle with both understanding others and communicating their own thoughts.
It’s not always clear why children develop a receptive language disorder, but sometimes it results from an underlying developmental condition like autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or Down syndrome.
How do language disorders affect my child?
Children with language disorders often experience challenges at school and in social environments. They may become frustrated at their inability to communicate, leading to behavioral problems, acting out, and disrupted education or delayed academic skills.
Children with receptive language disorders often struggle to follow spoken directions, feeling unsure of what’s expected, and socially isolated. They may also have trouble organizing their ideas before writing them down or saying them aloud.
If your child has an expressive as well as a receptive language disorder, their vocabulary will likely be noticeably less extensive than their classmates. They might frequently umm and ahh or hesitate a lot.
Children could also have problems choosing the correct tense when they speak, have problems formulating sentences, and/or leave words out when speaking.
How are language disorders assessed?
Before selecting the most appropriate treatment for children with language deficits, Honeycomb Speech Services first completes a comprehensive evaluation.
Assessments might combine standardized tests, informal measures such as checklists or surveys for teachers and/or caregiver interviews. Your speech-language therapist needs to understand how the client currently uses and understands language to evaluate their condition’s severity.
How are language disorders treated?
Following the evaluation, you or your child receives a personalized therapy plan of care.
The program combines various types of play with written materials and books that help your child better understand and use language more effectively. Children and adults could also benefit from role-playing and participating in social skills groups.
Written organizers and visual cues help children manage schoolwork. Email and text use could assist adolescents and adults struggling to follow verbal information.
Learn more about helping children and adults with language disorders by calling Honeycomb Speech Services or requesting an appointment online today.