Communication disorders are any disorder that affects the way that someone speaks or communicates. These disorders are mostly diagnosed in childhood and can be due to issues with childhood development or due to anatomic issues such as cleft palate or vocal cord issues.
Communication disorders affect a person’s ability to speak, write or understand language. Like many other developmental disorders, they are often diagnosed in childhood and symptoms can be on a spectrum of mild to severe. There are multiple different subtypes of communication disorders, which are detailed below.
Language disorder is type of disorder that leads to children not being able to convey what they are trying to say. If your child has a language disorder, then they may become frustrated often with communication because they cannot convey the point of their stories or convey their feelings. If your child has a language disorder, he or she may have gotten used to conveying their words through hand gestures or writing, because it is easier for them to do this than to convey their thoughts through language.
Speech sound disorders are one of the most common communication disorders in children. This disorder can make your child’s speech difficult to understand. Normally, as a child grows older, their speech should become clearer and their enunciation should improve. However, with speech sound disorder, your child’s speech may not become clearer. Children should have clear speech by the age of 4, so if your child is still struggling with certain sounds and consonants after age 4, then they may have speech sound disorder. The cause of speech sound disorder is unknown, but it often corrects itself with speech therapy.
Fluency disorders are disorders that affect the flow of your speech. Stuttering is the most common fluency disorder, and most commonly starts in childhood. Stuttering can cause abnormal repetitions of sounds, consonants or even full words at a time. Stuttering can also lead to prolonged hesitations or pauses in speech.
Social communication disorder is a communication disorder that revolves around social structures and social conversations. It has very similar symptoms to autism spectrum disorder, but does not include any repetitive movements, actions or sensory issues that Autism includes. Social communication disorder leads to misunderstanding of many social situations. Children and adults with this disorder often do not understand nonverbal communication or pick up on subtle social cues. They may find social situations daunting and not understand small talk or how to hold a conversation.
Communication disorders can be found in both children and adults. If you or your child is suffering from a communication disorder, the treatment is speech therapy. Going to a licensed speech therapist can give you the tools you need to improve your speech and language skills and determine the best treatment for your communication disorder.