Common Disorders Explained
Articulation Disorder
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A child with an articulation (speech sound) disorder has difficulty producing individual speech sounds or producing sounds correctly in words. There may be incorrect placement of the lips, teeth, tongue, or even soft palate during speech. This often affects the clarity of speech...
Feeding Disorder
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The term "feeding disorder" refers to a condition in which an infant or child is unable or refuses to eat, or has difficulty eating, which can result in frequent illnesses, failure to grow normally, and even death. Feeding disorders should not be confused with eating disorders, such as anorexia, which are more common in adolescence and adulthood. Some common types of feeding disorders in children include:
Oral Motor Disorder
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An Oral-Motor Disorder is an inability to use the oral mechanism for functional speech or feeding, including chewing, blowing, or making specific sounds...
Augmentative Communication
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Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) refers to ways (other than speech) that are used to send a message from one person to another. We all use augmentative communication techniques, such as facial expressions, gestures, and writing, as part of our daily lives. In difficult listening situations (noisy rooms, for example), we tend to augment our words with even more gestures and exaggerated facial expressions.
Auditory Processing Disorder
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A child with an auditory processing disorder (APD) has difficulty processing or interpreting auditory information. This is a common disorder in children, even in those children with normal hearing abilities and normal intelligence...
Language Disorder
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Children are diagnosed with a language disorder when they have ongoing difficulty with the meaning of words or sentences (semantics), with word order or grammar (syntax), or with the social rules of language and conversation (pragmatics)...
Apraxia
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Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a motor speech disorder. Children with CAS have great difficulty planning and producing the precise, highly refined and specific series of movements of the speech mechanism.
Most children who are diagnosed with CAS have receptive (or understanding) skills within normal limits. These children perform much better when asked to repeat simpler motor sounds, such as vowels or consonants in isolation. When asked to repeat a succession of vowels and consonants, many children with CAS have difficulty.
Autism Spectrum Disorder
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Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life. The result of a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain, autism impacts the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. Children and adults with autism typically have difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities...
Learning Disabilities
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Learning Disabilities affect the brains ability to receive, process, analyze, and store information. This type of disability can make it difficult for a child to learn as quickly as someone who is unaffected by a learning disability...