Specific Language Disorder (STD)
What is Specific Language Disorder?
Specific Language Disorder (STD) is a disorder that primarily affects the acquisition and development of oral language. This disorder is not related to an intellectual deficit, emotional disorder, neurological injury, or motor or sensory problem.
TEL is not like any other delay in the appearance of speech. many of the children who have TEL in addition to having affected the expression, also have compromised the comprehension to a greater or lesser extent. in addition to acquiring language late, when they acquire it, they present many irregular patterns in the development of it.
TEL is a dynamic disorder and for this reason symptoms often vary from child to child.
Causes of Specific Language Disorder.
Very little is still known about the causes of TEL. Recent research suggests it's an inherited disorder. These studies refer to the child's limitations in identifying speech sounds. The child has a limited ability to isolate, identify, and memorize speech sounds and the order in which they are made.
In addition to the first words, other words that are perceptively unimportant are going to be more vulnerable. That's why sentence building isn't going to develop properly either. These deficiencies force the child with TEL to use inadequate compensatory mechanisms to achieve communication. Children with TEL often take time to speak and do not produce any words until they are about 2 years old. At age 3, they can talk, but they may not be intelligible.
Characteristics of Language in Specific Language Disorder.
We can consider a late onset of language when the child has no more than 50 intelligible words at 2 years ±1 month. Also when it does not produce two-word statements at 2 years ±1 month. We cannot diagnose a TEL at the age of 2 because its symptomatology is not reduced to late speech and not all children who take time to speak will present TEL.
However, delayed speech is a warning sign and my recommendation is to evaluate these children every 3-6 months. At these early ages, the family environment is usually involved and language stimulation sessions are recommended in order to rule out any future disorders.
In addition to the first words, other words that are perceptively unimportant are going to be more vulnerable. That's why sentence construction (syntax) is not going to develop properly either.
These deficiencies force the child with TEL to use inadequate compensatory mechanisms to achieve communication. As they get older, children with TEL have difficulty learning new words and carrying on a conversation.
Other Features
Some children often have problems in other areas such as deficits in the learning process (dyslexia, dysgraphia, dysortography). They may also have attention and concentration disorders. There are difficulties in mathematics which are mainly related to their inability to understand and decipher the statements of the problems, since the difficulty lies in reading comprehension.
In the behavioral part disruptive behaviors may appear as tantrums caused mainly by the frustration that generates not being able to communicate properly. Aggressive and rebellious behaviors may appear in other children. Children with TEL tend to have problems in their social relationships, as they are isolated or lonely children. They are more vulnerable to bullying and exclusion because of their language difficulties.
There is currently no information on early developmental signs that could predict language difficulties. This information could potentially enable early identification and intervention with these children.
Researchers at the U.S. National Institute on Deafness and Communication Disorders are collecting data using neurophysiological, behavioral, and eye-tracking measures. They also investigate general measures of brain development in a given group of children during their growth. Its aim is to find specific indicators for the TEL or that could predict the development of the disorders. The results of this research could have an important influence on the development of new approaches for the early detection and diagnosis of Specific Language Disorder.
Supports aimed at children with Specific Language Disorder.
In our office there are many types of support to help you develop language and communication. We have professionals who will help you improve other affected areas of learning, such as literacy and social skills. We know that if not treated early, it can seriously affect a child's performance in school and we want to avoid it.
We design special programs to enrich language development. We offer activities that encourage role-play, social skills. We also plan sessions to improve areas such as vocabulary, phonological skills, sentence construction, comprehension, attention, etc.
It is always important to understand that each child's needs are different and not everyone intervenes in the same way. If you or your child's teacher have questions, don't wait to consult us for an evaluation.
We are able to evaluate, diagnose and recommend if the child is a candidate for therapy.
We are located in Guadalupe, San José and our phone number is 70928392. You can also look for us on Instagram or Facebook.
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