Language Center

What is a Language Disorder?

It is difficult to generalize about children with language disorders because every child is different.

But a child with a language disorder may have some of the following problems:

Started talking late
Has a hard time following and/or giving directions
Understanding questions is difficult (Example: Can't answer questions like who, what, where, when, why)
Difficulty understanding jokes, double meanings, and abstract concepts
Spoken language is simpler than their peers
Limited vocabulary
Incorrect grammar such as problems with pronouns (his/her), tense (goed/went), or plurals (mouses/mice)
Has difficulty remembering words, including everyday ones like words in songs, nursery rhymes, days of the week, and people's names
Uses non-specific words such as "stuff, thing" a lot
Tells and writes stories that are disjointed (not connected well) and missing details
Has trouble breaking language into its parts (Example: finding words in sentences or sounds in words)
Has a hard time with social skills like taking turns, staying on topic, or saying when they don't understand
Does not start conversations very often, quiet and less talkative than peers
Phonological Awareness skills are weak

Language difficulty may not always be obvious!

excerpt from Home speech home website

Click on link below to see Language developmental milestones as well as activities to promote good language skills!

This information on developmental chart represents, on average, the age by which most monolingual speaking children will accomplish the listed milestones. Children typically do not master all items in a category until they reach the upper age in each age range. Just because your child has not accomplished one skill within an age range does not mean the child has a disorder. However, if you have answered no to the majority of items in an age range, seek the advice of an ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist or audiologist.