Department of Speech Pathology

Cognitive Communication Disorders

Childhood Communication Disorders

The ability to communicate with others is the very foundation of a child's social and educational development. And even a minor problem with hearing, speech, or language during childhood can have major implications on a child's journey through life—especially if the problem goes undiagnosed and untreated.

A communications disorder can affect the way a child talks, hears, processes, and understands information and can even influence behavior and emotional problems. Gone unchecked, a communications disorder can hinder a child on the playground, the classroom, and eventually, in the workplace.

Early Detection and Treatment are Essential

With many conditions, the earlier a problem is treated, the better the chances are for improvement or even total recovery. Doctors, audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and other health professionals can do a lot to help. They have the expertise and the technologies to works wonders with many communication problems.

Types of Childhood Communication Disorders

Childhood communication disorders encompass a wide variety of language, speech, and hearing problems.

Hearing disorders include:

• Deafness
• Hearing loss of various degrees and origins
• Auditory processing problems
• Cogitative difficulties

Speech and language disorders include:

• Articulation problems
• Voice disorders
• Fluency problems (such as stuttering)
• Aphasia of speech (difficulty using sounds and words), and delays in speech and language