Chapter 7 – Communication and Learning Disorders
Definitions and history
Learning disability (LD): a general term that refers to significant problems in mastering one or
more of the following skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, and mathematics.
Main characteristic all children with learning difficulties share is failing to perform at their
expected level in school.
Communication disorder: a diagnostic term that refers to difficulty producing speech sounds
(phonological disorder) or with speech fluency (stuttering); difficulty using spoken language to
communicate (expressive language disorder); or difficulty understanding what other people say
(mixed expressive-receptive language disorder).
Specific learning disorder: a diagnostic term that refers to specific problems in learning and
using academic skills.
• Determined by achievement test results that are substantially below what is expected for
the child’s age, schooling, and intellectual ability.
Unexpected discrepancy: a basic premise of definitions of learning disorder that denotes a
disparity or discrepancy between an individual’s measured ability and actual performance.
Strauss and Werner (1943) pointed out that children learn in individual ways, challenging the
concept that learning is a relatively uniform, predictable process in children without intellectual
abilities. 3 important concepts from this period that influence the field to this day:
1. Children approach learning in different ways, so each’s learning style and uniqueness
should be recognized and used to full advantage.
2. Educational methods should be tailored to an individual child’s pattern of strengths and
weaknesses; one method should not be imposed on everyone.
3. Children with learning problems might be helped by teaching methods that strengthen
existing abilities rather than emphasize weak areas.
Definitions and History – Section Summary
- Learning disability is a general lay term for communication and learning problems that occur in
the absence of other obvious conditions such as intellectual disability or brain damage.
- Children and adults with learning disabilities show specific deficits in using spoken or written
language often referred to as relative strengths and weaknesses.
- Parents and educators assumed a major role in bringing recognition and services to children with
learning disabilities.
Language development
Phonemes: the basic sounds that make up language.
• When a child hears a phoneme often, receptors in the ear stimulate the formation of
dedicated connections to the brain’s auditory cortex. A perceptual map forms that
represents similarities among sounds and helps the infant learn to discriminate among
different phonemes.
Phonology: the ability to learn and store phonemes as well as the rules for combining the sounds
into meaningful units or words. Deficits in phonology are a chief reason that most children and
adults with communication and learning disorder have problems in language-based activities
such as learning to read and spell.
, Phonological awareness: a broad construct that includes recognition of the relationship between
sounds and letters, detection of thyme and alliteration, and awareness that sounds can be
manipulated within syllables in words.
• Phonological awareness and processing are highly related to expressive language
development.
Language Development – Section Summary
- Language development is based on innate ability and environmental opportunities to learn, store,
and express important sounds in the language. It proceeds very rapidly during infancy.
- Deficits in phonological awareness – the ability to distinguish the sounds of language – have been
identified as a major cause of communication and learning disorders.
Communication disorders
Children with communication disorders have difficulty producing speech sounds, using spoken
language to communicate, or understanding what other people say.
In DSM-5 the communication disorders are divided in 5 subcategories: language disorder, speech
sound disorder, childhood-onset fluency disorder (stuttering), and social (pragmatic)
communication disorder.
Language disorder
Language disorder: a communication disorder characterized by difficulties in the
comprehension or production of spoken or written language.
• Children with this disorder show persistent difficulties in acquiring and using language
to communicate. Thus, these children often show reduced vocabulary, limited sentence
structure, or impairments in their ability to carry on a conversation.
Speech sound disorder: a disorder in which children have trouble controlling their rate of
speech or lag behind playmates in learning to articulate certain sounds.
Communication disorders are identified almost twice as often in boys as in girls.
• Boys’ language difficulties are more often accompanied by behavior problems, and
consequently are referred and diagnosed with communication learning disorders more
often than girls.
Inclusion: education strategies based on the premise that the abilities of children with special
needs will improve from associating with normally developing peers and being spared the
effects of labeling and special placements.
Causes of language disorder
• Genetics: children with a positive family history for a language-based learning disability
have more difficulty deciphering certain speech sounds because of subtle yet important
differences in the way neurons fire in response to various sounds.
• Brain: language functions are housed primarily in the left temporal lobe.
o A circular feedback look helps strengthen the developmental process of language
reception and expression. The better children comprehend spoken language, the
better they will be able to express themselves.
à Lack of comprehension and absence of feedback reduces verbal output, and
interferes with the development of articulation skills.
o Deficits in phonological awareness and segmentation are related to problems in
the functional connections between brain areas.
Definitions and history
Learning disability (LD): a general term that refers to significant problems in mastering one or
more of the following skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, and mathematics.
Main characteristic all children with learning difficulties share is failing to perform at their
expected level in school.
Communication disorder: a diagnostic term that refers to difficulty producing speech sounds
(phonological disorder) or with speech fluency (stuttering); difficulty using spoken language to
communicate (expressive language disorder); or difficulty understanding what other people say
(mixed expressive-receptive language disorder).
Specific learning disorder: a diagnostic term that refers to specific problems in learning and
using academic skills.
• Determined by achievement test results that are substantially below what is expected for
the child’s age, schooling, and intellectual ability.
Unexpected discrepancy: a basic premise of definitions of learning disorder that denotes a
disparity or discrepancy between an individual’s measured ability and actual performance.
Strauss and Werner (1943) pointed out that children learn in individual ways, challenging the
concept that learning is a relatively uniform, predictable process in children without intellectual
abilities. 3 important concepts from this period that influence the field to this day:
1. Children approach learning in different ways, so each’s learning style and uniqueness
should be recognized and used to full advantage.
2. Educational methods should be tailored to an individual child’s pattern of strengths and
weaknesses; one method should not be imposed on everyone.
3. Children with learning problems might be helped by teaching methods that strengthen
existing abilities rather than emphasize weak areas.
Definitions and History – Section Summary
- Learning disability is a general lay term for communication and learning problems that occur in
the absence of other obvious conditions such as intellectual disability or brain damage.
- Children and adults with learning disabilities show specific deficits in using spoken or written
language often referred to as relative strengths and weaknesses.
- Parents and educators assumed a major role in bringing recognition and services to children with
learning disabilities.
Language development
Phonemes: the basic sounds that make up language.
• When a child hears a phoneme often, receptors in the ear stimulate the formation of
dedicated connections to the brain’s auditory cortex. A perceptual map forms that
represents similarities among sounds and helps the infant learn to discriminate among
different phonemes.
Phonology: the ability to learn and store phonemes as well as the rules for combining the sounds
into meaningful units or words. Deficits in phonology are a chief reason that most children and
adults with communication and learning disorder have problems in language-based activities
such as learning to read and spell.
, Phonological awareness: a broad construct that includes recognition of the relationship between
sounds and letters, detection of thyme and alliteration, and awareness that sounds can be
manipulated within syllables in words.
• Phonological awareness and processing are highly related to expressive language
development.
Language Development – Section Summary
- Language development is based on innate ability and environmental opportunities to learn, store,
and express important sounds in the language. It proceeds very rapidly during infancy.
- Deficits in phonological awareness – the ability to distinguish the sounds of language – have been
identified as a major cause of communication and learning disorders.
Communication disorders
Children with communication disorders have difficulty producing speech sounds, using spoken
language to communicate, or understanding what other people say.
In DSM-5 the communication disorders are divided in 5 subcategories: language disorder, speech
sound disorder, childhood-onset fluency disorder (stuttering), and social (pragmatic)
communication disorder.
Language disorder
Language disorder: a communication disorder characterized by difficulties in the
comprehension or production of spoken or written language.
• Children with this disorder show persistent difficulties in acquiring and using language
to communicate. Thus, these children often show reduced vocabulary, limited sentence
structure, or impairments in their ability to carry on a conversation.
Speech sound disorder: a disorder in which children have trouble controlling their rate of
speech or lag behind playmates in learning to articulate certain sounds.
Communication disorders are identified almost twice as often in boys as in girls.
• Boys’ language difficulties are more often accompanied by behavior problems, and
consequently are referred and diagnosed with communication learning disorders more
often than girls.
Inclusion: education strategies based on the premise that the abilities of children with special
needs will improve from associating with normally developing peers and being spared the
effects of labeling and special placements.
Causes of language disorder
• Genetics: children with a positive family history for a language-based learning disability
have more difficulty deciphering certain speech sounds because of subtle yet important
differences in the way neurons fire in response to various sounds.
• Brain: language functions are housed primarily in the left temporal lobe.
o A circular feedback look helps strengthen the developmental process of language
reception and expression. The better children comprehend spoken language, the
better they will be able to express themselves.
à Lack of comprehension and absence of feedback reduces verbal output, and
interferes with the development of articulation skills.
o Deficits in phonological awareness and segmentation are related to problems in
the functional connections between brain areas.
