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Unit II
A Typical Development of Children
Module 9 Learners with Difficulty Communicating
Introduction
Introduction
Peter, a five-year-old Kindergarten student, sits quietly in the class. He
has trouble interacting with his classmates and communicating his needs.
There could be several reasons for this problem. And one of them is possibly
Peter is suffering from a communication disorder. In module will deal with a
learner who may not understand or make the sounds of speech, who may
also encounter a problem with word choice, word order, or sentence structure.
Objectives
At the end of the module, the students must be able to:
1. Discuss the Definition and characteristics of communication disorder;
2. Determine the different Types/Classification of the disability; and
3. Demonstrate understanding of the learning characteristics, and teaching
strategies to help learners with difficulty communicating.
Discussions
Communication Disorder
A communication disorder is an impairment in the ability to receive, send,
process, and comprehend concepts or verbal, nonverbal, and graphic symbol
systems. A communication disorder may be evident in the processes of hearing,
language, and/or speech (ASHA).
Communication Disorders Diagnostic categories for communication disorders
include Language Disorder, Speech Sound Disorder, Childhood-Onset Fluency
Disorder (Stuttering), Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder, and Unspecified
Communication Disorder. These categories represent a change from the DSM-IV
categories of Expressive Language Disorder and Mixed Receptive-Expressive
Language Disorder.
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1. Language Disorder The diagnostic criteria for language disorder include
“persistent difficulties in the acquisition and use of language across modalities
(i.e., spoken, written, sign language, or other) due to deficits in
comprehension or production” and language abilities that are “substantially
and quantifiably” below age expectations.
Language refers to the words we use and how we use them to share
ideas and get what we want. Language includes:
● What words mean.
Ex. “star” can be a bright object in the sky or someone famous.
● How to make new words.
Ex., we can say “friend,” “friendly,” or “unfriendly” and mean
something different.
● How to put words together.
Ex. “Peg walked to the new store” instead of “Peg walk store new.”
● What we should say at different times.
Polite: “Would you mind moving your foot?”
Irritated: “Get off my foot!”
Language Disorder is an Impairment or abnormal development in
understanding and/or using spoken, written, or other symbolic systems. The
disorder could be in (1) Form (phonology, morphology, syntax); (2) Function
(pragmatics), and (3) Combination of form, content, and function
Disorder of form
● Difficulty in acquiring the morphologic and syntactic aspects of
language
● Use words and phrases without appropriate endings
● May not express plurality of appropriate tenses or use articles,
pronouns, prepositions
● Faulty sentence construction
Disorder in semantics
● Slow in learning the meaning of words,
● Smaller vocabularies
● Have difficulty remembering the meaning of newly acquired words
● May not understand the meaning of abstract words or concepts that
they represent
Disorder in pragmatics
● May not know how to initiate and maintain conversations
● Clumsy in turn-taking
● Problem telling stories, asking questions, and relating the language
they hear to personal experiences
2. Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder The diagnostic criteria for social
(pragmatic) communication disorder, a new diagnosis for DSM, are “persistent
difficulties in the social use of verbal and nonverbal communication,“ which
include deficits in “using communication for social purposes … ,” “impairment
in the ability to change communication to match context or the needs of the
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listener …,” “difficulties following rules for conversation and storytelling …,”
and “difficulties understanding what is not explicitly stated … and nonliteral or
ambiguous meaning of language ….” Children who meet the criteria for
autism spectrum disorder are not diagnosed with this communication disorder.
3. Speech Sound Disorder The key diagnostic criterion for speech sound
disorder includes “persistent difficulty with speech sound production that
interferes with speech intelligibility or prevents verbal communication of
messages.”
Speech is how we say sounds and words. Speech includes:
3.1. Articulation is how we make speech sounds using the mouth,
lips, and tongue.
Ex., we need to be able to say the “r” sound to say "rabbit" instead of
"wabbit.”
Articulation Problem
Error type Definition Example
Substitution Replacing one Sound The ball is wed.
with another (“thoap” – soap, “dut” – duck)
Omission Omitting a sound in a P_ay the piano. (play)
word “G_een nake” – green snake
Distortion Producing a sound in Give the p-hencil to Sally
an unfamiliar way /p/ is nasalized
Addition Inserting an extra I have a balack [Link]
sound in a word “dough” -
3.2. Voice is how we use our vocal folds and breath to make
sounds. It can be loud or soft or high- or low-pitched.
Voice disorder occurs when voice quality, pitch, and loudness
differ or are inappropriate for an individual's age, gender, cultural
background, or geographic location is present when an individual
expresses concern about having an abnormal voice that does not meet
daily needs—even if others do not perceive it as different or deviant
3.3. Fluency is the rhythm of our speech. We sometimes repeat
sounds or pause while talking. People who do this a lot may
stutter.
4. Childhood-Onset Fluency Disorder (Stuttering) The diagnostic criteria for
childhood-onset fluency disorder (stuttering) are “disturbances in the normal
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fluency and time patterning of speech …” and the disturbance causes “anxiety
about speaking ….”
Stuttering is an interruption in the flow of speaking characterized by
repetitions (sounds, syllables, words, phrases), sound prolongations, blocks,
interjections, and revisions, which may affect the rate and rhythm of
speech. Stuttering is also called disfluency
Blocks. This happens when you have a hard time getting a
word out. You may pause for a long time or not be able to make a
sound.
For example, "I want a ...... cookie."
Prolongations. You may stretch a sound out for a long time,
like cooooooooooookie.
Repetitions. You may repeat parts of words, like co-co-co-
cookie.
Characteristics of learners with difficulty communicating
● difficulty in following directions;
● problems in pronouncing words;
● failing to express oneself;
● problems in paying attention to a conversation;
● problems in understanding what was said; and
● challenges of being understood because of a stutter or a hoarse voice.
Language problems involve
● difficulty in learning new vocabulary,
● understanding questions,
● expressing ideas coherently,
● following directions,
● recalling information,
● understanding and remembering something that has just been said,
● reading at a satisfactory pace,
● comprehending spoken or read material,
● learning the alphabet,
● identifying sounds that correspond to letters,
● perceiving the correct order of letters in words, and possibly, spelling.
Speech difficulties may include
● being unintelligible due to a motor problem or due to poor learning.
● sounding hoarse, breathy or harsh may be due to a voice problem.
● stuttering also affects speech intelligibility because the child's flow of
speech is interrupted (Brice 2012).
Evidence-based strategies
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Work Collaboratively
● Get more information. Consult with the student, their family, and their support
team to determine the most effective communication and support approaches.
They can assist you in gaining a better understanding of the student's
individual abilities, preferences, and areas in which they may want assistance.
● Build a relationship with other professionals involved. Working together can
result in a common understanding of the student as well as consistent goals
and tactics that can be applied in the classroom as well as other settings such
as home and community.
Consider how you give instructions and communicate
● Give simple, specific, and direct instructions. This may help the child
understand the learning tasks a little better. Demonstrating or modeling the
job or behavior, or having another student demonstrate, can also be
beneficial.
● Use different modes to give instructions and communicate. In addition to
spoken directions, visual aids such as picture cards can be utilized to
demonstrate a work sequence or a key learning idea. Other options include
using captioned films to teach a skill or a game or offering directions using
gestures.
Provide feedback
● Give corrective feedback. If done in a non-embarrassing manner, immediate
verbal correction when a child mispronounces words or sentences can help a
child with language. Consider asking the child to repeat what he or she has
said in a questioning manner, using the correct words or sentence structure.
Another alternative is to provide the students a choice between the incorrect
and correct variations to aid in their understanding of what is being taught.
Additional Online References
Please click the link:
Ed Sheeran Stutter Speech
[Link]
ASHA President Theresa Rodgers: Identify the Signs of Communication Disorders
(2020)
[Link]
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Activities
Activity: Movie Report
1. Watch a Movie about a person with a communication disorder.
2. Answer the following questions:
2.1. Write a summary of the movie
2.2. What is the dilemma/problem experienced by a person with a
communication disorder is depicted in the movie? How is it addressed?
2.3. If you are the teacher of the learner with special needs (based on the
movie), what would you do?
2.4 What important lesson did you learn from the movie?
3. Use the format below for your paper presentation
8 x11 paper
1inch margin on each side
Font: Arial
Font size: 12
Double Space
Citation: APA style
4. Submit your movie report on or before ___________
Activity 2
1. Create an infographic or video about Learners with difficulty communicating.
2. The infographic should contain information about the disability such as its
definition/characteristics, prevalence, causes, statistics, graphs etc.
3. You may use CANVA to help you in creating your infographic or video
4. Submit the Infographic/Video on or before ___________
References
Aligada-Halal [Link]. (2020). Foundation of Special and Inclusive Education
Inciong, T. G., Quijano, Y., Capulong, Y., Gregorio, J., & Gines, A. (2007).
Introduction to Special Education. Rex Bookstore, Sampaloc, Manila
Hallahan, D. P., & Kauffman, J. M. (1991). Exceptional children: Introduction to
special education. Allyn and Bacon.
Zebron, Shupikai., Mhute, Isaac., Musingafi, Maxwell Constantine Chando (2015).
Classroom Challenges: Working with Pupils with Communication Disorders.
Journal of Education and Practice [Link] ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN
2222-288X (Online) Vol.6, No.9, 2015
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Articulation Disorder: Types, Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, Diagnosis
[Link]
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5)
[Link]
Communication and Language Disorders
[Link]
Speech Problems
[Link]
p=335&np=285&id=2907
Voice Disorder
[Link]
What Is Speech? What Is Language?
[Link]
Prepared:
PERCIANO, SHERYL ANN N
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