UNIT6 LEARNERS WITH COMMUNICATION DIFFICULTIES: (SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES)
Key Unit Competence: Identify the characteristics of learners with speech
and language difficulties and use appropriate
approaches to teach them
INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITY
Adam was a typical child at birth. He looked normal. At birth he was 4.1kg,
very healthy and went through all developmental milestones at normal
times. He crawled at six months and uttered his first word at 12 months.
His speech and language continued to develop normally. However, when it
was time to eat solid food, Adam did not want to eat any foods that were not
pureed. By the time Adam was 3 years old, he could not pronounce n, t,d, l
and s correctly. When Adam was 4 years old, he could hear what you say, but
not understand. For example, her mom would ask him to go and wash his
hands after eating, and he would ask several times” I do what?”. Her mom
would repeat, rephrase the sentences but still Adam would not understand
what her mom says. Adam did not seem to understand simple directions,
question words like why, how, sequencing, verb tense and common language
concepts. He was not acquiring language concepts that children learn
without formal teaching, and his pronunciation was not getting better. When
Adam was in primary one, the teacher noticed that he did not understand”
yes” and “no “questions and when asked simple things that he was supposed
to know at his age, he would say” I don’t know”. Adam was still a picky boy
and would eat selected food. The teacher advised the parents to take Adam
to the speech pathologist at King Faisal Hospital. Adam was diagnosed with
mild to moderate language disorder, mild articulation difficulty, low facial
muscle tone and mild degree of hearing impairment. With the help of the
teacher, parents and speech pathologist, Adam has made great progress.
He has matured socially and improved his speech and language skills. His
teacher said that Adam is a smart boy who has courage and determination to
improve on his language difficulties. He said that his future is bright.
1. Briefly explain the challenges that Adam encountered?
2. Explain the roles of different people who helped Adam in his struggle
to improve his language.
6.1. Definition and categories of Communication Difficulties:
Speech and Language Difficulties
ACTIVITY 6.1
1. What do you understand by the word” Communication”?
2. Have you ever met people who have communication difficulties?
How would you define communication difficulties?
3. What is the difference between speech and language?
Definition of communication
Communication is the process of sending and receiving messages through
verbal or nonverbal means, including speech, or oral communication;
writing and graphical representations (such as infographics, maps, and charts);
and signs, signals, and behaviour. More simply, communication is said to be
«the creation and exchange of meaning.”
Communication is a very important aspect of human life. Our lives revolve
around communication in many crucial ways. Despite its importance and
constant presence in our live, we seldom think much about communication
unless we have a problem with it. It is also the one of the most interrelated
processes people undertake. Speech and Language are two highly interrelated
components of communication. Problems in either can significantly affect a
person’s daily life.
Difference between Speech and Language
Speech is verbal communication with others. A child, when he has not learnt the
rules of a language, blurts out in monosyllables and yet his mother understands
what he means. Speech is all about sounds, and a small child learns gradually
the correct sounds that make up speech. For a kid who is still learning the rules
of a language, speech is the only way to communicate with others.
Speech is articulation of language into sounds using voice and fluency. Some
have speech problems that need attention from speech therapists. If a kid has
problems expressing him/herself, or others do not understand what he is
trying to say, it is said that he has a speech problem. It occurs because there
is no synchronization between his lip and tongue movement along with the
sounds he is trying to make. This is also the case with an adult when he suffers
from a stroke making it difficult to speak fluently.
Language
Language is a tool that allows people to communicate with each other. It consists
of words that can be joined in a meaningful manner to express an idea. Different
languages have different rules and, sometimes, people who are not native to a
language find it difficult to understand the idea behind a message. For example,
in English language, it is raining cats and dogs might sound alien to someone
whose native language is not English as he cannot think of raining cats and
dogs, but those whose first language is English know pretty well that it just
means raining hard. Language, apart from speech, can be expressed by writing
the text, which is one mode to read and understand much about a language.
While speech involves the physical motor ability to talk, language is a symbolic,
rule governed system used to convey a message. In English, the symbols can be
words, either spoken or written.
Communication Difficulties
Communication difficulties are defined as an observed disturbance in the
normal speech and language process. These may include process of listening,
speaking, reading, writing and thinking.
Communication difficulties can be classified into two:
• Speech difficulties
• Language difficulties
6.1.2. Speech difficulties
Speech difficulties refers to difficulties producing sound as well as difficulties
of voice quality and fluency. Speech involves the production and articulations of
sounds in the language. Indicators of speech difficulty may be seen in a learner
if he or she produces speech that deviates from normal speech as compared to
others. Speech difficulties in a learner may be noted when there is lack of fluency
in speech, poor pronunciation of words and problems in voice production.
There are three main types of speech difficulties, these are:
• Articulation difficulties
• Fluency difficulties
• Voice difficulties
Let us look at each of them.
6.1.1. 1. Articulation difficulties
An articulation difficulty is a speech difficulty related to problems of
pronunciation. A child with articulation difficulty may find it difficult to
articulate sounds in isolation or in sentences. The child may either:
• Pronounce the sound wrongly
• Omit it in words
• Substitute it for another or
• Add an additional sound next to it whenever it occurs in words or
sentence
There are four main types of articulation difficulties. These are:
Mal- articulating: This refers to the wrong pronunciation of words for
example/b/ whenever it occurs.
Omissions: This involves deleting or dropping certain consonants from words
by rendering speech unintelligible. For example, “boy” may be pronounced as/
oy/
Substitution: This involves substituting one-word sound with another such
as/w/ for/r/, as in “right” which is sounded as “weight” or substitution of /w/
for /l/ as in “yellow” where it is sounded as “yewo”
Additions: This is where a learner adds vowels sounds to words ending with
consonants such as” eat” may be pronounced” eati”
6.1.1.2. Fluency Difficulties
Fluency of speech is significant problem for persons with a fluency disorder.
Their speech is characterized by repeated interruptions, hesitations or
repetitions that seriously interfere with the flow of communication. Fluency
difficulty is therefore a condition where one is unable to talk in an easy
and relaxed way resulting in an unnaturally hesitant speech. For example,
stammering/ stuttering will affect the smooth flow of speech. Learner with
fluency difficulties may have:
Prolongation: A Learner who is a stammer/ stutter tend to abnormally
prolong sounds in words. For example, the word “tomato” may be pronounced
as” to…………. mato”
Repetition: This refers to when a learner who stammers repeats a sound or
syllable in words or sentences. For example,” H-h-h-h-h-e-a-a-a-a-arrived-h-hh-
h home-l-l-l-l-late”
Complete blockage: This is when a learner gets stuck during the pronunciation
of the first sound of a word. For example, for “Umushyitsi” the learner may only
sound” U”.
6.1.1.3. Voice difficulties
These are abnormalities due to the pitch, intensity and quality of one’s voice. The
following are the main voice difficulties that may be experienced by children:
• Absence of voice: Some children may not be able to produce any
sound due to problems in the vocal cords
• Hoarse voice: Hoarse or husky voice may be due to misuse or abuse
of the voice which strains the vocal cords. The cords may be strained
during shouting, cheering or moaning for a long time.
• Too high or too low picked voice: We vary the pitch of voice in
order to produce pitch with relevant tone and intonation to convey
the intended meaning. Some children use too high or too low pitch or
monotonous voice which interferes with meaning.
• Too loud or too soft voice: We vary the intensity of our voice when
we are speaking depending on the situation and context. For example,
we tend to raise our voice when we are speaking to somebody at a
distance, when addressing a large crowd or when emphasizing a point.
We whisper when telling a secret and we tend to talk in low tones when
distressed and shout when excited. Learners with voice difficulties
may be unable to vary their voices.
6.1.2. Language difficulties
There are two main types of language difficulties. These are:
• Receptive Language difficulties
• Expressive language difficulties
6.1.2.1. Receptive Language difficulties
Learners with receptive language difficulties may not be able to perceive or
comprehend spoken or written language due to inability to:
• Assign meaning to words they hear or read because they have not
formed the concepts of the objects and event, they describe
• Understand different parts of language such as nouns, verbs, adjectives
and plurals
• Interpret intonation and stress patterns in utterances
• Understand different sentences because they have not mastered how
they are formed
• Hear or read due to sensory difficulties
• Retain and recall words read or heard before responding accordingly
6.1.2.2. Expressive Language difficulties
Expressive language involves conceptualization of message, symbolization and
memorizing the messages, use of intonation and stress, general use of language,
use of senses, use of speech and use of voice and generally use of the body. You
may find that learners have difficulties in some or most of these areas. Learners
with expressive language difficulties have problems in:
• The use of symbols: Some learners have difficulties with mastering
the use of the linguistics symbols such as sounds, letters or signs that
convey meaning in language
• Memory problems: Memory problems may occur when a learner is not
able to retain words already acquired for later life, recall the sequence
of sounds and letters in words and sentences.
• Problems with the use of appropriate intonation and stress: Some
learners use flat and monotonous voices, which lack proper intonation
and stress. As a result, they are unable to convey the intended meaningof a given utterance.
SELF-ASSESSMENT 6.1
1. Explain the term” Communication difficulties”
2. Describe the two components of communication
3. Describe the two main types of language difficulties?
6.2. Causes and characteristics of Communication Difficulties:
Speech and Language Difficulties
ACTIVITY 6.2
1. Do you attribute children’s language development to a natural
process or do you think environment plays a role in the
development of language in children?
2. Think about the learner you have met with and suspected to
be having communication difficulties. List some characteristics
which suggest that one has a communication difficulty?
Causes of language difficulties are different from those of speech difficulties.
6.2.1. Causes of speech difficulties
Main causes of speech difficulties include:
• Structural defects affecting the organs of speech. For example, cleft
palate or cleft lip
• Psychomotor difficulties such as difficulty in activating the organs of
speech to move and control their movement in order to produce a
particular sound. For example, a patient with paralysis may not be able
to move the tongue or lips to produce a sound
• Delayed language development as a result of delayed growth and
development hence lagging behind their peers
• Hearing Impairments is a major cause of articulation difficulties.
6.2.2. Causes of language difficulties
Main cause of language difficulties is brain damage or deficits affecting the
areas of the brain dealing with language. This may lead to the following:
• Memory deficits
• Encoding and decoding difficulties
• Problems related to vocabulary acquisition and sentence construction
• Attention deficits
• Inability to associate the message received through the sense and what
they symbolize or with previous experience.
Characteristics of learners with communication difficulties
Learners with communication difficulties may display the following
characteristics:
• May experience problems learning subject content that demand oral or written
language
• Too low or too high pitch
• Not taking part in conversations
• May tend to speak in isolated words and short sentences
• Difficulty putting words together to make sentences
• Using unintelligible speech
• Not responding to voices or everyday sounds
• Stammering or stuttering
• Speaking too fast• Substituting, omitting, distorting or adding speech sounds
SELF-ASSESSMENT 6.2
1. Discuss the causes of speech difficulties?
2. Elaborate on different triggers of language difficulties?
3. Discuss the characteristics of learners with Speech and Language
difficulties
6.3. Teaching and learning approaches for learners with
communication difficulties: Speech and Language impairment
ACTIVITY 6.3
1. What do you think parents and teachers should do to help a child
with communication difficulties?
The role played by the parents and teachers in the development of the child’s
communication is central in the child’s language development. However, it is
important to note that the foundation of the child’s language begins at home
and is later supplemented by teachers as soon as the child enters school.
The following are approaches that teachers and parents might use to help
learners with communications difficulties:
• Interact with the child right from birth and throughout childhood in
order to establish a bond which is the corner stone of communication
• Encourage the child’s siblings and peers to involve him/ her in their
activities
• Engage the child in all activities that are done by his or her age mates
• Exposing the child through visits to social functions, places of interest
friends and relatives
• Refer the learner to education assessment centre for assessment and
early intervention
• Refer them to other professionals such as speech therapists, Ear, Nose
&Throat(ENT) specialist, occupational therapist and physiotherapists.• Engage Sign Language interpreters in case of a child who is deaf
SELF-ASSESSMENT 6.3
1. Explain the role played by both teachers and parents in the
communication development of the child?
2. Which other ways may teachers use to support learners with
communication difficulties
SKILLS LAB
1. Visit a nursery school and identify a child expected to have
communication difficulties. Spend three hours with the child.
Write down all the characteristics of the child and suggest
strategies you could use to help that child improve her/ his
language and speech.
END OF UNIT ASSESSMENT
1. What are some of the language difficulties observed in children?
2. Discuss the three broad categories of speech difficulties and give
an example of each
3. Discuss the role that teachers may play to support learners withCD?