What are speech, language or communication impairments?
A significant problem with speech, language or communication is one of the most common developmental difficulties in children. In some cases, the language problems arise as a result of conditions such as a learning disability or a hearing impairment. In other cases, however, there is no obvious reason for the child’s difficulties. Such children are usually described as having a ‘specific language (or speech) impairment’ (SLI for short). It is to help these children that Afasic was founded in 1968.
A significant problem with speech, language or communication is one of the most common developmental difficulties in children. In some cases, the language problems arise as a result of conditions such as a learning disability or a hearing impairment. In other cases, however, there is no obvious reason for the child’s difficulties. Such children are usually described as having a ‘specific language (or speech) impairment’ (SLI for short). It is to help these children that Afasic was founded in 1968. Speech and language are extremely complex, and a lot of different things can go wrong with their development. Some children are described as having a ‘language delay’, which strictly speaking means that their language is developing in the usual way but at a slower rate than in most children their age. However, many professionals use the term ‘language delay’ to mean any type of speech or language impairment. Some children, though, have a speech, language or communication disorder which means
