What are the characteristics of a language disorder?
Here are some common characteristics of students with language disorders. Semantic weaknesses (meaning of language) • Limited vocabulary • Difficulty following directions • Use short, simple sentences • Do not understand abstract concepts (more, less, letters, numbers, shapes) • Use non-specific vocabulary (stuff, things, you know) • Word finding problems • Weak memory skills • Do not understand multiple meaning words • Confusion with figurative language (idioms, proverbs, jokes) Syntactic weaknesses (grammar) • Incorrect verb tense • Subject-verb do not agree • Use of simple sentence patters; noun + verb + noun • Inability to repeat sentences • Trouble making up sentence using a given word • Difficulty using pronouns (I, she, he, his, ours) • Using false starts (um, oh, well) • Incorrect word order in sentences Pragmatic weaknesses (social language) • Do not consider who is listening to their conversation • Difficulty with turn taking • Cannot stay on the conversational topic • Ask in
