Communication Disorders - Expressive Language Disorders

Expressive Language Disorders

Expressive Language Disorder is one resulting in ability below that expected in vocabulary, the production of complex sentences, and the recall of words. The cause of this disorder is unknown. Cerebral damage and malnutrition have been associated as underlying factors of this disorder. Expressive language disorder can also develop due to a head trauma. In expressive language disorder, the child's ability to use expressive spoken language is markedly below the appropriate level for his/her mental age, but language comprehension is within normal limits.

Symptoms

Below average vocabulary skills
Improper use of correct tenses
Problems in the production of complex sentences
Problems in recalling words

This disorder can either be developmental or acquired. The acquired type usually is a consequence of a neurological or medical condition and occurs after a period of normal development. On the other hand, the cause of the developmental type of this disorder, which is also the most commonly found, is still unknown. However, this type often begins with the child learning to speak later than expected and progress more slowly than usual through the stages of language development.

The particular features of this disorder can vary depending on the person's age as well as the severity of the disorder. These features include: limited amount of speech and vocabulary, a difficulty obtaining new words, errors in word finding or vocabulary, shortened sentences, simplified and/or limited grammatical structures, use of unusual word order in sentences and a slow rate in language development.