Language Difficulties, Clinical Assessment of

Barbara B. Shadden & Fran Hagstrom

The terms language, speech , and communication are used interchangeably by most people. When children or adults are seen by a speech-language pathologist (SLP), however, each of these terms refers to specific behaviors that are assessed and treated differently. Language is a symbolic code organized by rule-governed combinations that are socially shared. Children learn to use this symbolic code by being part of families and communities. This learning process continues when children go to school and learn to read and write and formally study language. Most children have no difficulty learning the code. They quickly and easily recombine words to talk with others (which can be likened to building structures with a Lego set). However, approximately 10% of all children have difficulty learning some aspect of the language code. In addition, some adults have had an experience, for example, a stroke or head trauma, that resulted in specific language Speech ...

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