Language & Literacy
What are Language Disorders?
Spoken Language Disorders
A spoken language disorder is an impairment in language comprehension and/or expression. The impairment occurs across any of the following five domains of language.
Phonology—the speech sound system of any given language. The speech sounds in the word “bat” are /b/, /a/ and /t/.
Morphology—the rules that govern how the smallest meaningful units of language are used within that language. The plural-s morpheme distinguishes “bat” from “bats” by indicating that there is more than one bat.
Syntax—the rules that govern word combinations when forming sentences in a language. The word bat is a noun which come after adjectives. In English we say “five big bats” instead of “bats five big.”
Semantics—the meaning of words in a language. “Bat” has several meanings. The meaning we choose depends on the context. As a noun, it can refer to sports equipment or a nocturnal animal. As a verb, it can refer to the action of hitting something or taking a turn as a batter.
Pragmatics—the rules associated with how language is used in different social situations (e.g. tone of voice, facial expression, body language, personal space). Someone with an impairment in pragmatic language skills may not understand the play on words when someone jokes, “How do you hold a bat? By the handle.” Pragmatic language skills are also know as social communication skills. People with strong social communication skills understand that their communication style will change when speaking with peers and non-peers, when communicating at home and when communicating at work or school.
Developmental Language Disorder and Aphasia
Language disorders in childhood often persist throughout the lifespan. They often co-occur with intellectual disability, developmental delay, sensory impairments (e.g. hearing impairment), motor dysfunction, or other disorders and medical conditions (e.g. stroke, seizures, brain injury). When children experience language disorders that stand alone, they are called specific language impairment (SLI) or developmental language disorder. Developmental language disorder adversely effects literacy, learning, the ability to form friendships and social and emotional well-being. Aphasia is an acquired language disorder resulting from injury to the brain. The damage affects the portions of the brain that are responsible for language.
Written Language Disorders
Language disorders can manifest in spoken and/or written language. In addition to impairment across the five language domains, written language disorders also include impairment in fluent word recognition and decoding, reading comprehension, spelling, and/or written expression. Dyslexia is a common disorder of impaired word recognition. Children with hyperlexia have an advanced ability to read words but significant difficulty in understanding language. Hyperlexia is often observed in students with autism spectrum disorders.
Executive Functions
Executive functions are a set of cognitive skills that include working memory, flexible thinking, self-control, reasoning and problem solving, etc. We recruit these skills daily to learn, work, and manage our lives. Difficulty with executive skills can make it hard to focus, follow directions, regulate emotions, and achieve goals. Difficulty with executive functions offten co-occurs with language disorders. Children who have experienced trauma, students with autism spectrum disorders or attention deficit disorders or adults who have experienced brain injury or neurological infarct are among those who may have difficulty with executive functions.
Language therapy
30 Minutes: US$90
45 Minutes: US$130
60 minutes: US$170
Orton-Gillingham
45 Minutes: US$130
Language & Literacy Evaluations
Evaluation, Report & Review: US$2000
Administration is typically 3 – 4 hours