Sheema Sheikh Page 5/9/2007
- Poor recognition of vocabulary
- Difficulty with the rate, complexity or amount of spoken or written information presented at one time
- Requests for multiple repetition of information
- Lack of attention in social conversations or teaching situations
- Problems understanding or recalling what was read
- Difficulty remembering instructions or following directions
Expressive skills are the ability to use verbal or written skills to express an idea. As an individual recovers from the initial injury, most receptive and expressive language skills necessary for routine communication may appear close to normal. Rarely will there be a problem with formulating a sentence or understanding everyday language. The more subtle problems with language and cognitive-communication often are overlooked.
Behaviors that may indicate problems with expressive language include:
- Difficulty remembering the desired word when speaking or writing
- Rude or immature use of language
- Problems in developing and using new vocabulary
- Talking about unrelated topics
- Failure to maintain proper “social graces” in social situations
- Making up stories or explanations for situations
- Hyper verbal or rapid, non-stop talking
- Lengthy, unorganized explanations
- Retelling the same story over and over
- Difficulty writing sentences
- Decreased ability to spell words correctly
Written language problems
Planning to write utilizes the same language production processes as speech production; though reading and writing tend to have their own conduct and do not develop naturally as speech. The written language is also more complex because it has no voice that can give away the meaning. Before children learn to read and write, they master the use of spoken words. So when they come to write, it is a production of spoken language. If a child has problems in the spoken language, he/she will face the following problems;
- Difficulty expressing thoughts on paper
- Difficulty copying letters, numbers or words
- Difficulty writing spontaneously or from dictation
- Difficulty in organizing thoughts
- Difficulty in writing in good syntax
- Untidy, unintelligible writing due to disarranged ideas
- Incorrect use of punctuation and capital letters
- Poor sentence formation
- Poor use of tenses
- Unorganized paragraphs
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- Difficulty in moving from informal (spoken) to formal (written) language
- Poor semantic understanding
The brain seems to learn by looking for consistencies, and events that repeat themselves frequently. And those experiences are usually made up of visual input and auditory input.
Children with spoken language problems will be at a disadvantage when learning to read and write. They will have problems in segmentation that involves breaking down of speech into sentences, words, syllables and phonemes.
Even mild problems in spoken language can have an impact on learning in school. A child should enter first grade with the majority of the language needed for learning. Problems in understanding language will affect almost every aspect of school: following directions, learning vocabulary, understanding instruction, reading comprehension, etc. Problems in using language are often seen in children who do not understand. Some children understand spoken language but have difficulty expressing them selves. A common problem seen in expressive language is difficulty recalling words they know (word retrieval problems). These children understand the word, know it when they hear it, but cannot always call it up when they need it. Such children will have problems in written language.
Written language is the ultimate, most complex method of expression. It involves infinitely complex multiple brain mechanisms, highly synchronized processing and has multiple sources and locations for the disruption of activity. In order for language to develop in a manner that it should exposure is very important. Oral language is important for social development and effective communication, as well as being the foundation for school learning. Problems in this area should not be overlooked or disregarded.
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