Sometimes language disorders are difficult to define and diagnose, since they lack specific symptoms. So what can we do to determine whether or not a child has a specific language disorder ? Well, although it sounds not very reassuring, in certain cases the only way to know it is by the exclusion that we make with respect to other disorders that do have their more defined symptoms. And this is precisely what happens with the so-called dysphasia .
What exactly is dysphasia?
Dysphasia is a serious language disorder, characterized by certain disorders in expression, as well as in understanding acquired language. This type of disorder is quite serious, and it can lead children to express themselves through gestures and grimaces, rather than words.
Most frequent and prominent characteristics of dysphasia
Boys and girls who suffer from this disorder may be characterized by poor use of vocabulary according to their age, by their difficulty when using grammatical forms or even personal pronouns, by problems to organize and structure sentences appropriately, due to the use of verbs in the infinitive , due to their absence in the language of conjunctions and prepositions, or due to memory and repetition problems.
To these general symptoms can even be added others, such as problems of identifying space and time , attention deficit, confusion between some sounds and others, or rhythm problems and other psychomotor complications.
Although dysphasia is a rare language disorder, it is always good to stay informed, since this information will help us to get to know children who suffer from it in order to avoid confusing their problem with other disorders such as Asperger’s Syndrome or hearing problems.
Dysphasia is a disorder that, although it continues to pose great questions to experts, is believed that in most cases it can be caused by brain injuries, oxygen problems during childbirth, certain diseases that affect the central nervous system , such as case of meningitis, or even hospitalizations that are prolonged in time for any circumstance.
As educators, especially, we must be alert to this type of disorder, since its consequences lead to the social isolation of the child very frequently, due to its problems of expression and understanding of language, as well as school failure or emotional and affective disorders.
Despite everything, it is a disorder that can be worked on and prevented with certain exercises, such as those in which our bucco-facial muscles are exercised to improve the pronunciation of phonemes, vocabulary or memory exercises, and auditory discrimination.
The support of specialists and, above all, of families, is absolutely vital to work on the improvement of this type of language disorders such as dysphasia. A collaboration that is necessary among all, without a doubt, to avoid the suffering and isolation of children with this disorder.
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