Communication Impairment (CI)

Teachers: What you need to know

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Language

According to the American speech-language hearing association (ASHA):

“A language disorder is impaired comprehension and/or use of spoken, written and/or other symbol systems. The disorder may involve (1) the form of language (phonology, morphology, syntax), (2) the content of language (semantics), and/or (3) the function of language in communication (pragmatics) in any combination”.

1. Form of Language
   • Phonology is the sound system of a language and the rules that govern the sound combinations.
   • Morphology is the system that governs the structure of words and the construction of word forms.
   • Syntax is the system governing the order and combination of words to form sentences, and the relationships among the elements within a sentence.
2. Content of Language
   • Semantics is the system that governs the meanings of words and sentences.
3. Function of Language
   • Pragmatics is the system that combines the above language components in functional and socially appropriate communication. (ASHA, 2011)

Language impairment can occur as Specific Language Impairment (SLI), a term given to students who have delayed language in common but the characteristics of the difficulties vary from student to student. It is diagnosed predominantly by the exclusion of other characteristics. Statistics indicate that 5-7% of children in America are affected (Hoff, 2001, p. 353).