Communication disorders refer to the impairment of a person’s ability to detect, catch, process and comprehend signs of communication. There are several types of communication disorders, based on the types of difficulties faced while conducting speech, language, verbal or non-verbal communication.

The disorders can develop early in a child’s growth stage or at an older age due to certain medical conditions, with severity ranging from mild to profound. Read on to get more detailed information on its types!

The following are the different types of communication disorders. It is categorised into five main categories:

1. Speech Disorders

In speech disorders, it is difficult for a person to articulate speech sounds. The condition affects the meaning of the rate, rhythm, fluency, voice, flow of speech, volume, pitch and length of the speech. So, again these disorders have been categorised into three types depending on how it affects your voice:

• Articulation Disorders: These are caused by structural changes in your bones and muscles. As a result, you produce a typical speech, i.e., changing or substituting words.
• Fluency Disorders: These disorders develop due to neurophysiological or genetic disruptions in the flow of dialogues. This results in the production of a typical rhythm, such as cluttering or stuttering.
• Phonological Disorder: It is another type of speech disorder in which an individual is unable to form correct sound of a word.
• Voice Disorders: These are caused by abnormalities in pitch or resonance that do not align with the age/gender of a person.

2. Language Disorders

These include impairment in a person’s ability to use or comprehend written, spoken, or other symbol systems. Thus, it gives rise to the underlying problems:

• Morphology: Structure and construction of words
• Phonology: Sound that builds a language system
• Syntax: Formation of sentence
• Language Function: Use of messages that are socially appropriate
• Language Content: Establishing the meaning of words and sentences

3. Hearing Disorders

This type of communication disorder develops due to impaired sensitivity of the auditory system. As a result, you have difficulty recognising, detecting, comprehending, discriminating, and perceiving auditory information.

4. Central Auditory Processing Disorders (CAPD)

Central Auditory Processing Disorder, or CAPD, results from difficulty processing auditory information. This is because of a problem in the segment of the brain in charge of interpreting auditory signals. So, in CAPD, there is no issue like intellectual impairment or reduced hearing sensitivity.

5. Social Communication Disorder

In this type of disorder, an individual may have a verbal or non-verbal communication difficulty. However, this is not due to an intellectual disability or autism. Also, it might mimic the symptoms of autism but is not restricted to repetitive behaviour, anxiety, sensory differences, etc.

Find the different causes of communication disorders under their respective headings.

1. Causes of Speech and Language Disorders

• Emotional stress
• Genetic abnormalities
• Bain injury, infection or trauma
• Drug abuse
• Neurological disorders

2. Causes of Hearing Disorders

• Ageing or damage from loud noise due to continuous exposure
• Earwax build-up
• Ear infection
• Labyrinthitis or Meniere’s disease
• Perforated eardrum

3. Causes of Central Auditory Processing Disorders (CAPD)

• Brain injuries like meningitis and head trauma
• Degenerative disorders like multiple sclerosis
• Cerebrovascular disorders like stroke
• Seizure
• Lesions of CNS (Central Nervous System)
• Exposure to neurotoxins like organic solvents, heavy metals

4. Causes of Social Communication Disorders

• Genetic abnormalities
• Brain differences

The following are the different symptoms of communication disorders categorised individually

1. Symptoms of Speech and Language Disorders

• Fluency Disorder:
  • Putting in extra words
  • Repetition of word or sound
  • Stretching certain words unnecessarily
  • Jerking head while talking
• Articulation Disorder:
  • Certain sounds like ‘s, l, r’ are coming out distorted
  • Hard to identify people other than family members
• Phonological Disorder:
  • Changing or eliminating words
  • A problem in pronouncing same-sounding words
• Voice Disorders:
  • Hoarseness in voice
  • Sudden change in pitch
  • Sudden break in or break out of voice

2. Symptoms of Hearing Disorders

• Need of people to repeat their sentences
• Difficulty hearing sound on the phone
• Watching TV or listening to music at a higher sound than normal
• Difficulty in hearing what other people are saying, especially in a noisy place

3. Symptoms of Central Auditory Processing Disorders (CAPD)

• Requires a longer time to respond in oral communication
• An issue with localising sound
• Difficulty comprehending spoken language, especially in a noisy place
• Frequent uses of ‘what’ and ‘huh’ words for repetition of sentences
• Difficulty in learning a foreign language

4. Symptoms of Social Communication Disorder

• Problems with social relationships, academic performance and communication
• Difficulties in matching social contexts, like understanding the rules of conversation
• No other diagnosis like that of autism or intellectual disability explains the problem

The following are the different diagnostic methods for the different types of communication disorders.

1. Diagnosis of Speech and Language Disorders

• Prosody-Voice Screening Profile: These tests help examine multiple abilities at once, like speech pattern, pitch, phrasing, speaking volume, etc.
• Denver Articulation Screening Examination: This exam tests the clarity of how well a person can pronounce.
• Dynamic Evaluation of Motor Speech Skills Manual (DEMSS): This comprehensive guide helps doctors diagnose speech disorders.

2. Diagnosis of Hearing Disorders

• General Screening Tests: In this method, doctors will whisper in your ear while asking you to cover one of your ears. Next, they will base your diagnostic result on the volume level you can hear the sound.
• Physical Examination: In the process, the doctor will search for possible reasons for impaired hearing. These include inflammation from an infection or the presence of earwax.
• App-Based Hearing Exam: You can find hearing apps which you can connect to a tablet to screen moderate hearing loss.
• Audiometer Tests: This is a more-advanced audio test. Here you will have to wear earphones through which sounds and words will be directed to each one of your ears. It will keep producing tone at different faint levels to find the quietest one you can hear.
• Tuning Fork Tests: Doctors perform simple tests using tuning forks to detect hearing loss. This helps evaluate the area where the damage has occurred.

3. Diagnosis of Central Auditory Processing Disorders

• Hearing Tests: These involve spotting small variations in sounds, understanding speech in a noisy background, and filling in missing words in a speech.
• Other Tests: These include speech & language tests, memory, concentration and problem-solving tests. The doctors may also put electrodes on your head to estimate how your brain reacts to a particular sound.

These listening tests are only carried out on people above age seven as the responses may be inaccurate for younger ones.

4. Diagnosis of Social Communication Disorders

• Analysis of Symptoms: Doctors mainly diagnose social communication disorder by analysing one’s skill to communicate, health condition and non-speaking communication.

The specific treatment for communication disorders is mentioned under their respective headers:

1. Treatment of Speech and Language Disorders

• Exercises: These include speech therapy exercises or physical exercises.
• Target Selection: It involves practising specific sounds or words to familiarise yourself.
• Contrast Therapy: It involves speaking one or more different-sounding words in pairs.
• Contextual Utilisation: Here, physicians teach you about speech sounds in multiple syllable-based contexts.
• Oral-Motor Therapy: It focuses on muscle strength, breath control and motor control.
• Medications: These include medicines for stress and anxiety which are often the cause of slurred speech.

2. Treatment of Hearing Disorders

• Hearing Aids: If you have hearing loss due to damage in your inner ear, the doctor will suggest a hearing aid.
• Removing Wax Blockage: If the hearing loss results from earwax blockage, it is reversible. The SLP (Speech Language Pathologists) will remove earwax using a small tool or a suction system to treat the condition.
• Surgical Procedures: Certain types of hearing loss are treatable through surgery. These include hearing loss due to abnormalities of bones or eardrums.
• Cochlear Implants: Cochlear implant may be an option if you have severe hearing loss and can reap only limited benefits from a conventional hearing aid.

3. Treatment of Central Auditory Processing Disorders

There is no cure for APD, but there are certain things SLPs suggest to make it easy to live with the condition:

• Auditory Training: It involves activities to improve concentration and listening. You can do it either under the supervision of a hearing specialist or on your timeline.
• Use of Wireless Earpiece: Children with APD can wear a wireless earpiece that helps them hear even in background noise. It is a hearing device connected to a tiny microphone worn by the teacher.
• Work on Other Skills: It is easy to deal with APD when you have enhanced memory, problem-solving technique and other learning skills.
• Speech Therapy: Speech therapy helps you recognise sounds and enhance communication skills.
• Change in Lifestyle: Lifestyle changes can also make a difference like teachers can improve classroom acoustics, use visuals aids, etc. Family can remove background noises like of TV, touch arm or shoulder before speaking, etc. Parents of kids must play auditory attention games and tapes.

4. Treatment of Social Communication Disorder

• Communication Training and Support: Interventions like a social script are given to individuals to make communication easy.
• Assistive Communicative Device: It is an electronic device that helps individuals communicate in different settings.
• Behavioural Intervention: In this intervention setting, healthcare lists certain behaviour, like looking into the eyes while communicating and sets rewards for it.
• Culturally Specific Training: Ways of communicating vary from one culture to another. Thus professionals give the training to understand the particular cultural requirement.
• Social Skill Practice: One can practice social skills with a therapist or any other person he or she feels comfortable with.

The following category of people are at more risk of developing communication disorders:

• Children: Communication disorder is more common in children, especially in the age group of 3 to 6. however, the chances start to drop with age.
• Family History: A family history of having a communication disorder is one of the significant risks of developing the disease.
• Health Conditions: Health conditions like apraxia, aphasia, and dysarthria increases the risk of developing communication disorders.
• Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A 2021 study also points out that severe traumatic brain injury can increase an individual's risk of developing a communication disorder.