Expressive language disorder: what it is, causes, symptoms and treatment

Expressive language disorder (TLE) is a language development disorder in which the person who suffers from it has difficulty expressing themselves verbally accurately and coherently. This language impairment is not related to hearing or IQ, it is to say, but that the people who suffer it have problems to process and understand the information auditory. In fact, those who suffer from it have an average or above average IQ.

In this Psychology-Online article, we explain in detail what is Expressive Language Disorder: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment. You will also see the different ways in which this language alteration manifests itself.

Index

1. What is expressive language disorder
2. Types of expressive language disorder
3. Causes of expressive language disorder
4. Expressive Language Disorder Symptoms
5. Treatment of expressive language disorder

Expressive language disorder (TLE) is a condition that affects the ability to use language

Specifically, children with expressive language disorder may have difficulty forming grammatical sentences., use a wide vocabulary and express their thoughts. It can affect academic performance in areas such as reading, writing and social skills.

For adults, this language impairment can have a significant impact on their ability to communicate in both personal and professional situations and, while there is room for improvement, it can be difficult to for life.

What are expressive language disorders? There are several types differentiated by their etiology, symptomatology and prognosis. The most common types of TLE are the following:

• Specific language disorder (TEL): People with this disorder have significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of language, which do not have relationship with an intellectual disability, hearing loss, autism spectrum disorders, emotional problems or environmental.
• Mixed receptive-expressive language disorder: People with this type of expressive language disorder show difficulties in understanding and expressing oral language.
• Phonological disorder: People with Phonological Disorder have difficulties producing speech sounds and understanding the message.
• motor speech disorder: Individuals with this motor speech disorder have difficulty coordinating and planning the movements necessary to produce speech.
• infantile aphasia: partial or total loss of the ability to communicate through oral language and is caused by brain injuries. In this article you will find information about the Types of aphasia: characteristics and examples.

The causes of expressive language disorder are not fully defined, as there is no single cause, but it is believed that they may be the result of the following factors:

• Genetic factors: Studies show that expressive language disorder may have a genetic basis. Researchers have identified certain genes that may increase the risk of language disorders. Genetic testing can be useful in helping to diagnose a language disorder and predict the course of the disease.
• brain development problems: Expressive language disorder may be related to problems in brain development. This can be due to factors such as lack of oxygen during labor, infections, or brain injury. Studies claim that there are differences in brain structure and function compared between children with expressive language disorders and infants with common language development.
• Environmental factors: can contribute to the development of expressive language disorder. Some of these factors may be exposure to certain toxins during fetal development, stress, a inadequate nutrition during childhood, child abuse and lack of language stimulation at an early age.
• Emotional or social problems: Some children with expressive language disorder may also experience emotional or social problems that contribute to communication difficulties, such as social anxiety, low self-esteem or social isolation.
• Presence of other disorders: Expressive language disorders may also be related to other neurodevelopmental problems, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which have also been linked to differences in brain structure and function.

If expressive language disorder occurs in adulthood, it may be due to injuries disorders or developmental speech and language disorders that were not adequately addressed in the childhood. In addition, it is also related to the aging or degenerative diseasessuch as Alzheimer's and dementia.

How do I know if my child has expressive language disorder? The symptoms vary from person to person, that is, they can manifest themselves in different ways. Next, we show you the main characteristics of the TEL:

• limited vocabulary: People with expressive language disorder may have difficulty expressing their thoughts and feelings because they can't find the right words. Their vocabulary may be limited or they may use simple words more often.
• Grammatical errors: Those who suffer from SLI sometimes have language difficulties in forming grammatical sentences. They may make mistakes in sentence structure, word order, and have trouble using pronouns, prepositions, and other language elements correctly.
• Difficulty following verbal instructions: Individuals with expressive language disorder may have trouble following verbal instructions. They may also have a hard time remembering sequences of instructions, so it may be necessary to give them these instructions several times for them to fully understand them.
• Disadvantages of holding conversations: difficulties to participate in conversations with other people and to follow the thread of the talk or understand figurative language. For this reason, people with expressive language disorder sometimes avoid starting conversations, speaking in public or get involved in social situations, to avoid misunderstandings and feelings of frustration that can affect to its self-esteem.
• trouble describing events: TEL can also affect the ability to tell stories or describe events. It is more difficult to organize thoughts and provide important details.

How to help a child with expressive language disorder? This language impairment can be effectively treated if detected at an early stage. The main methodologies used to stimulate expressive language are:

• Talk therapy: It is the treatment that is currently most used to treat expressive SLI. Therapy can be carried out individually or in a group. Exercises are included to improve pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and the ability to follow verbal instructions.
• occupational therapy: may be beneficial for treating SLI in children and adults. Occupational therapy focuses on helping individuals develop practical skills and functional for the performance of their daily activities, which includes language and communication. Breathing, vocalization and pronunciation techniques are taught, as well as skill development social and emotional aspects that allow the patient to interact and communicate effectively in different situations.
• Special education: guarantees the inclusion of children with expressive language disorder and helps them in their educational process. Through prior training, teachers can use specific strategies to help them better understand the material and communicate effectively. In some schools, adapted educational materials and specific strategies are used to improve communication.
• assistive technology: This tool can be very useful to treat expressive TEL. This type of technology allows both children and adults to communicate more effectively. Currently, there are applications such as voice recognition technology, visual aids, and alternative communication devices that work very well as an adjunct to therapy.

In short, expressive language disorder is not a condition related to the ability intellectual of people, but it affects the abilities of verbal expression and the development of skills linguistics. With proper treatment, people with SLI can learn to communicate effectively and improve their quality of life.

This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Expressive language disorder: what it is, causes, symptoms and treatment, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

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