9781422279946

sounds correctly or fluently, something like a stutter or a lisp. Language disorders generally occur when a person has trouble understanding others or sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings. This can be an issue in dealing with syntax, phonology, mor- phology, or even the proper use of language in social settings. Speech pathologists also work with patients with social communication disorders. These disorders involve difficulties with either verbal or nonverbal communication, including problems communicating for social purposes, like offering “One story that will probably stay with me is when I worked in a specialized school for children who were deaf or hard of hear- ing. A lot of these kids had just been fitted with cochlear implants and hearing aids and they were doing a lot of unique therapies and strategies with us to try to get adjusted to their new auditory atmosphere and auditory inputs around them. I had one three-year-old who recognized that I was wearing hear- ing aids just like her. She could not speak or verbalize yet, but she pointed to my ears and then to her ears and she just smiled at me. There was a great connection between us, even though she was so young.” “A Child I’ll Never Forget” A speech language pathologist was asked to share a real-life story about an experience she had had with a patient that would stay with you forever. She responded:

10

Speech Pathologists & Audiologists