Expressive Language Disorder

A child with expressive language disorder has trouble talking and making other people understand them. Your child will show some or all of these symptoms:

• Knows fewer words than their peers
• Can’t remember what things are called
• Uses the wrong verb tense
• Uses the wrong pronouns (such as he, she, they)
• Skips pronouns or verbs
• Stumbles over words
• Uses short sentences
• Has trouble asking questions
• Repeats words back when asked a question
• Has trouble learning songs or rhymes
• Sticks to group nouns (such as things and stuff)

You should see your child’s doctor if your child has trouble talking or being understood when they talk. Your child’s doctor can arrange for your child to have language development testing.

The causes of expressive language disorder may include:

• Lack of needed vitamins
• Poor nutrition
• Genetic factors
• Brain damage

Your child can be tested if you think they might have a language disorder. Two main kinds of tests are used: standardized expressive language tests and nonverbal intellectual tests.

Using these together will help rule out many other learning disabilities. However, more tests might be done to be sure.

Speech therapy or language therapy will be used to treat your child. Your child can work with a speech therapist or speech-language pathologist [puh-THOL-uh-jist]. The therapist will help your child use language more. Your child will learn more words and phrases to help them make themselves understood.

The therapist might teach your child other ways to communicate, such as gestures. If your child stumbles over words, it can seem like a stutter. The usual treatments for stuttering may not help. The goal of treatment for this disorder is to get your child to talk more. Treating that core issue will help with the stuttering.

In addition to working with your child, the therapist might teach you ways to communicate better with your child.

If your child’s disorder is not very bad or stems from a reversible problem (such as a vitamin deficiency), they could make close to a full recovery.

Some expressive language disorders are genetic, and you cannot prevent them. Others are not passed down in families, and you may be able to take some steps to prevent them. Some things you can do when pregnant to help prevent expressive language disorder in your child include eating well and getting prenatal care from your doctor. During early childhood, good nutrition might also help your child avoid an expressive language disorder.

• Medline
• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
• Understood.org

An expressive language disorder is a kind of communication disorder. In this kind of disorder, your child has trouble talking and making themselves understood by other people.

This disorder might make it hard for your child to make friends or make your child withdrawn. On top of social problems, your child is at risk for developing learning problems and low self-esteem.

Even though your child has problems making themselves understood, they may understand what you say or something they read.

When a child has problems understanding what people say, they might have a receptive language disorder. Sometimes a child can have both kinds of disorders, which is called a mixed receptive-expressive disorder.

Expressive language disorder is common in children. This disorder can be treated with speech therapy.