SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DISORDERS
There are a number of communication disorders, ranging from sound substitution or inability to produce certain sounds to the inability to understand language or produce speech that can be understood. All of these disorders are classified into one of two types.

1. With speech disorders, a person has trouble in producing speech. An articulation disorder is when a child has a problem making the sounds necessary for speech. Stuttering or a lisp would be an example of this type of disorder. Some people have problems pronouncing certain sounds like l or r.

A phonological disorder, also a speech disorder, is a bit more complicated. In this case, the person is capable of making all of the sounds, but their speech is still not easily understood. People with this type of disorder may have a voice that sounds very different, speak very, very softly or at a high pitch.

2. A language disorder is when a person cannot understand and/or communicate with other people. It is usually assumed that this is due to some type of neurological problem, but the cause may be unknown. People with language disorders may have trouble matching a word with its meaning, be unable to create sentences, be unable to comprehend what another person is saying or be unable to express themselves through language. They may have a limited vocabulary as well. It is not unusual for people with a language disorder to have more than one of these symptoms.