A communication disorder is a disorder that negatively affects the person’s ability to speak or engage in discussions with other people. It can range from the inability to understand their own native language, or it can be an inability to make the proper sounds necessary for speech.

It may affect up to 17% of people and includes lisping and stuttering and children with autism spectrum disorder are likely to also have speech and communication disorders.

Every parent dreads having to receive a call from school about their child misbehaving. Whether it is getting into fights, inattentiveness during class or having bad grades, it can be frustrating for parents if they do not understand the reasons behind the child’s behaviour.

The parent’s reaction can even cause the situation to worsen.

It’s not always obvious what behaviours are normal or abnormal in children. Many times, adults and educators tend to think that the child may have behaviour issues when they might not. The biggest issue in identifying abnormal behaviour is that many of the symptoms look the same as normal behaviour.

Some of the most common signs can be:

• Inattentiveness
• Unwillingness or inability to follow instructions
• Throws tantrums in public
• Aggression

It’s not simple or easy to determine if a child has a learning disability. Many otherwise normal behaviours can sometimes be misidentified for being a learning disability.
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If you are unsure about how your child’s speech and language is developing because they may appear to be unresponsive to vocal cues or seem to be taking longer than their peers to speak in full sentences, the natural reaction may be to think the child might have speech and language delay. This may not always be the case.