Speech and Language Impairment

A student talking with one of our student counselors

Speech or language impairment is a communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation of words, a language impairment, or a voice impairment, that adversely affects a student's educational performance. People with speech and language impairment may present with communication problems including the following characteristics:

Articulation: Difficulties in making certain sounds which may be left off, added, changed, or distorted, and makes it hard for people to understand and comprehend.
Fluency: Flow of speech is being disrupted with atypical rhythm, abnormal number of repetitions and hesitations.
Voice: Problems associated with abnormal pitch, loudness, vocal quality, resonance and loss of endurance.
Language: Impaired ability to comprehend and/or use of words in context.

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There are eight types of SEN: hearing impairment, visual impairment, physical disability, intellectual disability, speech and language impairment, special learning difficulties, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder and autistic spectrum disorder.