Communication Disorders
A deeply ingrained listening distortion can actually lead to the loss of desire to listen, which in turn will diminish the desire to communicate, either because the person suffering from this distortion lacks confidence, or because he or she simply gives up trying to communicate.
Let’s recall that having well-tuned listening is not necessarily a consequence of having good hearing. Listening is characterized both by a real intention to communicate and by the quality of perception and of interpretation of the received sound message.
Well-tuned listening is therefore not a function of how well we hear or of our ear’s sensitivity, but rather of how well we process what we hear, that is, of the quality of exploitation of our hearing.
Even though the phrase ‘communication disorders’ is undeniably generalized, and although difficulties with communication may have diverse and varied causes, it is nevertheless the case that a considerable number of communication problems originate in known distortions of the listening function.
Difficulties in communication may take on a variety of different forms. For example, they may show up as an inability to perceive sounds in the environment without feeling aggressed by them; for some people with a communication disorder, the honking of a car horn, the slamming of a door, the noisy ambiance of a restaurant, and even the familiar voices of co-workers, parents or friends may be perceived as aggressive.
Others suffering from different communication disorders find it difficult, even impossible, to use their voice as a true tool of communication, due to a lack of mastery over its different melodic components – intonation, inflection, rhythm, intensity, etc.- and these peoples’ voices may consequently be perceived as aggressive, cold, or void of any power of expression by another interlocutor. By specifically working on the reception and emission of sound, the Tomatis Method acts effectively on communication.
What is Meant by Communication Disorders
The term ‘communication disorders’ encompasses a wide variety of problems in language, speech, and hearing. Speech and language impairments include articulation problems, voice disorders, fluency problems (such as stuttering), aphasia (difficulty in using words, usually as a result of a brain injury), and delays in speech and/or language. Speech and language delays may be due to many factors, including environmental factors or hearing loss.
Hearing impairments include partial hearing loss and deafness. Deafness may be defined as a loss sufficient to make auditory communication difficult or impossible without amplification. There are four types of hearing loss:
- onductive hearing losses are caused by diseases or obstructions in the outer or middle ear and can usually be helped with a hearing aid.
- Sensorineural losses result from damage to the sensory hair cells of the inner ear or the nerves that supply it and may not respond to the use of a hearing aid.
- Mixed hearing losses are those in which the problem occurs both in the outer or middle ear and in the inner ear.
- A central hearing loss results from damage to the nerves or brain.
Many communication disorders result from other conditions such as learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, or cleft lip or cleft palate.
How many Children have Communication Disorders?
The overall estimate for speech and language disorders is widely agreed to be 4-6% of school-aged children. This figure includes voice disorders (3%) and stuttering (1%). The incidence of elementary school children who exhibit delayed phonological (articulation) development is 2-3%, although the percentage decreases steadily with age.
Estimates of hearing impairments vary considerably, with one widely accepted figure of 5% representing the portion of school-aged children with hearing levels outside the normal range. Of this number, 10-20% require some type of special education. Approximately one-third of students who are deaf attend boarding schools. Two-thirds attend day programs in schools for students who are deaf or day classes located in regular schools. The remainder are mainstreamed into regular school programs.
