ASHA considers this a part of language impairment,as shown below; A language disorder is impaired comprehension and/or use of spoken, written and/or other symbol systems.
The disorder may involve
- the form of language (phonology, morphology, syntax),
- the content of language (semantics), and/or
- the function of language in communication (pragmatics) in any combination.
1. Form of Language
- Phonology is the sound system of a language and the rules that govern sound combinations.
Similar to and related to articulation, this commonly makes young children’s speech hard to understand.
Mastery of phonology is expected to complete before the age of 4. This is the most likely culprit if your young child’s speech is hard to understand.
Fortunately, most children respond well to direct intervention.