For each case study, identify what type of communication disorder the child has. You must state at least 5 characteristics from each case study to support the diagnosis you chose.   Case Study #3: Julia: A 4 years, 6-month-old female Julia was born at 40 weeks gestation. Her parents reported a normal first year of life, with Julia reaching developmental milestones on time. Julia’s parents first became concerned when at 18 months, Julia only had a couple of words (Mama, Dada). While Julia’s language skills improved over the next couple of years, she still had difficulty communicating with her playmates and family members. As she played with peers, her parents noticed that she frequently imitated peers’ words and play but had trouble contributing in novel ways to the play or conversation. At home, she was good-natured, playful, and cooperative, but she had difficulty following her parents’ instructions and struggled to express her ideas. Julia’s mother described her conversational skills as choppy and noted that she often spoke using “immature” speech with short sentences lacking verb tense markers. Julia’s preschool teacher also noticed that Julia had difficulty describing pictures from books, responding to questions about stories, and struggled to stay on topic. Julia’s mother contacted a speech and language clinic to pursue a speech and language evaluation for Julia. Results of the evaluation revealed that Julia’s speech sound system was within normal limits. Her language skills in the area of pragmatics were also within normal limits; she was found to engage in appropriate turn-taking, eye contact, joint attention, and speech intonation. Julia’s receptive language skills were in the significantly below average range. Julia was able to identify colors, understand negatives in sentences, and understand use of objects in play. However, she had difficulty with making inferences, identifying categories, following directions, and language concepts, such as long, tall, short. Julia’s expressive language skills were also found to be in the significantly below average range. Julia was able to use basic word combinations and quantity concepts. However, she had difficulty using possessives, naming objects, completing analogies, and describing how objects are used. A language sample analysis revealed that Julia had difficulty formulating grammatically and semantically correct sentences. She had difficulty using pronouns and interchanged she/her. Julia also demonstrated some word finding difficulties, and she frequently used words such as thing and stuff when she couldn’t think of the word she wanted. Julia also underwent testing in the area of nonverbal intelligence, and she was found to have nonverbal intelligence scores in the average range.

Case Study #3: Julia: A 4 years, 6-month-old female

Julia was born at 40 weeks gestation. Her parents reported a normal first year of life, with Julia reaching developmental milestones on time. Julia’s parents first became concerned when at 18 months, Julia only had a couple of words (Mama, Dada). While Julia’s language skills improved over the next couple of years, she still had difficulty communicating with her playmates and family members. As she played with peers, her parents noticed that she frequently imitated peers’ words and play but had trouble contributing in novel ways to the play or conversation. At home, she was good-natured, playful, and cooperative, but she had difficulty following her parents’ instructions and struggled to express her ideas. Julia’s mother described her conversational skills as choppy and noted that she often spoke using “immature” speech with short sentences lacking verb tense markers.

Julia’s preschool teacher also noticed that Julia had difficulty describing pictures from books, responding to questions about stories, and struggled to stay on topic. Julia’s mother contacted a speech and language clinic to pursue a speech and language evaluation for Julia.

Results of the evaluation revealed that Julia’s speech sound system was within normal limits. Her language skills in the area of pragmatics were also within normal limits; she was found to engage in appropriate turn-taking, eye contact, joint attention, and speech intonation.

Julia’s receptive language skills were in the significantly below average range. Julia was able to identify colors, understand negatives in sentences, and understand use of objects in play. However, she had difficulty with making inferences, identifying categories, following directions, and language concepts, such as long, tall, short. Julia’s expressive language skills were also found to be in the significantly below average range. Julia was able to use basic word combinations and quantity concepts. However, she had difficulty using possessives, naming objects, completing analogies, and describing how objects are used. A language sample analysis

revealed that Julia had difficulty formulating grammatically and semantically correct sentences. She had difficulty using pronouns and interchanged she/her. Julia also demonstrated some word finding difficulties, and she frequently used words such as thing and stuff when she couldn’t think of the word she wanted.

Julia also underwent testing in the area of nonverbal intelligence, and she was found to have nonverbal intelligence scores in the average range.