Glossary

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Social Communication(also: Social-Communication, Pragmatic Communication)

The use of language and nonverbal behavior in social contexts, encompassing skills such as taking turns in conversation, adjusting communication style based on the listener or situation, understanding nonliteral language, and interpreting social cues. Difficulties with social…

Speech Delay(also: Language Delay, Delayed Speech)

A condition in which a child does not develop speech and language skills at the expected rate for their age. Speech delay can affect the production of sounds (articulation), the ability to form words and sentences (expressive language), or the understanding of language…

Speech Disfluency(also: Disfluent Speech, Non-Fluent Speech)

Any interruption to the normal flow of speech, including repetitions of sounds or words, prolongations of sounds, blocks (involuntary pauses), interjections, and revisions. While everyone experiences occasional disfluency, persistent speech disfluency conditions such as…

Speech Sound Disorder(also: SSD, Speech Disorder, Articulation Disorder)

A communication disorder affecting the development of accurate speech sound and prosody production in childhood. Children with SSDs struggle with phonological representation, phonological awareness, and print awareness, which can lead to difficulties learning to read and impact…

Speech Therapy(also: Speech-Language Therapy, Speech Pathology, Speech-Language Intervention)

Clinical intervention provided by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to assess, diagnose, and treat speech, language, communication, and swallowing disorders. For speech sound disorders, effective treatment requires "frequent, high-intensity, individualized, and naturalistic"…

Speech and Language Therapy(also: SLT, Speech-Language Pathology, SLP)

A healthcare discipline focused on assessing and treating communication difficulties including speech, language, voice, fluency, and swallowing disorders. Speech and language therapists work with people who stammer, those with dysarthria, aphasia, and other conditions affecting…

Speech-Like Vocalization(also: SLV)

A sound produced by a person that can be phonetically transcribed based on the conventions of a spoken language, distinguishing it from non-speech-like vocalizations such as grunts, screeches, or vocal stereotypies. In speech development research, particularly for nonverbal or…

Speech-language pathology(also: SLP, Speech therapy, Speech-language therapy)

Speech-language pathology is the clinical discipline concerned with the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of communication and swallowing disorders, including speech sound production, language comprehension and expression, voice, fluency, and cognitive-communication skills.…

Stammering(also: Stuttering, Stammer, Stutter)

A neurological condition that affects the rhythmic flow of speech, causing involuntary repetitions, prolongations, or blocks of sounds, syllables, or words. Blocking describes audible or silent moments when a person is unable to produce a specific sound despite intending to.…

Synthetic Phonics(also: Phonics, Systematic Phonics)

A method of teaching reading that emphasises learning the sounds (phonemes) associated with letters and letter combinations, then blending those sounds together to form words. Unlike analytic phonics, which starts with whole words and breaks them down, synthetic phonics builds…

Tonal Language(also: Tone Language)

A language in which pitch variations at the word or syllable level distinguish meaning, so that the same sequence of consonants and vowels can have entirely different meanings depending on the tone used. Languages like Mandarin Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese are fully tonal,…

Total Communication

An approach to communication that incorporates all available modes and channels—including speech, gesture, facial expression, drawing, writing, pointing, props, and physical aids—rather than relying on a single modality. Total communication is particularly relevant for people…

VB-MAPP(also: Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program)

The VB-MAPP (Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program), developed by Mark Sundberg, is a criterion-referenced assessment and curriculum-planning tool for children with autism and other developmental disabilities. Grounded in Skinner's analysis of verbal…

Vocal Development(also: Speech Development, Vocal Production Development)

The process by which individuals acquire and refine the ability to produce speech sounds and vocalizations. In typically developing children, vocal development progresses through stages from cooing and babbling to first words and complex speech. For children with autism spectrum…

Voice Disabilities(also: Voice Disorders, Speech Impairment, Aphonia)

Conditions that partially or completely impair a person's ability to produce speech using their natural voice. Voice disabilities range from mild hoarseness or reduced volume to complete inability to vocalise (aphonia). Causes include laryngeal conditions, neurological disorders…

Western Aphasia Battery(also: WAB, WAB-R, Western Aphasia Battery-Revised)

A standardized assessment tool used to evaluate language function in adults with acquired neurological disorders, particularly aphasia following stroke or brain injury. The WAB measures spontaneous speech, auditory verbal comprehension, repetition, and naming to classify aphasia…

Word-Finding Difficulty(also: Word-Finding Deficit, Word Retrieval Difficulty)

A language impairment characterised by difficulty retrieving specific words during conversation or communication, despite the person knowing the word and its meaning. Word-finding difficulties are a hallmark symptom of aphasia and anomia but can also occur in other neurological…