They appear in at least 10 percent of children younger than age 8. Fortunately, articulation disorders are often outgrown or successfully treated with speech therapy. Some children with language impairments have problems expressing them selves in speech. Their disorder is called, therefore, a developmental expressive language disorder. This disorder can take many forms.
Some people have trouble understanding certain aspects of speech.
There's a toddler who doesn't respond to his name, a preschooler who hands you a bell when you asked for a ball, or a worker who consistently can't follow simple directions. Their hearing is fine, but they can't make sense of certain sounds, words, or sentences they hear. They may even seem inattentive. These people have a receptive language disorder. Because using and understanding speech are strongly related, many people with receptive language disorders also have an expressive language disability.