Articulation Disorders: The atypical production of speech sounds characterized by substitutions, omissions, additions or distortions that may interfere with intelligibility.
Auditory Processing Disorders: In its very broadest sense, APD refers to how the central nervous system (CNS) uses auditory information. However, the CNS is vast and also is responsible for functions such as memory, attention, and language, among others. APD is an auditory deficit that is not the result of other higher-order cognitive, language, or related disorder.
Augmentative/alternative communication (AAC): Systems attempt to compensate and facilitate, temporarily or permanently, for the impairment and disability patterns of individuals with severe expressive and/ or language comprehension disorders. Augmentative/alternative communication may be required for individuals demonstrating impairments in gestural, spoken, and/or written modalities.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Autism is a developmental disability. Children with autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder or ASD, have social, communication and language problems. They also have restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, such as flipping objects, echolalia, or excessive smelling or touching of objects. Autism may be mild or severe. All children with autism don't have the exact same difficulties.
Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS): Is a motor speech disorder. Children with CAS have problems saying sounds, syllables, and words. This is not because of muscle weakness or paralysis. The brain has problems planning to move the body parts (e.g., lips, jaw, tongue) needed for speech. The child knows what he or she wants to say, but his/her brain has difficulty coordinating the muscle movements necessary to say those words.
Expressive and Receptive Language Disorders: When a person has trouble understanding others (receptive language), or sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings completely (expressive language), then he or she has a language disorder.
Intellectual Disability(ID): ID is characterized by a) significant limitations in intellectual functioning (e.g., reasoning, learning, and problem solving); b) significant limitations in adaptive behavior (i.e., conceptual, social, and practical skills in everyday life); and c) onset in childhood (before the age of 18 years; American Association on Intellecutal and Developmental Disabilities [AAIDD, 2013]).
Learning Disability: “Specific learning disability” means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations.
Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS): PECS was developed in 1985 as a unique augmentative/alternative communication intervention package for individuals with autism spectrum disorder and related developmental disabilities.
Phonological Disorder: A phonological process disorder involves patterns of sound errors. For example, substituting all sounds made in the back of the mouth like "k" and "g" for those in the front of the mouth like "t" and "d" (e.g., saying "tup" for "cup" or "das" for "gas").
Pragmatic Language Disorder: An individual may say words clearly and use long, complex sentences with correct grammar, but still have a communication problem - if he or she has not mastered the rules for social language, which may be indicative of a pragmatic language disorder.
References:
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (1993). Definitions of communication disorders and variations [Relevant Paper]. Available from www.asha.org/policy.
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (1991). Learning disabilities: issues on definition [Relevant Paper]. Available from www.asha.org/policy.
http://www.pecsusa.com/pecs.php