Katie will be out for maternity leave beginning December 13th. She plans to return to work sometime in mid-March.
Language is using words (spoken, written, or signed) in a structured way in order to communicate what we want and need as well as our thoughts and feelings. Someone with a language disorder may struggle to understand or express themselves orally or in writing. More specifically, they may struggle to combine words when they are young, not order their words in the conventional way for the language they are using, or use the wrong verb endings. People with language disorders also frequently have social communiation difficulties, or difficulty using language appropriately for social interaction.
Speech in the context of speech language pathologists (SLPs) includes the production of sounds in order to communicate. Speech impairments, like lisping or having trouble producing 'r' or other sounds, are relatively well known reasons to get speech therapy. Stuttering, or difficulty fluently producing sounds and words, is also considered a speech disorder.
Your voice is how you make sounds to speak using your breath and your vocal chords. People can develop voice disorders by talking a very large amount, coughing, or by yelling or screaming. Sometimes voice disorders are from an neurological source. Anytime someone consistently sounds different than would be expected based on their age and/or gender (very high or low pitch, hoarse, etc.) when talking, or if they feel their voice isn't adequate for participating in their usual activities, they could have a voice disorder.
Swallowing disorders, also known as types of dysphagia, are when someone has difficulty eating, drinking, or both. They might have coughing during or right after meals, food or liquid escaping from their lips, or food getting stuck in their cheeks.
Cognition in its most simple sense is just the act of a person thinking. Many parts of a person's usual activities, including planning, attending to sensory input, learning, and remembering, are included in typical cognitive processes. A cognitive-communication disorder is often caused by damage to the brain; examples include a stroke, hemorrhage, or progression of a neurologic disease. People with cognitive-communication disorders may show difficulty concentrating, memory trouble, trouble explaining ideas, and/or difficulty with planning more complicated tasks.