During childhood, doubts arise regarding the our children's communication or the children in our environment. There are two neurodevelopmental disorders that are very difficult to distinguish during childhood in terms of how communication develops: SLI and ASD.
There is a extensive classification of both disorders and establishing it is very important as this will allow for a treatment that is as tailored as possible to the characteristics of these individuals. This post will focus on the communicative aspects of these two disorders. However, although Communication is a fundamental factor To determine what disorder we are dealing with, many other cognitive abilities would also have to be assessed.
Specific Language Impairment (SLI)
SLI is a language disorder where there is a delay in language acquisition in children who have no hearing impairment nor do they suffer from any other cause of developmental delay. The cause is unknown, but most studies link its origin to genetic disorders. Therefore, it is very likely that the parents of a child with SLI have had a history of language difficulties.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
ASD is a group of conditions characterized by alteration of social behavior, communication, and language with varying degrees of impairment and a repertoire of restricted, stereotyped, and repetitive interests and activities. The cause of this disorder is based on multiple factors, including genetic and environmental ones.
Why are they confused?
What happens is that in both cases the child cannot relate to the environment through language, whether because it is altered, scarce, or completely absent. It may also present trouble understanding what other people say to youAs a result, the child tends to isolate himself and withdraw, thus avoiding social interaction.