[mdaisyq]

The distinction between language and speech is so important, and yet many people confuse the two. Our son, repaired CL/CP, had no language OR speech skills. The special ed in our local, school system had never dealt with a child with no comprehension of verbal language as a means of communication - they only thought in terms of speech disability and when he was finally given an IEP (after a 6 month battle) they only thought to address his speech issues, ie. articulation.

It has been so hard to explain to people what a language disability is like vs a speech disability.

Thank you for the succinct definition.

By the way, we were able to find an awesome private speech therapist. After a year of twice a week speech therapy, our son is now only a year behind in receptive language and is now ready to work on speech.