Socioemotional Aspects of Language and Social-Communication Disorders in Young Children and Their Families

Awareness of socioemotional issues related to childhood communication disorders is increasing. Three themes in recent research have obligated speech-language pathologists to become better educated in socioemotional issues: (a) the interdependence of communication, language, and socioemotional development; (b) the high co-occurrence of communication and emotional/behavioral disorders in children; and (c) the significant effect of a childhood communication disorder on the family system. In this article, relevant literature on these topics is reviewed, and implications for working with young children and their families are presented.