Human Communication and Its Disorders

The ability to communicate is amazing. No other human ability is so complicated, so sophisticated, so important to civilization, and yet, so taken for granted. Communication allows people to work cooperatively to build families, legal and political systems, corporations, universities, libraries, space programs, religions, and the World Wide Web. Most importantly, it allows people to connect, to reduce loneliness and isolation, to comfort one another, and to counter the bleakness of existence that results from desolation. Mother Teresa of Calcutta observed: "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." How tragic would life be without this marvelous ability to communicate?

Communication disorders have afflicted humans since the beginning of recorded history. As will be discussed later, there are references to them in the ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman societies. For some, communication and its disorders are God-given. In Exodus 4:10, there is a reference to the divine nature of communication and its disorders: "And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue. And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? Or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord?" Whether communication disorders are the nuisance of a lisp or a mild stutter, the devastation of the loss of language from a stroke, or symptoms of the gradual onset of dementia, they affect the lives of millions of people. One in ten people in the United States has a communication disorder.

Communication sciences and disorders is an academic and clinical discipline whose mission is to understand communication and treat its disorders. It is a fledgling science and a newcomer to the sciences and therapeutic professions. It is a bit arrogant in assuming it can understand and explain the complexities of human communication, yet optimistically ambitious in tackling the treatment of its disorders.

This book is about communication sciences and disorders, and in some ways, it is a love story. It is a chronicle of my lifelong love affair with the marvelous human ability to communicate and my commitment to treating its disorders. In this book, you will read interesting examples, case studies, and observations about consciousness, language, acoustics, hearing, paralysis, disorientation, delusions, mental impairment, dementia, and the functions of the brain. They are but a few of the human abilities and maladies that are the subjects of this book.

This book is based on my experiences. I discuss only those topics with exceptional scientific and philosophical importance that often have implications about the human condition. You will read about the remarkable communication functions and fascinating disorders I have studied and observed. My goal is to give you an interesting read, and to share with you some of the amazing diseases, defects, disorders, and disabilities I have come across as a professor, scientist, and clinician.

I have been a professor of communication sciences and disorders for nearly 40 years and an enthusiastic student of communication all of my life. For most of my adult life, I have studied communication, speech-language pathology and audiology, and the speech and hearing sciences. I have owned a private speech and hearing clinic, served as an expert witness in legal cases involving communication sciences and disorders, and consulted with local, state, and federal agencies, as well as Native American Tribes of the Southwest. I have received several university, foundation, and federal grants. I have 14 books in print and list dozens of research articles and professional papers on my resume. I have published pamphlets, diagnostic tests, and treatment programs. I have been involved with the forensic aspects of voice prints, speaker profiling, and speaker recognition. I love what I do, and it occurred to me that I should share my experiences with you who may be considering majoring in this discipline, or who have a loved one with a communication disorder. This book may also be of interest to those of you who simply want to learn more about this human ability and the interesting disorders that can impair or destroy it.

From Farm to Campus

I was born on a large farm in Idaho. My family also owned a 2,000acre cattle and sheep ranch in southwestern Montana. Looking back on it, I suspect I was a hyperactive child. My family was fortunate there were hundreds of acres of farm and ranch land available for me to roam, run, explore, play, and exhaust my high levels of energy. On the negative side, current research shows exposure to chemicals often used on farms and ranches are a cause of attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) and other conditions. One of the most vivid memories I have is of my father spraying the yard around our home with DDT to combat flies and mosquitoes. We grew potatoes, hay, and wheat. During the planting season, the seed potatoes were dipped in chemicals, and I would ride behind the planter to see that all of them were dropped into the ground. After each round, I remember wiping off the dried dirt and chemicals, including DDT, which had caked on my face. In addition, cattle are branded, dehorned, and given chemicals to prevent disease, stimulate growth, and to keep flies off them. Chemicals were and still are a big part of farming and ranching.

Today, a child with hyperactivity would likely be treated with medication. I am thankful medication was not prescribed to me for this disorder, if in fact I had it. ADHD is diagnosed far too frequently. I am certain there are children who suffer greatly from this disorder, and for them, medication is a godsend. I am equally certain that not every child who is active and full of energy, and who has problems attending in a stuffy classroom, is disordered. Today, Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer would likely have been diagnosed with ADHD, oppositional defiance disorder (ODD), antisocial personalities, and been promptly medicated.

When lecturing, I tell my students that rather than being disordered, perhaps I was simply a curious child with an intense enthusiasm for living. In the evenings and after supper, I would often still be wound-up. (My family called the evening meal "supper" and hyperactivity simply being "wound-up.") To rid me of excess evening energy, my parents required me to go outside and run around our house many times. It worked. After the exercise, I would retreat to my room exhausted and much calmer. Most of the time, I dutifully did my nightly therapy; however, several times I tried to fool my parents. Rather than do my exercise, I would pass the window from which they watched, turn around, sneak underneath it,...