Recent research in child psychiatry has demonstrated a high prevalence of speech, language, and communication disorders in children referred to psychiatric and mental health settings for emotional and behavioral problems. Conversely, children referred to speech and language clinics for communication disorders have been found to have a high rate of diagnosable psychiatric disorders. Most of the emerging knowledge regarding relationships between communication disorders and psychiatric disorders has been presented in the child psychiatric literature. Speech-language pathologists and audiologists also need to be familiar with this information; an understanding of the complex interrelationship between communication disorders and emotional and behavioral disorders is important for diagnosis, assessment, and treatment. The purpose of this article is to review recent research and discuss clinical implications for professionals in speech-language pathology and audiology working with children and adolescents who have, or who are at risk for, developing emotional and behavioral disorders. Issues to be addressed include differential diagnosis, prevention, intervention, and the role of speech-language pathologists serving these children and adolescents.

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What would it be like to lose your “words,” to be unable to remember a phrase or the name of your children? When will you learn your last “new word” and struggle to even recall the ones that you learned very early in your life? What if losing these words was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg? What about when you eventually can't understand what others are saying to you or when the stories they tell are too hard to follow, words are too complex, the environment too overwhelming, and you can't listen for more than a few seconds? What about when words no longer come for important needs like a drink, a sweet, or a walk in the sun? Difficulty with communication is often one of the first noticeable symptoms of people who have Alzheimer's disease and other dementias and is listed as one of the 10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer's (Alzheimer's Association, n.d.).