Language dysfluency in the young adult

by Wendy Owen
(Rhinebeck NY USA)

My son is 21 years old. In the fall he'll be a senior in college. He's a smart kid, a wonderful kid but I worry about his expressive language issues which are sometimes subtle but nonetheless sometimes impact his social interactions. In a fast talking group of peers he's at something of a disadvantage because slow processing of some kind prevents quick formulations and expression. Sometimes he will respond to a situation with verbal cliches which must come more readily than an original construction.

People sometimes refer to him as eloquent, I think, in part, because he is intelligent and thoughtful but also because it is not easy for him to communicate more efficiently. This affects his academic writing in spades. His papers are often much longer than they need to be and tend to include information that's not particularly pertinent maybe because it's difficult for him to identify a throughline and create a more focused structure.

With writing it's as if he takes the long way around.

At any rate I just wanted to communicate with others who are no longer dealing with young children but in whom some of these problems persist.

Thanks all.