Comprehension

Comprehension is compromised in many communication disorders. Patients with a vast range of impairments—linguistic, cognitive, auditory—may be diagnosed with a receptive language disorder. Comprehension is also implicated in developmental disorders such as autism and Down syndrome, in pre- and perinatal neurological impairments, and in many aphasias and dementias. Assessment of comprehension relies on a variety of behavioral measures: answering questions, pointing, demonstrating an expected behavior, and others.

[Page 450]Despite the pervasiveness of the concept in the field, however, its nature is poorly understood. The reason for this is twofold. First, comprehension is a mental state and, as such, unobservable. Second, its scope is unclear, as is the range of behaviors that count as its indicators. This entry discusses comprehension as a problem to be tackled rather ...