What type of speech disorder might a child exhibit that struggles with indirect speech acts?

A child who struggles with indirect speech acts may exhibit a semantic-pragmatic disorder because this type of disorder affects understanding and using language in context, particularly the social aspects of communication. Indirect speech acts involve understanding implied meanings and using language in a way that is context-dependent rather than literal. For example, a request made indirectly, such as "Can you pass the salt?" requires the listener to infer the intent behind the phrasing, which can be challenging for children with semantic-pragmatic difficulties.

In contrast, an articulation disorder primarily affects how speech sounds are produced, while a phonological disorder involves patterns of sound errors in speech. A fluency disorder relates mainly to the smoothness of speech, such as stuttering. None of these options directly address the comprehension and use of indirect speech acts within social contexts as well as semantic-pragmatic disorder does. Therefore, focusing on the child's ability to understand and generate indirect language emphasizes the characteristics of semantic-pragmatic disorder as the most relevant to the question.