What's going on with my child?
Are you concerned about your child's speech or language development? Maybe you are uncertain if you even have a reason to be concerned. Don't worry; that's normal. And you've come to the right spot. Many parents have questions about their child's development. This may be your first child and you have so many questions; this is new territory! Or it may be your 5th child; you have done this before, but not with this child. You have questions too! Every child is unique so it can be really hard to know if they're on the typical path or not. Below you can read about some of the most common speech and language delays and what to look for in each. Remember, this is only a brief description. You may still have many questions after reading, so get in touch! We would be more than happy to set up a FREE 20-minute phone consultation to help guide you.
Articulation Delay
Articulation disorders are a type of speech sound disorder that is characterized by specific speech sound errors. For example, a child with an articulation delay might substitute one sound for another, leave sounds out, add sounds, or change a sound. Use of incorrect speech sounds can greatly impact overall speech intelligibility which can be very frustrating to both the speaker and to the listener.
Receptive Language
Children with receptive language disorders have trouble understanding both spoken and/or written language. They may have difficulty understanding gestures, following directions, answering questions or knowing how to take turns in a conversation.
Phonological Delay
Phonological disorders are another type of speech sound disorder in which a child uses patterns of speech errors. It is appropriate for children to use specific phonological processes, or patterns, in the early years, however, these error patterns are expected to disappear at specific ages. Prolonged use of these sound error patterns will make it difficult for these children to be understood.
Expressive Language
Children with expressive language disorders have trouble using both spoken and/or written language. They may have difficulty getting their message across due to form (grammar), content (semantics), or use (pragmatics). These children may have trouble asking questions, naming objects, putting words together into sentences to comment or respond or knowing how to start or finish a conversation, to name a few.
Apraxia of Speech
Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a motor speech disorder in which a child's brain has difficulty coordinating the movements required for speech. A child with apraxia knows what they want to say. The problem is not how the child thinks but how the brain tells the mouth muscles to move. Apraxia may look different for each child. Some of the common signs include:
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does not always say words the same way every time;
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tends to put the stress on the wrong syllable or word;
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distorts or changes sounds;
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can say shorter words more clearly than longer words.
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may not be able to say many words at all