Speech Delay or Language Delay: What’s the Difference?
“Speech delay” and “language delay” are phrases that are often used interchangeably. If your child is late to start talking, using fewer words than other children their age or finding it difficult to communicate, you may have heard both terms.
However, speech and language are not quite the same thing.
Understanding the difference can be helpful because children can have difficulties with speech, language or both – and the type of support they need will depend on what they are finding difficult.
What is speech?
Speech refers to the sounds we use to make words and how clearly those words are produced.
Young children naturally make lots of speech sound mistakes while they are learning to talk. For example, they might miss sounds out of words, swap one sound for another or find certain sounds difficult to produce.
For some children, these difficulties continue for longer than expected or make their speech particularly difficult for other people to understand.
A child with a speech sound difficulty may know exactly what they want to say and be able to make long, detailed sentences, but the sounds they use mean that other people struggle to understand their message.
For example, a child might want to say “I found a big cat” but pronounce some of the sounds differently so that the sentence is unclear.
This is the kind of difficulty that may be supported through speech and language therapy for speech sound difficulties.
What is language?
Language is about understanding and using words and sentences to communicate.
This includes:
understanding what other people say
learning and remembering new words
putting words together into sentences
using grammar
explaining ideas and experiences
asking and answering questions
telling stories and sequencing information.
A child with a language difficulty might have perfectly clear speech sounds but use fewer words than expected, find it difficult to build sentences or struggle to understand longer instructions.
For younger children, parents may first notice that their child is late to start talking or is still mainly communicating through gestures and single words when other children are beginning to combine words.
Older children may have difficulty learning new vocabulary, following classroom instructions, explaining what has happened or organising their ideas.
Why do people call language difficulties “speech delay”?
In everyday conversation, “speech delay” is often used as a general term for a child who is not talking as much as expected.
A Speech and Language Therapist will usually look more closely at what is actually happening.
If a toddler is late to start using words or putting words together, the difficulty may be more related to their language development than to their ability to produce speech sounds.
This is why an assessment looks at much more than simply how clearly a child talks.
If you are concerned specifically because your toddler is not talking as much as expected, you may also find our guide When Should I Be Concerned About My Toddler’s Speech? helpful.
Can a child have both speech and language difficulties?
Yes.
Some children have difficulty producing clear speech sounds as well as learning or using language. Others may have a difficulty predominantly in one area. When children are talking longer to develop language, they often also take longer to produce clear speech.
This is one reason why comparing children purely by the number of words they use does not always give the full picture.
A Speech and Language Therapist can look at how your child understands language, communicates their ideas and produces speech, as well as considering their age and overall communication development.
If you are unsure whether your child needs professional support at all, our guide When Should a Child See a Speech and Language Therapist? looks at some of the different reasons families may seek advice.
What can speech delay therapy involve?
There is no single type of speech delay therapy or speech delay treatment, because the phrase can describe several different communication difficulties.
If a child is having difficulty learning and using language, support may involve helping the adults around them create more opportunities for communication during everyday play and routines. For younger children, parent coaching can be particularly useful.
For example, a parent might learn how to follow their child’s interests, model useful words and add a little more language to what their child already says without putting pressure on them to repeat words.
For a child with a speech sound difficulty, therapy may look quite different. A Speech and Language Therapist may assess which sounds or sound patterns the child finds difficult and then choose activities specifically suited to their needs.
The important thing is understanding why communication is difficult before deciding what support is most appropriate.
Does a language delay mean something else is going on?
Not necessarily.
Children develop their communication skills at different rates and there can be several reasons why a child’s language develops differently.
For some children, language difficulties may occur alongside another condition or developmental difference. Some children may later be identified as having Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), autism or another speech, language or communication need.
For others, there may be no associated diagnosis.
An assessment is not about trying to attach a label to every child. It is about understanding their individual communication profile, identifying their strengths and deciding whether there are areas where some extra support could help.
Speech and language therapy for children in Bristol
If you are unsure whether your child is experiencing a speech difficulty, a language difficulty or a mixture of both, you do not need to work this out before contacting a Speech and Language Therapist.
All Join In provides speech and language therapy for children in Bristol and the surrounding areas, working with toddlers, preschool children and primary school children.
If your main concern is that your child is late to start talking, using fewer words than expected or finding it difficult to build sentences, you can find out more about speech and language therapy for language delay.
An assessment can help you understand what your child is already doing well, what they may be finding difficult and what kind of support, if any, would be useful next.
