Speech and Language Therapy for language delay

Another common reason for contacting children’s speech and language therapy is when parents notice that their young child’s language is late to start talking. This is sometimes referred to as “speech delay” or “language delay” however a Speech and Language Therapist would usually use the term language difficulties.

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  • Most children learn their first words around the age of 1 and start building two word phrases by 2 years old. Their first words might only be recognizable to their main caregivers and they might overgeneralize e.g. “dog” for all animals. By the time children start in Reception, they can typically use full sentences that most people can understand. If you have not heard any spoken words by 18 months, it’s a good time to get some advice, or if no-one except very familiar adults can understand your 3-4 year old.

  • Like every childhood skill, there is a huge range of “normal” language development. Some toddlers take a little longer to learn to speak but then make quick progress. Other chidren may need more help, including speech and language therapy intervention. Some children go on to be diagnosed with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) or with language disorder associated with another diagnosis such as autism.

  • Parent coaching sessions have been shown to be effective in helping the child’s main caregivers change how they model and respond to language to help their child learn words and sentences more easily. Many young children will make progress with this approach.

  • Older children often come to speech and language therapy if school staff or parents notice that their language skills don’t match those of their classmates and this is having an impact on their learning and friendships at school.

    Children with language difficulties are likely to need extra help learning new words, grammatical rules, understanding abstract language and retelling events or stories. You can practice these skills in lots of ways. For example, if your child has a new topic at school, you can look at the words together at home and help them learn what they mean with extra repetition. You can also practice helping them sequence their ideas by practicing retelling a story or something they did at the weekend. Speech and language therapy can assess exact areas of need and tailor activities and targets to your child.

  • You may have heard the term non-verbal or pre-verbal to refer to children who are not yet speaking with words, however most Speech and Language Therapists are now using the term non or minimally speaking to acknowledge all the ways that children may be communicating with us other than spoken words.

    Some children can learn Makaton signs to help their communication. This is different from British Sign Language (BSL) used by the d/Deaf community and is designed to be used for key words alongside the adult’s spoken language. You may have seen this used by Mr Tumble or Ms Rachel.

    Some children also learn to use what is known as Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC). This can be “low tech” e.g. paper based communication books or “high tech” e.g. iPad programmes and electronic communication aids. Children can learn to convey really complicated messages in this way and have full conversations. This can be a short term or long term way of communicating, depending on how the child’s spoken language develops over time.

  • Take time to carefully watch what you think your child is trying to communicate. Once you think you know, model that word for them. For example if they take you by the hand to the fridge, say “hungry” or “food”. Keep your language simple so they can match the word they are hearing to what is happening. Follow what your child in interested in and say the words and phrases to describe what they are doing or looking at e.g. “the bus is fast!”. Try and use language just a little more complicated than your child e.g. if they use single words, you model 2-3 word phrases, if they use 2-3 words, you model 3-4 and so on. Try and resist asking them to name flashcards, repeat words after you or just asking lots of questions to get them to talk. Research shows children learn best when we talk about things they are interested in and make comments instead of asking questions which can make them feel under pressure.

  • No, there are lots of reasons why young children may not speak including language disorder, developmental delay, autism, severe speech sound disorder and childhood apraxia of speech.

  • Speech and language therapy can identify the best intervention to encourage your child to speak and/or put in place short or long term supports such as Makaton signing or communication aids. Developing a child’s spoken, signed or picture-based communication often helps families to feel more comfortable sending their children into nursery or other early years settings and helps their children feel more confident away from their parents.

    At school age, speech and language therapy can help with the language skills required for learning and writing, for example how to recount an event in the right order before being expected to write it down too and how to learn words needed for specific lessons like maths and science.