Do family members or teachers frequently report that they have difficulties understanding your child? Does your child frequently mispronounce words? Your child may need ‘speech therapy’.

What is the different between speech and language?

• Language is a person’s ability to understand and use a range of words correctly and put them into a sentence to communicate. A child who has difficulties with language may say “I duck want” or may not know what ‘duck’ means

• Speech is a person’s ability to use the correct sounds in words. A child who has difficulties with speech may say “I want du guck”

What should I do if I think my child has a difficulty with their speech sounds (pronunciation)?

• Make an appointment with a speech pathologist for a ‘speech assessment’
• The speech pathologist will assess your child’s speech using one of the many speech assessments available. This will involve showing your child a range of pictures and writing down their pronunciation
• The speech pathologist will then analyse the results and let you know if the errors are typical for a child of their age OR if they need a block of speech therapy

Is there anything else I need to know before we start speech therapy?

• In order for your child to be suitable for speech therapy they will need to be able to sit down and follow an adult led tasks for 5 minutes. If this is difficult for your child, the therapist may recommend that you delay therapy
• The therapist may ask you to see an audiologist to ensure that your child’s difficulties with sounds aren’t due to an underlying hearing difficulty

What will speech therapy involve?

• Your speech pathologist will select at least 1 sound for you to work on
• They will provide training and advice so you are able to carry out speech therapy at home
• This is usually for 5- minutes daily with your child carrying out listening work and then practising the selected sound

If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s speech, call us today and have a chat about whether there is any way we can help you!

Written by Philippa Brown, Speech Pathologist.