How can I help?
I provide personalised advice, assessment and therapy services for pre-school, primary and secondary school children with needs in the following areas.
Early communication skills
Receptive language difficulties (understanding of spoken language)
Receptive language difficulties (understanding of spoken language)
Before children learn to talk they need to develop their early communication skills, such as: looking, joint attention, taking turns and listening. Some children have difficulties with social skills and interaction (e.g. being able to use language and non-verbal communication including eye contact, facial expressions and body language). These skills are regarded as the foundation to speech, language and communication development.
Receptive language difficulties (understanding of spoken language)
Receptive language difficulties (understanding of spoken language)
Receptive language difficulties (understanding of spoken language)
Some children struggle to understand spoken language at the level expected for their age. A child needs to be able to understand words before they are able to say them – it is always really important to work on understanding first.
Children with receptive language difficulties find it hard to understand others. They may have difficulty following instructions and learning new words and ideas. Some children find it difficult to understand the meaning of a word (e.g. concepts such as size, position or time). Some children struggle with understanding the way sentences are constructed – this is often called ‘grammar’ or ‘syntax’ (e.g. how different word endings can change the meaning of a sentence: “I play” becomes 'I played' if it has already happened).
Expressive language difficulties (use of spoken language)
Expressive language difficulties (use of spoken language)
Expressive language difficulties (use of spoken language)
Children with expressive language difficulties may take longer to start using single words and may struggle to put words together into short phrases and sentences.
They may find it difficult to use accurate grammar or syntax (e.g. word endings such as verb tenses and plurals) or to sequence their ideas to explain something or tell a story.
Some children struggle to ‘find’ and use appropriate vocabulary when speaking (this is referred to as ‘word-finding difficulties’).
Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)
Expressive language difficulties (use of spoken language)
Expressive language difficulties (use of spoken language)
Children who have difficulties with the development of their language past the age of 5 years can be diagnosed with DLD. From an early age, children with DLD will have difficulty understanding and/or using language.
DLD is not associated with a known condition (e.g. Autistic Spectrum Disorder, brain injury, sensorineural hearing loss or genetic conditions such as Down’s syndrome).
Reading and writing may also be difficult for a child with DLD.
Speech sound difficulties
Speech sound difficulties
Speech sound difficulties
Some children have difficulty with certain sounds, which can make them difficult to understand. Children’s speech sound difficulties can have an impact on their ability to make themselves understood and developing reading and writing skills.
Different speech sound difficulties/disorders include:
- Phonological delay - children follow a typical pattern of speech development but demonstrate delayed developmental phonological errors of sound substitutions or omissions.
- Phonological disorder - children do not follow the typical pattern of speech development and produce sound errors that are not seen in the speech development of typically developing children.
- Articulation disorder - children who have difficulty making specific speech sounds, often substituting one sound for another (e.g. /w/ for /r/ as in "wabbit" for "rabbit") or producing sound distortions, such as a frontal or lateral lisp.
- Dyspraxia / Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) – a motor speech disorder. Children with CAS have difficulty coordinating and planning the muscle movements necessary to produce sounds, syllables and words. Children with CAS can be very difficult to understand.
- Speech sound difficulties can also be caused by structural differences (such as cleft lip/palate).
Stammering
Speech sound difficulties
Speech sound difficulties
Around 5% of children will experience stammering, particularly between the ages of two and five.
Stammering or stuttering occurs when a child:
- Repeats parts of words (‘m-m-mummy’)
- Repeats short words (‘and-and-and’),
- Gets stuck on the first sound and nothing comes out ('....I want an ice cream')
- Stretches out sounds (‘mmmmummy’)
Some children may also:
- Use body movements to help get their words out
- Show tension in their face
- Hold their breath or take big breaths before talking
- Avoid eye contact when talking
Each child is different and a child may experience any combination of the above stammering behaviours.
Reluctant talkers / selective mutism
Some children can become reluctant to talk or communicate in certain environments or with certain people.
Useful links
www.talkingpoint.org.uk
www.talkingpoint.org.uk
www.talkingpoint.org.uk
Designed for parents, professionals, children and young people. Lots of useful information on ages and stages of development.
www.icancharity.org.uk
www.talkingpoint.org.uk
www.talkingpoint.org.uk
Children's communication charity with lots of useful resources for parents and education providers.
www.afasic.org.uk
www.talkingpoint.org.uk
www.afasic.org.uk
Supports and provides information for children and young people who have speech, language and communication needs. With a focus on Developmental Language Disorder (DLD).