Speech

Speech is how we say something.

• Speech sound delays / disorders: Children with speech sound delays have difficulty with producing sounds, or their internal system of sound rules and patterns are impaired. As a result, speech is unclear - this can affect their ability to be understood by others, which can be a frustrating experience. Some children may have underlying problems with the motor planning or execution of the muscles required for speech. This is called childhood apraxia of speech and dysarthria, respectively.
• Stuttering: Stuttering is when children experience disfluencies in their speech that affects their ability to express themselves. Stuttering disfluencies could include syllable repetitions, prolongations of syllables, or freezing (i.e., ‘blocks’) before saying something. Stuttering can sometimes be developmental - children who are experiencing a ‘language growth spurt’ may experience disfluencies because of the increased cognitive load. Unfortunately, for many children, the stutter persists (5+), and can greatly impact their confidence when communicating with others.

Language

Language is what we say and understand

• Expressive language delays / disorders: Children with expressive language delays have difficulty with using words and phrases to express themselves. This may include difficulty with learning and using new vocabulary, mistakes with grammar, and producing short phrases compared to other children of the same age.
• Receptive language delays / disorders: Children with receptive language delays have difficulty with understanding spoken language. This may include difficulty with understanding directions, questions and basic concepts.
• Social communication delays: Children with social communication delays have difficulty with using language appropriately. Children with social communication delays may have difficulty with playing and conversing with peers, using language in a variety of ways (e.g., requesting, commenting, greeting, questioning…etc) and understanding abstract or figurative language.

Literacy | Reading & Writing

Children who have difficulties with reading and writing often experience academic challenges in the future. As children enter elementary school, the demands for reading and writing increase - instead of learning to read, children have to read to learn.

The ability to read and write is built on important pre-literacy skills. Research shows that difficulties in these areas are associated with reading and writing challenges. These skills include:

• Oral language: Vocabulary, grammar, concepts and background knowledge.
• Phonological awareness: Awareness of sounds, including the ability to manipulate sounds in spoken words. This includes skills such as rhyming and sounding out individual sounds to make words.
• Print knowledge: Understanding that print has meaning and the conventions of print (i.e., punctuation, rules of reading left to right, words map to words on the page).