When a child is not speaking as expected, parents naturally focus on words and pronunciation.
But communication begins much earlier than speech.
A child needs to be able to attend, listen, understand, process information, share attention and communicate intentionally before increasingly complex language can develop.
What We Assess
We look at:
Response to sound and speech
Attention and listening
Understanding of language
Gestures
Joint attention
Intentional communication
Vocabulary
Sentence development
Pronunciation
Conversational ability
Social communication
Play and interaction
Hearing assessment may also be important when clinically indicated.
Speech Delay Does Not Always Mean Autism
Speech delay can occur for many different reasons.
Some children have isolated language delay. Others may have hearing difficulties, developmental delay, intellectual difficulties, autism, motor speech problems, environmental factors or other developmental conditions.
Therefore, the child should be assessed rather than assuming a diagnosis from speech delay alone.
What Parents Can Do
Children learn communication primarily through meaningful interaction.
Parents can support language by:
Talking directly to the child
Following the child's interests
Expanding the child's attempts to communicate
Giving opportunities to listen and respond
Reading and discussing books
Encouraging turn-taking
Reducing passive screen exposure
Creating frequent face-to-face communication opportunities
Intervention
Speech and language therapy may be recommended according to the child's specific difficulties.
When necessary, speech therapy is combined with broader developmental, behavioural, occupational or educational intervention.
The goal is not merely more words.
The goal is better communication.
