Please refer to the Milestones chart, Speech Sound Development, and answer the developmental skills section for your child’s age range. If you answer more no’s than yes’s or have additional questions, then I recommend seeking our help for your child.

Left untreated, a speech impediment might cause a child to struggle in school and in life. Fortunately, early diagnosis and treatment can help your child to overcome their speech challenges.

If you think you may need help for your child, reach out to your pediatrician or contact a local speech-language pathologist.

Your pediatrician may refer you to a speech-language pathologist, neurologist, or developmental psychologist to evaluate in their area of expertise.

If your loved one presents with an expressive, receptive, and pragmatic language, articulation, fluency, or swallowing delay, the
Speech Language Pathologist is the health professional trained to evaluate and treat people with these disorders and delays.

A speech-language evaluation is a structured test that helps identify if someone has a speech or language disorder and if therapy is necessary.

The speech-language pathologist will talk to you about your child’s communication, goals, and general development. He or she will also use special spoken or informal tests to evaluate your child.

Depending on the results of the evaluation, the speech-language pathologist may suggest activities you can do at home to stimulate and complement the treatment of your child’s development and see progress faster.

There is a significant amount of research that continues to show us that children learning two languages at the same time will go through the same developmental patterns in both of their languages and at roughly the same time as children learning one
language. Sometimes young children learning two languages mix words or grammar from their two languages, known as “code mixing” or “code switching”. This is very normal and does not indicate that the child is having difficulty with language learning.

Research on Bilingualism:

There are research articles on the topic of bilingualism from different and experienced authors that I provide you with the direct links in order for you to access these articles on your own. You can find titles, authors and links below.

Considerations for Provision of Services to Bilingual Children Who Use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (Soto, G., & Betty, Y., 2018.)

Bilingual Myth-Busters Series Language Confusion in Bilingual Children (M. Guiberson, 2013)

Performance of Low-Income Dual Language Learners Attending English-Only Schools on the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals–Fourth Edition, Spanish (Barragan et al., 2018)

Fluency Strategies of Spanish-English Bilinguals Who Stutter: A Thematic Analysis (Medina, A.M., Pereira, T., Muñoz, D., Palacios, G., & Perez, V. 2019)

Language of Intervention in Bilingual Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (Summers, C., Smith, V., Mueller, V., Alexander, V., & Muzza, A., 2017)

Simplify your speech by using short, grammatical sentences, with more stress/affect to highlight targeted vocabulary. This way you provide as many opportunities as possible for your child to hear and learn new words and how they are used within short sentences.

Top tips for helping someone with speech, language, and cognition problems

• Reduce distractions
• Break things down
• Use non-verbal communication
• Talk around
• Use sound cues
• Give them options
• Encourage them to be aware

Also called: autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A serious developmental disorder that impairs the ability to use communication for social purposes (interaction and understanding), challenges with speech and non-verbal communication, restricted interest, and repetitive behavior. ASD is considered a lifelong disorder, and the diverse of impairment in functioning varies between individuals with ASD.

Here is the early warning signs chart. Speech and language therapy helps children with autism comprehend the verbal and nonverbal communication that other people use. It allows them to recognize cues like body language and facial expressions and helps them understand how to initiate communication without prompting.

Autism in young children

Signs of autism in young children include:

• not responding to their name
• avoiding eye contact
• not smiling when you smile at them
• getting very upset if they do not like a certain taste, smell or sound
• repetitive movements, such as flapping their hands, flicking their fingers or rocking their body
• not talking as much as other children
• not doing as much pretend play
• repeating the same phrases

Autism in older children

Signs of autism in older children include:

• not seeming to understand what others are thinking or feeling
• unusual speech, such as repeating phrases and talking ‘at’ others
• liking a strict daily routine and getting very upset if it changes
• having a very keen interest in certain subjects or activities
• getting very upset if you ask them to do something
• finding it hard to make friends or preferring to be on their own
• taking things very literally – for example, they may not understand phrases like “break a leg”
• finding it hard to say how they feel

Autism in girls and boys

Autism can sometimes be different in girls and boys.

Autistic girls may:

• hide some signs of autism by copying how other children behave and play
• withdraw in situations they find difficult
• appear to cope better with social situations
• show fewer signs of repetitive behaviours

This means autism can be harder to spot in girls.

Autism and ADHD table

According to American Psychiatric Association, Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common mental disorders affecting children. Symptoms of ADHD include inattention (not being able to keep focus), hyperactivity (excess movement that is not fitting to the setting) and impulsivity (hasty acts that occur in the moment without thought). ADHD is considered a chronic and debilitating disorder and is known to impact the individual in many aspects of their life including academic and professional achievements, interpersonal relationships, and daily functioning (Harpin, 2005). ADHD can lead to poor self-esteem and social function in children when not appropriately treated (Harpin et al., 2016).
Speech and language therapy is highly beneficial in improving, supporting and developing any speech, language or communication difficulties. By improving and supporting an individual’s communication, it will also benefit the individual in their academic achievement and social skills.

Autism and ADHD table

As speech-language pathologist, I am often asked by parents how long their child will be in therapy. The reality is that it is very hard for us to know. There is no hard and fast answer to how long your child will be in therapy. Here are some of the factors that affect how long a child will need therapy. It is not possible to say how long your child will be in therapy. Each child is different. Each family’s ability to support their child in therapy is different. It is important for you to know that we want your child to finish therapy as quickly as they are able. We have to meet children where they are at and move them along, helping them progress and achieve their goals. For the most part, there is no quick fix and some issues can take a long time to remediate.