Does My Child Need Speech Therapy? Signs To Look For

In this post, we cover common signs such as unclear speech, stuttering, difficulty understanding or being understood, social communication challenges, AAC needs, and feeding or voice concerns.

When it comes to speech and language, it’s not always easy to tell if your child is developing as expected. Communicating with them everyday may mean that you naturally learn to understand their unique way of expressing themselves, which can make it harder to notice subtler signs of difficulties with their development.

Because of this, parents may find it tough to identify what is typical and what might require extra support. Here are some signs that indicate it might be good to get in touch with a speech therapist. 

Your child has speech that is difficult to understand.

It is common for children to make mistakes when saying certain sounds while learning to speak, for example, saying ‘tat’ for ‘cat’. By 4 years old, their speech should be intelligible to most strangers. If you do, however, notice that speech errors continue to persist and people around them are finding it difficult to make out what they’re saying, you may consider getting a second opinion from a speech therapist. 

Your child stutters.

Verbal fillers like “ums” and “uhs” as well as repetitions like “I- I- I- want” are called dysfluencies. These are typical in everyday speech of both children and adults, but they can become an area for concern when they affect your understanding of the child’s overall message and they display physical tension like a tensed jaw and excessive blinking. They might also avoid saying specific words or speaking situations. 

Your child has difficulty communicating with others.

Children with expressive language disorders will often struggle to express their thoughts and needs either because of difficulty finding the words to use or because they have trouble putting sentences together. 

Your child has trouble understanding others.

One of the biggest challenges for parents is probably getting your child to follow instructions. Rather than them being mischievous, children with receptive language disorders might struggle to understand instructions and therefore struggle to follow them. They may also need things to be repeated, appear confused by longer sentences, and answer questions in ways that don’t quite match what you asked.

Your child finds it difficult to play with children around their age.

Play is more than just fun and games! How a child plays can tell us a lot about how their development is progressing. If your child prefers playing alone, struggles to join in with others, and has difficulty taking turns, they might be struggling with social communication.

Your child finds it difficult to be in social situations.

Social communication involves skills like being able to start conversations, interpret people’s emotions, and read non-verbal language (e.g. body language). If your child has difficulty in these areas, social situations like school, parties, and group classes might be overwhelming and unpleasant for them.

Your child has social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties that affect their communication.

Challenges with language and communication can sometimes manifest as frustration, withdrawal, or behaviours such as tantrums when a child is not understood. As such, supporting their communication skills can often help to reduce these difficulties and help them express themselves better. 

Your child requires means of communication other than speech e.g. Alternative or Augmentative Communication (AAC).

Some children communicate better using signs, picture systems, or communicative devices.  Speech therapists are equipped to figure out the most helpful strategy to enhance your child’s communication and train them to use it.