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WHAT IS SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT?

Kids Blowing Bubbles

COMMUNICATION

  • Communication is the act of using words, gestures, signs, babble to get a message across or ask for something.

  • In involves taking turns and engaging in social play.

  • We use non-verbal language to communicate – e.g. pointing and eye contact.

  • We using words to request.

  • Children develop joint attention as an early communicative tool.

  • Sometimes, children may find it difficult to communicate using words, so it may be appropriate to introduce alternative means of communication if necessary. 

Teacher & Student

SPEECH/ARTICULATION

  • This is how we physically form words from combining different sounds together.

  • All children make errors in their speech when they are learning to talk. These errors resolve or 'fix themselves' at particular ages or milestones.

  • But sometimes, some children don't follow this pattern, and they are delayed in how their speech develops.  

Speech-Therapist

COMPREHENSION/

RECEPTIVE LANGAUGE

  • Receptive language describes our understanding of language. 

  • Some children find it difficult to follow simple instructions, both at home and in school.  

  • They might forget parts of an instruction, or it may seem like they haven't heard the full sentence. 

  • Some children find it difficult to understand different parts of an instruction or sentence - perhaps a word, an action, a colour, a WH question word, the 'place', or the tense.

Playing with Animals

EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE

  • Expressive language is how we put words together to make sentences, have conversations.  It's how we express language.

  • It is how we use and put together nouns, verbs, colours and ideas into sentences.

  • Some children may find it difficult to put words together into coherent sentences.

  • Sometimes, children find it hard to say the correct verb tense, may leave the endings off words, or may find it hard to think of a word altogether.

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