FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY 'SPEECH'?
Speech is the ability to pronounce the sounds in words.
This develops gradually over the preschool period and beyond.
To start with children will use a small range of consonant sounds but these should then increase as the child develops.
WHEN TO SEEK HELP WITH SPEECH SOUNDS?
Many young children simplify words by replacing the more difficult to say sounds with easier ones, for example by saying 'tat' for "cat" or 'pun' for "fun" or 'tun' for "sun".
As the child gets older these simplification processes should stop.
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You should seek help for your child if he/she is:
Not using 'b', 'd', 'm', 'n' and 'w' accurately in words by 2 years of age
Not using 'p', 'b', 't', 'd', 'm', 'n', 'w' accurately in words by 3 years of age
Missing off the final or initial sounds of words when over 3 years of age
Not using 'p', 'b', 't', 'd', 'm', 'n', 'w', 's', 'f' 'z', 'v' accurately in words by 3½ years of age
Not using 'p', 'b', 't', 'd', 'm', 'n', 'w', 's', 'f' 'z', 'v', 'sh', 'k', 'g' accurately in words by 4 years of age
Consistently using incorrect vowel sounds at any age, for example 'art' for "out"
Using sounds not normally heard in the English language at any age
Not able to use consonant clusters, such as 'sp' in "spider" or 'pl' in "play" by 4 years of age
WHAT DOES 'DIFFICULTIES WITH LANGUAGE' MEAN?
The term language skills refers to the child's ability to understand and use language, such as the words to describe things, action words and the small words in sentences including 'is, the, on'. As well as how the child using these words to form a sentence.
Some children have difficulties understanding what is being said to them, especially longer sentences or instructions with more than one step.
Some children have difficulties learning and using new vocabulary.
WHEN TO SEEK HELP WITH LANGUAGE?
Language development can vary from child to child, and some children start using words or sentences later than their peers.
Most children will catch up with their peers by the time they start to go to school.
Some children continue to have difficulties understanding and/or using language when they reach school age, and will require ongoing support.
You should seek support when your child is not:
Using words by 18 months of age
Using at least 50 words by 2 years of age
Joining words into short phrases, such as "more milk" and "daddy gone" by 2 years of age
Understanding simple instructions like "go get your shoes" by 2 years of age
Understanding instructions such as "where's mummy's nose?" or "make teddy jump" by 3 years of age
Using 4-5 word sentences, for example "mummy go in car" or "I want blue car now" by 3 years of age
Using longer sentences and linking sentences together using 'and' or 'because' by 4 years
Understanding and using position, colour, time and number words by 4 years of age
Understanding and using a range of the question words 'what, where, who, why' by 4 years of age