Receptive/Expressive Language

Receptive language refers to the ability to comprehend/understand language. A receptive language delay can often lead to difficulties following directions, and may lead to behaviour and/or learning problems. 

 

Expressive language refers to the ability to use language to communicate verbally (in words and sentences), and/or nonverbally (gestures, pointing, etc.).  Your child may have an expressive language delay if they use fewer words than their peers, have difficulties conveying information to others, and have trouble with both oral and written expression. Expressive language difficulties may impact your child’s ability to express themselves in an organized and meaningful way, and can significantly hinder academic and social success. 

 

Articulation

Articulation refers to the clarity of individual speech sounds and overall clarity of one’s speech. Children sometimes have difficulties using certain sounds, which makes their speech unclear and difficult to understand. While it is normal for children to make mistakes as they start to speak, articulation difficulties that remain past specific age ranges require assessment and possible treatment.

 

Stuttering
Stuttering refers to disruptions in the fluency of one's speech. Disruptions include stops or blocks during speech, repetitions of sounds or whole words, and prolongations of sounds in words. Everyone produces a small number of these disruptions from time to time. They can however, have an impact on communication when a person produces too many of them. 

 

Social Communication

Social communication refers to language used in everyday social situations. For school-aged children this often refers to a child's ability to use language to interact with others in a variety of situations, such as entering peer groups, and resolving conflicts.

 

Literacy Skills

Literacy skills are the skills required for reading and writing. Some of these skills include such things as identifying of the sounds of language, awareness of print and understanding the relationship between letters and sounds. SLPs can help your child build their knowledge of sounds and letters, and improve their decoding, along with writing and spelling skills.

 

Voice

Voice (or vocalization) is created by a series of complex and interrelated interactions of the lungs, voice box (larynx), teeth, tongue and lips. Many things we do on a daily basis can injure our voice. Children can get hoarse voices by talking too much, and too loudly, clearing their throats frequently or screaming. These abusive behaviours can  lead to problems such as nodules, and polyps on the vocal cords. If you are concerned about your child's voice quality, an assessment by a Speech-Language Pathologist is recommended.