Speech or language - demystified

Speech delay vs. Language delay - you may have heard these terms, but what do they mean?

What is speech?

Commonly we use the word 'speech' to describe anything that we say but this is not actually what it is!

"Speech" only refers to the sounds we make. We expect children to make errors when learning to talk (for example saying “lellow” for [yellow]. We consider a child to have a Speech Delay when these errors persist for longer than expected.

What is Language?

Language is often what we think of when are referring to when we say 'speech'!

"Language" refers to the words we use and understand. It also refers to the order in which we use these words (syntax) and the way we show things like plurals, tenses and pronouns (grammar).

Why does the difference between speech & language matter?

The reason that we care about the difference is because it affects what we do.

We choose different therapy approaches depending on what the underlying difficulties and strengths are.

In the same way you wouldn't want an asthma inhaler if your problem is with your heart! We wouldn’t want to choose a speech intervention if the difficulty is with language!

For many children, the difficulty is with both speech (sounds) and language (words), but for some it's one or the other!

Have a think about your little one. Does this make you think differently about their communication skills?