You may understand your child's speech because you're used to hearing them. But grandparents, teachers or other children may struggle to understand.
Sometimes the difficulty is with particular sounds. Sometimes your child knows what they want to say but finds it difficult to put their thoughts into a clear sentence.
Being misunderstood again and again can be frustrating for a child.
You may notice that your child:
Leaves certain sounds out of words
Replaces one sound with another
Has difficulty saying particular sounds clearly
Is difficult for unfamiliar people to understand
Uses very short sentences
Leaves out words when speaking
Finds it difficult to explain something that happened
Struggles to answer questions in complete sentences
Gets frustrated when others don't understand them
Speech clarity and sentence formation are different skills. Your child may have difficulty with one or both.
Speech and language therapy can work on the specific communication skills your child is finding difficult.
This may include speech sound production, clearer pronunciation, vocabulary, sentence formation and expressing thoughts more easily.
Sometimes communication difficulties are connected with other areas of development.
Understanding your child's language, attention, learning and social communication can help the clinical team see the bigger picture rather than treating one symptom on its own.
Children need opportunities to use communication outside their therapy sessions.
Parents can support this through simple conversations, play and everyday activities. We help you understand what to encourage without making every interaction feel like practice.
Clear communication can make everyday interactions easier — from asking for something at home to answering a teacher in class.
If your child's speech or sentences are becoming a source of frustration, it may be time to understand why.
