This refers to the way sounds are produced by the mouth. Children can have a mild speech delay that impacts their ability to say one or two sounds, or a more severe delay or disorder that effects many sounds. All children have sound errors in their speech as they are developing. However, it is expected that sounds will be mastered by a certain age. It might be worthwhile to have us screen or evaluate your child if:

Their speech is unclear to othersPeople have a hard time understanding them on the phone

They are becoming frustrated with speaking because they are frequently not understood

You are noticing none of their peers have the same sound errors

With older children if their spoken speech sound error(s) show up in writing (e.g., If your child says w instead of r they may also spell words with w in the place of r. An example would be wed instead of red.)

Receptive Language is a child's ability to understand what is said to them. Some signs that your child may be having difficulty with receptive language or processing include:

Difficulty following one-step or multi-step directions

Not answering questions, or responding with yes/no instead of a meaningful answer

Repeating part of what you say

Understanding single word or short sentences but not longer age-appropriate sentences

Expressive Language refers to how you use language to communicate thoughts, ideas, and needs. Expressive language is using words, grammar, and sentence structure to communicate. It does not refer to how words are produced by the mouth (e.g. sound errors). A child with an expressive language delay may:

Only using single words or shorter sentences than are age appropriate

Have errors of grammar (e.g. incorrect word endings, incorrect word order, leaving words out of a sentence)

Get easily frustrated when trying to communicate or rely heavily on gestures and showing things instead of using spoken language

Have a small vocabulary relative to peers

Not be using words by 12-18 months of age

Not be combining words by 24 months of age