Communication is one of the most important skills that children need to learn and develop.
This includes being able to speak clearly, being able to understand and express words, and use simple body language like gestures and eye contact.
Supporting a child's communication skills at an early age is crucial in setting a foundation for lifelong learning and communication.
Speech pathologists assist children with:
Speech pathologists can also consult with early childhood educators to maximise children's learning potential.
Speech is the ability to pronounce sounds clearly and combine sounds to make words.
Receptive language refers to how well a child understands language. This includes
Expressive language refers to how well a child can use words to express thoughts and ideas. This includes:
Pragmatic skills are behaviours that help children interact with others. These skills include:
Ear infections such as glue ear, can lead to a temporary or long term hearing loss if not treated.
Hearing loss during the first 3 years can effect speech and language development because these are the crucial years for learning language.
Glue ear is a common condition of children under 5 where the middle ear fills with glue like fluid.
It produces a temporary conductive hearing loss. It is like trying to listen with ear plugs in – you can only hear some things and sounds are muffled.
Glue ear can be treated easily with medical attention. Regular hearing tests are recommended if a child has a history of glue ear.
Stuttering is a speech disorder caused by an interference with the rate and rhythm which disrupts or prevents normal communication. Some types of stuttering are:
A child should be referred to a speech pathologist as early as possible and when:
Children can damage their vocal cords from incorrect vocal use, which can result in vocal nodules. This may lead your child to have a husky, harsh, or raspy voice.
Other warning signs of potential vocal damage are:
Language is important as it identifies a child to their cultural background.
If you and the children in your care have a common home language, it is appropriate to use that language to develop strong foundations. This will help children to develop another language such as English.
If the first language is well developed and understood, the second language will develop in the same way.
Learning more than one language does not cause speech and language delays. However, it is important not to mix different languages but to use them separately so the language systems are distinct.
For example, if you are speaking with children and use a mix of Hindi and English in the same sentence it can be confusing.
If your child already has a speech or language learning difficulty it will usually be present in both languages.
Children learning more than one language may develop English speech sounds at a different rate to those outlined above.
A speech pathologist is professionally trained to advise, diagnose and work with adults and children who have difficulty in communicating.
Speech pathologists work in a variety of settings including schools, health centres, hospitals and private practice.
Your child health nurse may be able to put you in contact with a speech pathologist if you are worried about your child’s language development, and particularly if:
The Infants’ Home hosts a Speech and Occuptaional Therapy (SpOT) Clinic which addresses speech therapy for children between 0-6 years.
For enquiries and appointments, please contact:
The Infants' Home
9799-4844
Monday to Friday 9am-5pm
© 2012 The Infants' Home (Established 1874,
incorporated by Act of NSW Parliament in 1924)
Patron: Sir Nicholas Shehadie AC OBE,
ABN: 71 174 918 661
