Say It With Me: How To Help Children With Speech and Language Delays
by Patricia Ybarra, Speech-Language Pathologist and Research Director Pearson Clinical Assessments
As a speech-language pathologist (SLP), I work with children to overcome language and speech challenges, and I’ve been fortunate enough to watch many of them make important developmental advances. I know how crucial it is to work together with families and caregivers to understand those challenges and address them in a way that best benefits the child and their family. So, I was delighted to have the opportunity to share my experience on the latest episode of Pearson’s new podcast, “Building Bridges: Strengthening the Educator-Caregiver Relationship”.
We started the conversation by defining developmental expectations in language and speech. Language skills involve being able to listen to and understand others and to express oneself, while speech skills involve producing all sounds in words. There are many different manifestations of delays in both of these areas, and they can occur for various reasons, such as the child experiencing hearing loss or physical issues.
The wide variety of causes and different developmental paces that children experience makes it vital for SLPs and other diagnostic staff to conduct well-rounded assessments and work with caregivers to understand what they’re seeing and hearing at home.
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