Speech and Language Disorders
Developmental language disorder (DLD) is a condition in which a child’s language abilities are significantly below those expected for their age.
These difficulties are not caused by a medical condition, intellectual disability, neurological injury, hearing loss, emotional problems or environmental factors. DLD is one of the most common developmental conditions in children and may occur alongside reading or other learning difficulties.
A speech therapist will develop an individualised treatment plan based on the child’s needs, with the aim of improving the following areas and enhancing overall communication skills:
Pre-Verbal Communication Skills
Developing imitation skills, motivation to communicate, auditory attention, turn-taking, eye contact and visual tracking.
Receptive and Expressive Language
Improving the ability to understand instructions, passages and questions; developing vocabulary knowledge and use; and strengthening sentence formation and the use of connectives.
Articulation and Speech-Sound Training
Identifying speech-sound errors and developing a structured treatment plan to improve overall speech clarity progressively.
Oral-Motor Training
Improving the strength, stability and coordination of the muscles involved in speech, where clinically appropriate.
Play Skills
Developing age-appropriate play skills at different developmental stages to support social interaction and language development.
Social Communication Skills
Improving the appropriate use of language in different situations and social settings.
Higher-Level Language Skills
Developing higher-level cognitive and language abilities, including inferencing, problem-solving, and convergent and divergent thinking.
Augmentative and Alternative Communication
Recommending appropriate augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) methods and providing training in their use.
Children’s language skills develop rapidly before the age of six. Development is particularly rapid before the age of four, when children may reach a new stage every three to six months and acquire new vocabulary and ways of expressing themselves.
0 - 3 months
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Uses different cries to express different needs
3 - 6 months
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Responds when called - Makes cooing and babbling sounds
6 - 12 months
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Shakes their head to indicate “no”
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Points to communicate their needs
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Produces strings of speech-like sounds
12 - 18 months
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Begins to say simple single words, such as “Daddy”, “Mummy”, “flower” and “car”
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Gradually begins to use verbs, such as “eat”, “hold” and “drink”
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Understands simple instructions, such as “Give it to Mummy” or “Sit still”
18 - 24 months
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Follows simple instructions, such as “Bring the toy car to Mummy”
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Points to different parts of the body, such as the nose and mouth
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Uses simple repeated words and begins combining words into short phrases, such as “car”, “bread”, “go out” and “eat a biscuit”
2 - 3 months
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Begins to use adjectives, such as “pretty”, “big” and “naughty”
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Uses three-word sentences and begins using pronouns, such as “Mummy, hold me” and “Baby eats sweets”
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Understands instructions such as “Put the bowl on the table” , Can state their name and age
3 - 4 months
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Uses sentences containing more than three words, such as “Daddy takes the bus to work”
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Begins using connecting words such as “then” and “and”
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Frequently asks different types of questions
4 - 6 months
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Uses complete sentences
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Can retell simple stories or repeat instructions
Although the pace of language development varies from child to child, significant delays should not be overlooked. If parents notice that their child has not reached the expected language milestones for their age, they should seek professional advice and support as early as possible to make the most of the important early developmental period.