Category: Speech

AAC, Language, Speech

“No Seriously, When Will My Child Talk?” – Advice for Parents of Nonverbal Children

Danielle Watkins

It’s a question that weighs heavily on the hearts of many parents: “When will my child talk?” While our previous post touched on general speech and language milestones, we know that for some families, the journey looks different. If your child is nonverbal, or you have significant concerns about their very limited verbal communication, the typical timelines can feel frustratingly irrelevant. At Talking Fish Speech Pathology in Warragul, we understand this profound worry, and we’re here to offer advice, support, and hope.

Understanding “Nonverbal”

First, it’s important to clarify what “nonverbal” can mean. It doesn’t necessarily mean a child will never speak. Instead, it refers to a child who is not yet using spoken words to communicate, or who has very few, inconsistent verbal productions. This can be due to a variety of underlying reasons, including:

  • Developmental delays: Sometimes speech development simply takes a longer path.
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Many children with autism are nonverbal or minimally verbal.
  • Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS): A motor speech disorder where the brain has difficulty planning the movements needed for speech.
  • Intellectual disability: This can impact all areas of development, including speech.
  • Hearing impairment: Undiagnosed or untreated hearing loss can significantly affect speech development.
  • Selective Mutism: An anxiety disorder where a child is unable to speak in certain social situations.

Beyond Words: The Importance of Communication

When a child isn’t talking, our primary focus shifts from just spoken words to communication in all its forms. Every child communicates, even without words. They might use:

  • Gestures: Reaching, pointing, waving.
  • Facial expressions: Smiling, frowning, looking surprised.
  • Body language: Pulling you to something, turning away.
  • Vocalisations: Crying, grunting, laughing, babbling.
  • Eye gaze: Looking between you and an object.

As parents, observing and responding to these early communication attempts is crucial. It validates their efforts and lays the groundwork for more complex communication.

What Can You Do Right Now? Practical Strategies for Parents

While waiting is hard, you can actively foster communication in many ways:

  1. Seek Professional Help (Early!): This is paramount. If you have concerns, don’t wait. Contact a speech pathologist. We can conduct a thorough assessment to identify the potential underlying reasons for nonverbal communication and recommend the most appropriate intervention. Early intervention significantly improves outcomes.
  2. Focus on Connection and Interaction: Create plenty of opportunities for your child to interact with you. Get down to their level, make eye contact, and join them in their play. Follow their lead and show genuine interest in what they are doing.
  3. Model and Expand: Talk to your child constantly, describing what you are doing, seeing, and hearing. Use simple language. If they make a sound or gesture, respond to it and expand on it. (e.g., if they point to a ball, you say, “Yes, ball! Big ball!”).
  4. Use Gestures and Visuals: Pair your words with gestures. Use real objects, pictures, or even simple signs (like those from Key Word Sign or Auslan) to support understanding and give your child a way to express themselves. Visual schedules can also help with daily routines and understanding expectations.
  5. Create Communication Opportunities: Make communication necessary! Place desired toys out of reach, give them choices, or pretend you don’t understand to encourage them to communicate their wants.
  6. Patience and Celebration: The journey can be long, and progress might be slow, but every small step is a victory. Celebrate every attempt at communication, whether it’s a sound, a gesture, or an eye gaze. Your positive reinforcement is incredibly powerful.
  7. Explore Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC): A speech pathologist might recommend AAC options. These are tools and systems that support or replace spoken communication. This could include picture cards and visual schedules, voice output devices (like an iPad app), or communication boards. AAC does not prevent speech from developing; in fact, it often supports and encourages spoken language by reducing frustration and building communication success.

The Speech Pathologist’s Role

At Talking Fish Speech Pathology, we are experts in supporting nonverbal children. We can:

  • Accurately assess your child’s communication skills and identify potential barriers.
  • Develop individualised therapy plans tailored to their unique needs.
  • Provide strategies for you to use at home.
  • Guide you in exploring and implementing AAC if appropriate.
  • Collaborate with other professionals involved in your child’s care.

When will your child talk? There’s no single answer, but with early intervention, consistent support, and a focus on all forms of communication, we can help them find their voice, whether through words or other powerful means.

If you have concerns about your child’s verbal communication, please reach out to a Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP). We’re here to listen, support, and guide you every step of the way.

Language, Speech

When Will My Child Talk? Understanding Speech and Language Development

Danielle Watkins

One of the most exciting milestones for parents is hearing their child’s first words. It’s a moment filled with joy and anticipation, often leading to the common question we hear at Talking Fish Speech Pathology: “When will my child talk?”

While every child develops at their own pace, there are general guidelines and important milestones that can help you understand what to expect and when to consider seeking professional advice.

The Journey of Communication: From Coos to Conversations

Long before their first words, babies are already communicating. This early communication is foundational to later speech and language development.

  • Birth to 3 Months: Your baby will startle at loud sounds, respond to your voice by calming or smiling, make cooing sounds, and cry to express needs. They’ll also begin to produce different cries for different needs.
  • 4 to 6 Months: Expect more babbling, often with different sounds like “p,” “b,” and “m.” They’ll also begin to laugh, show excitement with vocal play, and respond to their name. You might notice them looking in the direction of sounds.
  • 7 to 12 Months: This is often when the magic of “babbling with intent” begins. Your baby might string together sounds like “mamama” or “bababa.” They’ll respond to simple requests (“come here”), understand “no,” and might wave bye-bye. Their first true words, often “mama” or “dada,” typically emerge around 12 months, though this can vary. They’ll also start using gestures to communicate.
  • 12 to 18 Months: At this stage, children are typically saying a few single words, understanding simple instructions, and pointing to objects they want. Their vocabulary will be growing, perhaps up to 10-20 words by 18 months, though individual differences are significant.
  • 18 to 24 Months: A rapid increase in vocabulary is common. Your toddler might be combining two words (“more juice,” “bye-bye car”) and following two-step commands. They’ll also be able to identify common objects and pictures.
  • 2 to 3 Years: Your child’s vocabulary will expand dramatically, and they’ll start forming longer sentences (3-4 words). They should be able to answer simple “who,” “what,” and “where” questions, and most of what they say should be understandable to familiar listeners.

When to Consider a Professional Opinion

While the developmental window for speech and language is wide, it’s natural to worry if your child isn’t hitting these milestones as expected. If you notice any of the following, it’s a good idea to seek advice from a speech pathologist:

  • No babbling by 9 months.
  • No first words by 15-18 months.
  • Doesn’t respond to their name or sounds by 12 months.
  • Doesn’t use gestures (like pointing or waving) by 12 months.
  • Doesn’t combine two words by 2 years.
  • Difficulty understanding simple instructions at any age.
  • Only imitates speech or actions, but doesn’t initiate words or phrases.
  • Loses previously acquired speech or language skills.
  • Consistently hard to understand, even by familiar adults, after 2-3 years old.
  • Lack of eye contact or shared attention.

What a Speech Pathologist Can Do

At Talking Fish Speech Pathology, we understand that every child is unique. If you have concerns, we will conduct a comprehensive assessment to understand your child’s communication strengths and areas where they might need support. We can then provide tailored strategies and therapy to encourage their speech and language development. Early intervention is incredibly powerful, making a significant difference in a child’s communication journey.

Trust your instincts as a parent. If something feels off, it’s always best to have it checked. We’re here to support you and your child in their wonderful journey of discovering their voice.

Speech

Childhood Apraxia of Speech Awareness Month

Sally Rush

May 14th is Childhood Apraxia of Speech awareness month! The month is not commonly recognised in Australia, but we wanted to write a piece about it to raise awareness for the disorder. 

What is Childhood Apraxia of Speech? 

Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), or dyspraxia, is a rare neurological motor speech sound disorder that disrupts the planning and programming of accurate speech sounds. Just like we use our brain to make a cup of tea or ride a bike, we need our brain to tell our facial muscles (jaw, lips and tongue) how to move to make the correct sounds. Children with CAS know what they want to say, but are not able to accurately coordinate the muscles of their mouths to make the sounds they want. Children can vary from having mild to severe speech sound difficulties. These difficulties can impact children’s ability to engage in activities and participate in group activities due to their difficulties being understood by their peers.

Importantly, children with CAS are just like any other child. They like the same foods, the same iPad apps, and they all like to laugh and have fun. They just need some extra support and time to get their message across ?

What does CAS sound like? 

Children with CAS experience varied degrees of difficulty producing accurate speech sounds.

The three main features seen in the speech of children with CAS are:

  1. Inconsistent speech errors. 

This occurs because children with CAS may not have a plan to make a sound, so it is different each time they make it. This means that they might make different mistakes for the same word. For example; producing the word ‘bike’, three different ways in a matter of minutes (‘ike’, ‘bi’, ‘bibe’). 

  1. Disrupted transitions between sounds and syllables. 

This means that the child’s speech may sound choppy or disjointed because they are experiencing difficulty moving onto the next part of their word or sentence. Children with CAS may speak slower than other children because they require more effort to get their message across. For example, ‘bay.. bee’ for baby. 

  1. Inappropriate prosody. 

Prosody refers to the volume, rhythm, intonation, and stress of speech. Children with CAS may speak without changing their intonation (monotone), or stress the wrong parts of speech (speak loudly at the incorrect time) because this is an extra layer of speech that needs to be planned. 

What therapy is there for children with CAS? 

Evidence shows that CAS requires frequent, intensive therapy to see the best results in children (twice weekly therapy). Therapy for CAS is slightly different from therapy that targets other speech sound disorders. Therapy for CAS often requires repeated attempts to produce the correct sound so the child can learn the correct motor plan. Therapists will assist children in producing sounds, syllables, and words correctly depending on their difficulties.

Available therapies can be found here: https://childapraxiatreatment.org/treatment-methods/ 

Children with CAS can also benefit from augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) such as speech generating devices or sign language to help them get their message across. 

If you have any questions about CAS, feel free to get in touch with us at Talking Fish. 

More information can also be found at this website:

Speech

The relationship between learning how to read and spell, and your child’s speech sounds

Sally Rush
  • Did you know that there are 44 speech sounds in the English language that combine to make thousands of words, using only 26 letters?!
  • These sounds are called phonemes. The letters or groups of letters that we use to represent these speech sounds are called graphemes. Understanding the relationship between graphemes and how that can be matched to phonemes is essential for our children when learning to read.
https://www.readingdoctor.com.au/phonemes-graphemes-letters-word-burger
  • Our children need a full set of sounds (44), to decode the relationship between letters, and their sounds.
  • For some children, learning, understanding and using the correct speech sounds in conversation is challenging. For example, saying ‘pish’ instead fish.

They might not be able to map sounds to the corresponding letter, as they cannot produce the sound, or do not understand how the sound is used in words. For example, I can produce the ‘k’ sound, but say ‘tat’ instead of cat.

  • Some children may require additional support from a speech pathologist to support their ability to produce or understand certain sounds. This will improve their sounds in conversation, and their ability to decode letter-sound relationships.

TIP:

  • When teaching your child the alphabet, teach them the letter sounds (phonemes) that the letters names make.

HELPFUL WEBSITES: