Home News and Views Opportunities Downloads Links Contact Us

Top Tips

3. Follow your child's lead

Try and join in with their play for a little bit everyday. We all like to talk about the things that interest us. Watch and listen to what your child shows an interest in and respond to this.

read more tips

Glossary

[ A ] [ B ] [ C ] [ D ] [ E ] [ F ] [ G ] [ H ] [ I ] [ J ] [ K ] [ L ] [ M ] [ N ] [ O ] [ P ] [ Q ] [ R ] [ S ] [ T ] [ U ] [ V ] [ W ] [ X ] [ Y ] [ Z ]

Acquired
Difficulties occurring after birth through illness or an injury.

Articulation
The production of sounds to create speech.

Assessment
The gathering of information from people involved with the child as well as toys, games, and pictures to determine the level of his/hers speech and language development.

Audiologist
A specialist who checks on the hearing skills of a child

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
The ways in which someone's communication is improved by using signs, symbols and output.

Autism/ASD
A lasting difficulty that affects language development, social interaction and imaginative play.

Babble
Repetitive patterns of sound produced by the young to practice speech and to communicate

Bilingual
Using two languages well

Cleft lip / palate
Parts of the upper lip, palate (roof of the mouth) that have not connected properly during pregnancy leaving a gap

Comprehension
Understanding words and sentences, verbal gestures and/or the context of a situation.

Delay
The speech and language development is following the normal pattern of development but at a slower rate compared to the majority of children.

Disorder
The learning of speech and language is following a different pattern to that of many other children.

Dysarthria
A muscle weakness in the mouth which causes difficulty with speech.

Stammering/Dysfluency
Repetitive words or sounds, or getting stuck which interrupt the flow of talking.

Dysphagia
Difficulty with swallowing food and or fluid

Dyspraxia
A disorder that affects the co-ordination of the lips, teeth, tongue, palate, and vocal cords resulting in impaired speech. This is not due to a physical difficulty.

Expression
Communicating one's message through words, non-verbal actions or signs.

Global delay
All areas of development are maturing at a slower rate compared to the majority of children at the same age.

Hearing impairment
A loss in ability to detect some or all sounds.

Language
The most used form of communication for an individual. This is normally through verbal communication and is made up of understanding words and talking. A formal system of communicating with each other to convey a message to someone who speaks the same language as you.

Non-verbal communication
The use of gestures, signs, facial expression and body language to convey a message.

Paediatrician
A doctor who specialises in working with children.

Palate
The roof of the mouth.

Phonology
The sounds and the rules of how to use those sounds in a given language.

Selective mutism / reluctant speaker
When someone chooses to talk in the situation they feel comfortable in and stop talking in others.

Speech
The individual sounds and combination of sounds to make words.

Speech and Language Therapist (SLT)
A specialist who is able to assess and treat speech and language difficulties.

Speech and Language Therapist Assistant
A trained professional who works alongside a SLT.

Voice
The sound produced by your voicebox to be able to talk

Voice Difficulties
Childs voice sounds different to their peers or has changed recently

This may include:

:: Back to the top ::