A language delay occurs when a child’s language is developing slower than other children of the same age, but it is following the typical pattern of development. For example, a child may be 4 years of age, but understanding and/or using language typical of a child who may be only 2.5 years of age. A child may have a receptive language (understanding of language) delay or an expressive language (use of language) delay.
Language is typically something that is acquired, not explicitly taught. It follows a predictable sequence of development and should occur naturally from birth when the child is in a situation where they are exposed to language and normal social interaction. Language development can be affected by the complex interaction of genetic and environmental influences.
Language is made up of many building blocks, which include: morphology (i.e. the way in which words are made to indicate elements such as past tense – climbed, plurality – cats, possessive – king’s), semantics (i.e. the meaning of words), syntax (i.e. the way in which words are put together to form meaningful and grammatical sentences), prosody (i.e. the duration, rhythm and pitch intensity in which the sounds of speech are made), vocabulary (i.e. the words a child knows and uses) and pragmatics (i.e. the social “road rules” of language which govern how we use language and interact with each other).
Language delay may be primary or secondary. It is secondary if a child has another difficulty, which has impacted on their language skills, such as autism, hearing impairment, global developmental delay. When a language delay is primary there will be no other difficulty identified.
Diagnosis alone is NOT the solution. It simply opens the door to getting the help that is needed by arming all involved with the relevant information.
The ‘help’ still needs to be provided. The help that is provided (at least from a therapy perspective) will reflect:
More specific implications of not seeking treatment will be influenced by the common difficulties that are most influencing your individual child.
For more information see the relevant fact sheets under areas of concern or refer to the other relevant resources section below.
Diagnoses are used to label a specific set of symptoms that are being experienced by a child.
This label then helps to narrow down and specifically tailor what:
A diagnosis helps the child and their carers (parents, teachers, health professionals, carers) to:
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