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Does My Child Need Speech Therapy? 10 Signs to Look For
Does my child need speech therapy?
If you've found yourself asking this question, you're not alone. Parents often notice that their child is difficult to understand, isn't talking as much as other children, struggles to follow directions, or becomes frustrated when trying to communicate.
Every child develops at their own pace, and differences in speech and language development don't always mean a child needs therapy. However, if you're concerned about your child's communication skills, a speech-language evaluation can help you understand what's going on and whether additional support would be beneficial.
At Connect Therapy in West Des Moines, Iowa, we provide individualized speech, language, and feeding therapy for children and adults. Our pediatric speech-language pathologists work with families to understand each child's unique strengths, needs, and communication goals.
Here are 10 signs that it may be time to consider a speech therapy evaluation for your child.
1. Your Child Is Difficult to Understand
One of the most common reasons parents seek speech therapy for children is that their child is difficult for other people to understand.
You may understand your child's speech because you're familiar with the way they talk, but teachers, grandparents, childcare providers, or unfamiliar listeners may have trouble understanding them.
Your child may:
Leave sounds off words
Substitute one sound for another
Change sounds within words
Have difficulty producing certain speech sounds
Be increasingly difficult to understand as they begin talking more
Some speech sound errors are expected at certain ages, while others may indicate a speech sound disorder.
A speech-language pathologist can evaluate your child's speech and determine whether their sound patterns are appropriate for their age.
2. Your Child Isn't Using Many Words
Children develop vocabulary at different rates, but limited vocabulary can sometimes be a sign of a language delay.
You may notice that your child:
Uses only a few words
Has difficulty learning new words
Relies heavily on gestures instead of words
Has difficulty naming familiar objects
Uses the same words repeatedly
Has difficulty expressing wants and needs
An SLP can evaluate your child's expressive language skills, including their vocabulary, sentence development, and ability to communicate thoughts and ideas.
3. Your Child Has Difficulty Combining Words Into Sentences
As children develop, their communication typically becomes more complex. If your child has difficulty combining words or creating sentences, a language evaluation may be helpful.
For example, your child may have difficulty:
Combining words into phrases
Creating complete sentences
Describing what they are doing
Answering questions
Telling you about their day
Explaining what they want or need
Speech therapy isn't simply about getting children to say more words. An SLP can help children develop the language skills they need to communicate more effectively in everyday situations.
4. Your Child Has Difficulty Understanding Language
Communication involves both expressive language—what a child says—and receptive language—what a child understands.
A child with receptive language difficulties may have trouble:
Following directions
Answering questions
Understanding new vocabulary
Identifying objects or pictures
Understanding concepts such as under, over, before, or after
Following multi-step directions
Understanding increasingly complex sentences
Sometimes these difficulties are subtle, particularly when children have learned to rely on routines or visual cues to understand what is expected.
A pediatric speech-language evaluation can help identify areas of strength as well as areas where your child may need support.
5. Your Child Gets Frustrated When Trying to Communicate
When children have difficulty communicating, they may become frustrated when others don't understand them.
You might notice your child:
Cries or becomes upset when trying to communicate
Has frequent communication-related tantrums
Gives up when others don't understand
Pulls an adult toward what they want instead of communicating it
Avoids certain communication situations
Becomes frustrated when trying to find the right word
Communication difficulties aren't the only possible cause of frustration, but improving a child's ability to communicate can sometimes make everyday interactions easier.
A speech-language pathologist can help determine whether communication is contributing to your child's frustration and identify strategies that may help.
6. Your Child Stutters or Has Frequent Speech Disfluencies
Many young children experience periods of typical disfluency as their language skills develop. Repeating a word or phrase occasionally does not necessarily mean a child has a stuttering disorder.
However, it may be helpful to consult an SLP if your child frequently:
Repeats sounds or syllables
Repeats words
Stretches sounds out
Gets “stuck” when trying to speak
Shows physical tension while talking
Avoids talking
Becomes frustrated or concerned about their speech
A speech-language pathologist can evaluate your child's fluency and provide guidance for supporting comfortable and confident communication.
7. Your Child Has Difficulty With Social Communication
Speech therapy isn't only for children who have trouble producing sounds.
Speech-language pathologists also work with children who have difficulty using communication in social situations.
Your child may benefit from additional support if they have difficulty:
Starting interactions
Taking turns in conversation
Staying on topic
Answering or asking questions
Understanding another person's message
Participating in conversations with peers
Adjusting communication depending on the situation
Using or understanding nonverbal communication
Social communication looks different for every child. An evaluation should consider the individual child's communication style, strengths, preferences, and needs.
8. Your Child Has Difficulty Telling or Retelling Stories
As children grow, they are expected to communicate increasingly complex ideas.
For example, they may need to tell a parent about something that happened at school, explain how to play a game, describe an event, or retell a story they heard.
A child with language difficulties may:
Leave out important information
Have difficulty putting events in order
Jump from one topic to another
Use very short explanations
Have difficulty describing what happened
Struggle to answer questions about a story
These skills are important for everyday communication as well as classroom learning and literacy development.
9. You Are Concerned About Your Child's Speech Sounds
Parents sometimes hear a child mispronounce a sound and wonder:
“Is this something they'll grow out of?”
Sometimes it is.
Children naturally make speech sound errors while they are learning to talk. However, an evaluation can be helpful when you're unsure whether a particular speech pattern is expected for your child's age.
An SLP can look at:
Which sounds your child can produce
Which sounds are difficult
Whether sounds are being substituted or omitted
Whether errors occur in particular positions of words
How understandable your child's speech is
Whether their speech patterns are affecting communication
The goal isn't for children to sound exactly like adults. The goal is to determine whether their speech development is progressing appropriately and whether therapy could help.
10. You Have a Concern About Your Child's Communication
You don't need to be able to identify a specific speech or language disorder before asking for help.
Sometimes parents simply notice that something seems different.
You might think:
“I can't quite explain it, but I'm concerned.”
That's enough reason to ask questions.
A speech-language evaluation can provide information about your child's communication skills and help you understand whether their development is within an expected range.
An evaluation does not automatically mean your child needs ongoing speech therapy.
Sometimes an SLP may recommend:
No therapy at this time
Monitoring your child's development
Strategies for parents to use at home
A follow-up evaluation
Individualized speech or language therapy
What Does a Pediatric Speech Therapy Evaluation Include?
If you're considering speech therapy for your child, you may be wondering what actually happens during an evaluation.
A speech-language pathologist may evaluate areas such as:
Speech sound production
Intelligibility
Receptive language
Expressive language
Vocabulary
Sentence development
Following directions
Social communication
Fluency
Storytelling and language organization
The SLP will also consider your child's developmental history, communication environment, strengths, and your concerns as a parent.
At Connect Therapy, we believe an evaluation should look at the whole child, not just a list of skills or missed milestones.
Does My Child Need Speech Therapy?
Maybe—and maybe not.
The only way to know whether your child's communication skills would benefit from intervention is to look at their individual development.
If you're wondering whether your child needs pediatric speech therapy in West Des Moines, IA, an evaluation can give you a clearer picture of your child's strengths and needs.
And if therapy is recommended, treatment should be individualized to your child's goals, interests, communication style, and everyday needs.
Pediatric Speech Therapy in West Des Moines, Iowa
At Connect Therapy, we provide personalized speech, language, and feeding therapy for children and adults in West Des Moines and the surrounding Des Moines area.
Our pediatric services may address:
Speech sound disorders
Articulation
Phonological disorders
Language delays
Receptive and expressive language
Childhood apraxia of speech
Stuttering and fluency
Social communication
Feeding difficulties
Other communication needs
We work closely with parents and caregivers so that therapy skills can carry over into everyday life—not just the therapy room.
If you're concerned about your child's speech or language development, you don't have to figure it out alone.
Contact Connect Therapy in West Des Moines, IA, to learn more about scheduling a pediatric speech-language evaluation.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pediatric Speech Therapy
When should I take my child to a speech therapist?
There isn't one specific age at which every child should begin speech therapy. If you're concerned about your child's speech, language, fluency, or communication skills, talking with a speech-language pathologist can help you determine whether an evaluation is appropriate.
How do I know if my child's speech is delayed?
Speech development varies from child to child. An SLP can evaluate your child's speech sound production, language skills, and overall communication to determine whether their development is consistent with what would be expected for their age.
Can a child need speech therapy even if they understand everything?
Yes. Some children have difficulty expressing themselves even though their understanding of language is relatively strong. Others may have difficulty with speech sounds, fluency, social communication, or another area of communication.
Does speech therapy help toddlers?
Speech-language pathologists work with toddlers as well as older children. Early concerns can be discussed with an SLP to determine whether evaluation, parent education, monitoring, or therapy would be appropriate.
Where can I find pediatric speech therapy in West Des Moines?
Connect Therapy provides pediatric speech, language, and feeding therapy in West Des Moines, Iowa. Our clinic is located at 9325 Bishop Drive, Suite 110, West Des Moines, IA 50266.
What if I'm not sure whether my child needs therapy?
That's exactly what an evaluation is for. You don't have to know what's wrong before contacting a speech-language pathologist. An evaluation can help you understand your child's communication skills and determine what, if any, next steps are appropriate.
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