What is Language?
Language refers to words and how we combine them into phrases and sentences to share information, tell stores and have conversations with other people. When thinking about language we usually consider two different areas:
- Comprehension or receptive language which is to do with how well a child can understand and remember what other people are saying to them.
- Expressive language which is to do with how well a child can remember words and put them together into sentences so they can communicate with other people
For both comprehension and expressive language we usually think about a child's language on three different levels. These are:
- Vocabulary – this is about the number and type of single words a child understands and uses
- Sentences level – this is about how a child understands and uses words when they are combined to make a sentence
- Narrative and higher level language skills – this is about how children understand and use language to understand or share stories, give or follow complex instructions and use language to make inferences or problem solve.
Vocabulary
Children with needs in this area may understand or use a limited number or range of single words.
Some children may know a good range of words but struggle to recall the correct word when they want to use it. Instead, they might use a less specific word or a word that sounds similar or has a similar meaning.
Sentence level
Children with needs at this level may find it difficult to understand sentences other people say to them. They will need information to be given in short chunks and would benefit from the use of visual supports alongside speech.
Children with expressive language needs at sentence level will find it a challenge to plan what to say and they may not use “full” sentences when speaking. This means they may place words in the wrong order or miss some words out when talking.
Narrative and higher level language skills
Children with narrative language needs will find understanding, remembering, sequencing and telling stories difficult. They may miss out information, get things in the wrong order or forget/miss out key information.
Higher level language needs mean children can find it hard to understand and use language when inferencing or problem solving is required. They tend to cope with more “concrete” instructions but struggle to “read between the lines” and pick up on implied meanings.
We work with a wide range of children with language needs which occur for many different reasons. In all cases the first appointment will include an assessment where the speech and language therapist can assess a child's language needs. This assessment will be child friendly – usually we do this though play based activities or by using pictures which the child is asked to point to or talk about.
We work in a range of health care clinics across the Fylde coast. Initial appointments are offered in clinics and if a child requires a block of therapy this will usually also be offered at the same clinic. We normally offer the appointments at the clinic closest to where you live but you can request a different clinic if you would prefer to attend at a different location. Occasionally we can arrange school or home visits if required but these would be discussed with you before they are arranged.
For language workshops please visit our workshops page.
