Know the Signs of Speech and Language DisordersSigns of common speech and language disorders in adults and children between birth to 4 years of age, an important stage in early detection of communication disorders.
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Children: Signs of a Language Disorder
8 months–1 year: Likes to hear you talk and read; looks at pictures in books when you read
1–2 years: Makes sounds or words when looking at pictures in books; points or touches pictures in books when you name them; turns pages in books
2–3 years: Knows that books have a front and back; enjoys books that have rhymes; points to and names many pictures in books
Children: Signs of a Speech Sound Disorder
Children Signs of Stuttering (Disfluency)
Children: Signs of a Voice Disorder
Adults: Signs of Speech & Language Disorders
Additional Resources
Speech & Language ResourcesChildrenGeneral Information
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Children: Signs of a Language Disorder
- Does not smile or interact with others (birth and older)
- Does not babble (4-7 months)
- Makes only a few sounds or gestures, like pointing (7-12 months)
- Does not understand what others say (7 months-2 years)
- Says only a few words (12-18 months)
- Words are not easily understood (18 months-2 years)
- Does not put words together to make sentences (1.5-3 years)
- Has trouble playing and talking with other children (2-3 years)
- Has trouble with early reading and writing skills* (2.5-3 years)
8 months–1 year: Likes to hear you talk and read; looks at pictures in books when you read
1–2 years: Makes sounds or words when looking at pictures in books; points or touches pictures in books when you name them; turns pages in books
2–3 years: Knows that books have a front and back; enjoys books that have rhymes; points to and names many pictures in books
Children: Signs of a Speech Sound Disorder
- Says p, b, m, h, and w incorrectly in words (1-2 years)
- Says k, g, f, t, d, and n incorrectly in words (2-3 years)
- Produces speech that is unclear, even to familiar people (2-3 years)
Children Signs of Stuttering (Disfluency)
- Repeats first sounds of words—“b-b-b-ball” for “ball”
- Speech breaks while trying to say a word—“—–boy” for “boy”
- Stretches sounds out—“ffffff-farm” for “farm”
- Shows frustration when trying to get words out
Children: Signs of a Voice Disorder
- Uses a hoarse or breathy voice
- Uses a nasal-sounding voice
Adults: Signs of Speech & Language Disorders
- Struggles to say sounds or words (stuttering)
- Repetition of words or parts of words (stuttering)
- Speaks in short, fragmented phrases (expressive aphasia)
- Says words in the wrong order (expressive aphasia)
- Struggles with using words and understanding others (global aphasia)
- Difficulty imitating speech sounds (apraxia)
- Inconsistent errors (apraxia)
- Slow rate of speech (apraxia)
- Slurred speech (dysarthria)
- Slow or rapid rate of speech, often with a mumbling quality (dysarthria)
Additional Resources
Speech & Language ResourcesChildrenGeneral Information
- Developmental Milestones
- Suggestions for Parents: Speech and Language Development
- Speech and Language Disorders
- Literacy
- Swallowing and Feeding Disorders
- Voice Disorders
- Prevalence and Costs of Communication Disorders in the U.S.
Comprehensive Oral Language Assessment $399
Children 17 and under
*Includes appointments as needed to complete all assessment activities along with a written report containing assessment findings and recommendations.
This is a bespoke, individually tailored assessment package that evaluates competence to produce and understand language and will uncover subtle, potentially hidden deficits and get to the bottom of oral language problems.
Children 17 and under
*Includes appointments as needed to complete all assessment activities along with a written report containing assessment findings and recommendations.
This is a bespoke, individually tailored assessment package that evaluates competence to produce and understand language and will uncover subtle, potentially hidden deficits and get to the bottom of oral language problems.
- For children under 4 years this includes evaluation of symbolic play skills (i.e.: cognitive development) to evaluate whether or not the child has an adequate foundation for language development.
- For children ages 6 - 9 this includes evaluation of narrative language skills critical for literacy success at primary school
- Ages 10 - 16 this includes evaluation of expository language skills critical for academic success at secondary school
from ASHA
What Is Speech? What Is Language?[ en Español]
Speech and language are different. A person can have problems with one or both. Learn about the difference here. See a speech-language pathologist, or SLP, if you have concerns.Jorge is 4 years old. It is hard to understand him when he talks. He is quiet when he speaks, and his sounds are not clear.
Vicki is in high school. She has had learning problems since she was young. She has trouble reading and writing and needs extra time to take tests.
Maryam had a stroke. She can only say one or two words at a time. She cannot tell her son what she wants and needs. She also has trouble following simple directions.
Louis also had a stroke. He is able to understand everything he hears and speaks in full sentences. The problem is that he has slurred speech and is hard to understand.
All of these people have trouble communicating. But their problems are different.
What Is Speech?Speech is how we say sounds and words. Speech includes:
Articulation
How we make speech sounds using the mouth, lips, and tongue. For example, we need to be able to say the “r” sound to say "rabbit" instead of "wabbit.”
Voice
How we use our vocal folds and breath to make sounds. Our voice can be loud or soft or high- or low-pitched. We can hurt our voice by talking too much, yelling, or coughing a lot.
Fluency
This is the rhythm of our speech. We sometimes repeat sounds or pause while talking. People who do this a lot may stutter.
What Is Language?Language refers to the words we use and how we use them to share ideas and get what we want. Language includes:
When we have trouble saying sounds, stutter when we speak, or have voice problems, we have a speech disorder.
Jorge has a speech disorder that makes him hard to understand. So does Louis. The reason Tommy has trouble is different than the reason Louis does.
Maryam has a receptive and expressive language disorder. She does not understand what words mean and has trouble using words to talk to others.
Vicki also has a language disorder. Reading and writing are language skills. She could also have problems understanding others and using words well because of her learning disability.
Where to Get HelpSLPs work with people who have speech and language disorders. SLPs work in schools, hospitals, and clinics, and may be able to come to your home.
What Is Speech? What Is Language?[ en Español]
Speech and language are different. A person can have problems with one or both. Learn about the difference here. See a speech-language pathologist, or SLP, if you have concerns.Jorge is 4 years old. It is hard to understand him when he talks. He is quiet when he speaks, and his sounds are not clear.
Vicki is in high school. She has had learning problems since she was young. She has trouble reading and writing and needs extra time to take tests.
Maryam had a stroke. She can only say one or two words at a time. She cannot tell her son what she wants and needs. She also has trouble following simple directions.
Louis also had a stroke. He is able to understand everything he hears and speaks in full sentences. The problem is that he has slurred speech and is hard to understand.
All of these people have trouble communicating. But their problems are different.
What Is Speech?Speech is how we say sounds and words. Speech includes:
Articulation
How we make speech sounds using the mouth, lips, and tongue. For example, we need to be able to say the “r” sound to say "rabbit" instead of "wabbit.”
Voice
How we use our vocal folds and breath to make sounds. Our voice can be loud or soft or high- or low-pitched. We can hurt our voice by talking too much, yelling, or coughing a lot.
Fluency
This is the rhythm of our speech. We sometimes repeat sounds or pause while talking. People who do this a lot may stutter.
What Is Language?Language refers to the words we use and how we use them to share ideas and get what we want. Language includes:
- What words mean. Some words have more than one meaning. For example, “star” can be a bright object in the sky or someone famous.
- How to make new words. For example, we can say “friend,” “friendly,” or “unfriendly” and mean something different.
- How to put words together. For example, in English we say, “Peg walked to the new store” instead of “Peg walk store new.”
- What we should say at different times. For example, we might be polite and say, “Would you mind moving your foot?” But, if the person does not move, we may say, “Get off my foot!”
When we have trouble saying sounds, stutter when we speak, or have voice problems, we have a speech disorder.
Jorge has a speech disorder that makes him hard to understand. So does Louis. The reason Tommy has trouble is different than the reason Louis does.
Maryam has a receptive and expressive language disorder. She does not understand what words mean and has trouble using words to talk to others.
Vicki also has a language disorder. Reading and writing are language skills. She could also have problems understanding others and using words well because of her learning disability.
Where to Get HelpSLPs work with people who have speech and language disorders. SLPs work in schools, hospitals, and clinics, and may be able to come to your home.
