Speech pathologists are responsible for assessing, diagnosing, and managing children’s communication and social needs. Our speech pathologists at DSKC are experienced in assessing and treating toddlers, pre-school, and school-age children with difficulties across many domains, including pronunciation, comprehension, expression, literacy, auditory processing and social communication skills.
We take a caring and family-centred approach in our practice and we believe that having families involved in their child’s speech pathology journey is critical for achieving the best outcome possible. Our speech pathologists always use up-to-date, evidence-based assessments and therapy techniques to ensure your child is receiving the highest quality care.
At DSKC, our speech pathologists specialise in assessing and treating children in the following areas:
Pronunciation:
What is pronunciation?
Pronunciation, also known as articulation, is your child’s ability to say the sounds used in speech correctly. It is very important for children to be able to pronounce sounds and words correctly so that other people can understand what they are saying. This is especially important when children start school because correct pronunciation affects their ability to participate in the classroom and more easily make friends. Children learn how to say different sounds progressively as they get older and it is normal for them to make some errors while they are learning.
Typical speech sound development
- 0-6mths: Baby makes cooing sounds ‘oo’, ‘ee’, ‘ah’
- 6-12mths: Baby starts babbling and repeating sounds (eg. ‘mamama’, ‘bababa’)
- 1-3yrs: Child can say ‘p, b, m, n, t, d’ sounds in words. Some errors likely to be present in child’s speech as they are learning
- 3-4yrs: Child can say ‘k, g, f, s, y, h’ sounds in words. Some errors likely to be present in child’s speech as they are learning and mastering the sounds
- 4-5yrs: Child can say ‘sh, ch, j, z, l, v’ in words. Most errors should have stopped, but some errors involving ‘sh, ch, j, l, r, th’ may still be present
- 5-6yrs: Child’s speech should be easy to understand. Some errors involving ‘r, th’ may still be present
- By 8yrs old, the child should be able to say all speech sounds correctly with no noticeable errors
How do I know if my child has pronunciation difficulties?
- You have difficulty understanding what your child is saying
- People who don’t interact with your child regularly (eg. strangers, distant family), have difficulty understanding what your child is saying
- You notice that your child is missing a sound/s that they should have acquired by their age (see ‘typical speech sound development’ above)
- You notice that your child pronounces a sound/s in a distorted way
How a Speech Pathologist can help
The speech pathologists at DSKC can administer a range of assessments to determine what sounds your child can pronounce, where they can say particular sounds in words (eg. ‘tea’ has ‘t’ at the start and ‘bat’ has ‘t’ at the end), and how they can put sounds together. The results of these assessments will allow the speech pathologist to determine whether your child’s speech errors are normal for their age or whether your child will need some help with their speech. They will also be able to determine if your child is having difficulty moving the muscles of their mouth to form the sounds or if they are having difficulty understanding that making different sounds can change the meaning of words (eg. ‘sea’ and ‘tea’ only differ by one sound, but have different meanings).
If your child’s errors are determined to be not typical, our speech pathologists can use a wide variety of evidence-based therapy techniques to help them reach the same level as their peers. They may use picture cards, worksheets, games, and toys to help your child to understand and improve their pronunciation. They may also provide you with some resources and ideas to help practice at home. Practicing at home regularly is very important for your child to generalise what they learn at DSKC into their everyday environments.
Comprehension
What is comprehension?
Comprehension, also called receptive language, refers to your child’s ability to understand what is being said to them. It underpins their ability to express themselves correctly by using the right words, correct grammar, and correctly structured sentences. Some examples of comprehension skills include following directions, understanding gestures, answering questions appropriately, labelling objects or pictures, understanding a story, and ability to read.
Typical language development for children
Like pronunciation, children develop their language skills gradually as they get older. Children typically understand more language than they can express because understanding is required before being able to use words correctly. The Communication Milestones Kit produced by Speech Pathology Australia highlights some typical language development features for children up to 5 years old. The comprehension milestones are listed next to ‘understanding’.
For older children, comprehension of spoken words affects their ability to learn to read. This is because reading comprehension is a more complex task that requires a child to recognise the words they see and connect the meaning of the words and whole sentences together.
How do I know if my child has comprehension difficulties?
For young children:
- Difficulty following simple directions
- Difficulty answering questions appropriately
- Child copies what you say instead of responding
- Difficulty interacting with other children
- Sometimes uses the wrong words (eg. ‘me’ instead of ‘I’ à ‘me want it’)
For school-age children:
- Difficulty using correct grammar
- Puts words in the wrong order in a sentence
- Difficulty interacting with other children
- Poor academic achievement
How a Speech Pathologist can help
The speech pathologists at DSKC can administer a range of assessments to better understand your child’s comprehension abilities. These assessments will look at your child’s ability to follow directions, understand conversation, answer questions, understand concepts, and understand stories as appropriate for their age. They will also engage in play or conversation with your child so they can listen to how your child speaks in a more natural setting. The results of these assessments will allow the speech pathologist to determine whether your child’s comprehension is appropriate for their age or whether they will need some help.
If your child’s comprehension is determined to be delayed, our speech pathologists can use a wide variety of evidence-based therapy techniques to help them reach the same level as their peers. They may use picture cards, worksheets, games, and toys to help your child to understand and improve their comprehension. They may also provide you with some resources and ideas to help practice at home. Practicing at home regularly is very important for your child to generalise what they learn at DSKC into their everyday environments.
Expression
What is expression?
Expression, also called expressive language, is a child’s ability to use words to accurately express what they want to say. It is important for children to have good expression so they can express their needs, wants, thoughts, and ideas in order to better interact with others. Expression also influences your child’s ability to use correct grammar and learn to write as they get older. Some examples of expression skills include putting sentences together correctly, using correct grammar, asking questions correctly, and using many different words when speaking.
Typical language development for children
Children’s comprehension abilities typically develop faster than their expression, so it is normal for your child to understand more than they can say. Their expression will develop gradually alongside their comprehension. The Communication Milestones Kit produced by Speech Pathology Australia highlights some typical language development features for children up to 5 years old. The expression milestones are listed next to ‘speaking’.
For older children, verbal expression will affect their ability to learn to write. This is because writing is a more complex task that requires your child to think about how to structure their sentences correctly, use correct grammar, and maintain the meaning of what they want to say as they would when speaking, but adding the complexity of correct spelling, physical handwriting, and recognising letters.
How do I know if my child has difficulty with expression?
- They have difficulty asking questions
- They have difficulty describing something (eg. a picture, what someone is doing)
- They have a small vocabulary, or they always use the same few general words, compared to other children their age
- They have difficulty structuring their sentences correctly and/or use shorter sentences compared to other children their age
- They have difficulty using correct grammar (eg. ‘He goed there’ instead of ‘He went there’)
- They have difficulty using gestures and/or facial expressions
- They have difficulty telling a story
- Poor academic achievement and school engagement
How a Speech Pathologist can help
The speech pathologists at DSKC can administer a range of assessments to better understand your child’s ability to express themself. These assessments will look at your child’s vocabulary, word structure, sentence structure and length, and their ability to repeat sentences. They will also engage in play or conversation with your child so they can listen to how your child speaks in a more natural setting. The results of these assessments will allow the speech pathologist to determine whether your child’s expression is appropriate for their age or whether they will need some help. Your child’s comprehension abilities also affect their expression abilities, so the speech pathologist will look at both components of their language during an assessment session to better determine where they need assistance.
If your child’s expression is determined to be delayed, our speech pathologists can use a wide variety of evidence-based therapy techniques to help them reach the same level as their peers. They may use picture cards, worksheets, games, and toys to help your child to understand and improve their expression. They may also provide you with some resources and ideas to help practice at home. Practicing at home regularly is very important for your child to generalise what they learn at DSKC into their everyday environments.
Literacy
What is literacy?
Literacy is a child’s ability to read and write, which is underpinned by their comprehension and expression abilities. Literacy skills are complex and must be taught, whereas comprehension and expression naturally develop. Reading and writing are taught at school, but basic literacy skills begin to develop before children reach school age.
Reading effectively requires the child to recognise the words on the page and understand the meaning of the words and combinations of words. The child must have both word recognition skills and language comprehension skills in order to become a good reader. This concept is illustrated below.
Writing is influenced by the child’s ability to read because they need to have a good understanding of letters, words, and sentence structure before they can produce them. This is a similar concept to the development of comprehension and expression, where comprehension of spoken words comes before speaking. Writing also adds the complexity of physically using a pencil to mark letters on paper.
Typical literacy development
Stage 1: Emerging Literacy (develops around 4-6 years old)
This stage describes when the child is first beginning to understand some letters and written words. Some behaviours associated with this stage include:
- Singing the ABCs
- Able to find written words in their environment
- ‘Pretending’ to read books
- Able to recognise some letters and their sounds
Stage 2: Alphabetic Fluency (develops around 6-7 years old)
This stage describes when the child is beginning to better recognise letters and words. Some behaviours associated with this stage include:
- Pointing to words as they read them
- Reading aloud word by word
- Admitting they are unable to read certain words
- Using pictures and other clues to figure out certain words
Stage 3: Words and Patterns (develops around 7-9 years old)
This stage describes when the child starts to develop even stronger reading skills, which can vary between each individual. Some behaviours associated with this stage include:
- Easier time grouping letters
- Stronger comprehension skills
- Able to automatically recognise words that arise frequently
- Less reliance on context clues, such as pictures
- Beginning to correctly spell more complex words
Stage 4: Intermediate Reading (develops around 9-11 years old)
This stage describes when the child develops stronger reading fluency and stronger abilities to write longer sentences. Some behaviours associated with this stage include:
- Reading to learn new information (rather than to practice the skills)
- Less difficulty reading independently
- Writing for multiple purposes, such as stories, letters, essays, etc.
Stage 5: Advanced Reading (develops around 11-14 years old)
This stage describes when the child is fluent and fully capable of reading and writing independently with little difficulty. Some behaviours associated with this stage include:
- Reading is a daily tool for learning new information
- Able to write longer texts
- Able to understand and remember complex reading materials
- Desire to read numerous types of reading materials
How do I know if my child has difficulty with literacy?
For children aged 3-4 years old, some difficulties with comprehension and expression may be early signs of potential literacy difficulties. These include:
- Late to start talking
- Leaving out words in their sentences
- Only speaking in shorter sentences of 3 words or less
- Difficulty learning and remembering new words
- Difficulty naming objects or identifying an action (eg. eating, running, etc)
For children aged over 5 years old, signs of literacy difficulties may be present in their speaking and reading. These include, but are not limited to:
- Difficulty recognising words that rhyme (eg. car, bar) or start with the same sound (eg. car, cat)
- Difficulty breaking down words into sounds or syllables
- Difficulty putting sounds together to form words
- Mixing up the sequence of events in a stories
- Not showing interest in books or reading
How a Speech Pathologist can help
The speech pathologists at DSKC can administer a range of assessments to better understand your child’s reading and writing abilities. These assessments will look in more detail at your child’s letter and word recognition, spelling, story comprehension, their ability to manipulate sounds in words and other literacy skills. The speech pathologist may also assess your child’s spoken language comprehension and expression abilities as these skills underpin literacy skills.
If your child’s literacy skills are determined to be delayed, our speech pathologists can use a wide variety of evidence-based therapy techniques to help them to improve. They may use worksheets, games, and rewards to help your child to understand literacy concepts and improve their reading and writing abilities. They may also provide you with some resources and ideas to help practice at home. Practicing at home regularly is very important for your child to continue to develop their skills consistently and to generalise their skills into everyday activities, such as school-related tasks.
Social Communication Skills
What are social communication skills?
Social communication skills, also known as pragmatics, describe the ‘rules’ that we follow when we talk to others. They involve the child’s ability to change the way they talk depending on the context they are in and behaving appropriately when having a conversation. Some examples of social communication skills include taking turns in conversation, staying on topic, using gestures and body language, using facial expressions and eye contact, using the correct tone of voice, and knowing how close to stand to someone when talking. The ‘rules’ of social communication vary across different cultures, so what may be considered polite in one culture may not be considered appropriate in another. A child following the ‘rules’ associated with their cultural background that are not consistent with the other person’s cultural ‘rules’ is not considered an impairment.
How do I know if my child has difficulty with social communication skills?
Some signs of social communication difficulties include:
- Not making eye contact when speaking or listening
- Greeting others inappropriately or not at all
- Difficulty changing their communication style (eg. speaking loudly in a library, speaking to their teacher like they would to a baby)
- Talking over others
- Difficulty maintaining the topic of conversation
- Difficulty telling stories in a straightforward manner
- Difficulty using appropriate body language or not using body language at all
How a Speech Pathologist can help
The speech pathologists at DSKC can administer a range of assessments to better understand your child’s social communication skills. These assessments may be conducted by the speech pathologist playing with your child and observing how they interact with others.
If your child’s social communication skills are determined to be delayed, our speech pathologists can use a wide variety of evidence-based therapy techniques to help them to improve and ‘learn the rules’. These may involve the speech pathologist role-playing different social situations with your child, providing direct instructions about what to do in different social situations, or practicing specific skills in several activities in the clinic. The speech pathologist may also provide you with some resources and ideas to help practice at home. Practicing at home regularly is very important for your child to continue to develop their skills consistently and to generalise their skills into everyday social situations.
Autism Spectrum Disorder
What is Autism Spectrum Disorder?
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a condition that affects the way an individual interacts with others and how they experience the world around them. Every person with ASD is different, which means that each person has unique strengths and challenges. People with ASD may have:
- Challenges with communicating and interacting with others, including difficulties with social communication skills
- Repetitive and different behaviours
- A strong interest in one topic
- Unusual reactions to what they see, hear, smell, touch, or taste
- Prefer routines and have difficulty coping with change
Difficulties with social communication are commonly associated with ASD. However, not all children with social communication difficulties have ASD. Some children with ASD may also have speech and language difficulties, difficulties with eating and drinking, difficulty managing their emotions, and difficulties maintaining attention. Children with ASD will require support from a multidisciplinary team, including speech pathologists, occupational therapists, psychologists, and other health professionals, to support them in different ways.
How do I know if my child has ASD?
Because every person with ASD is unique, each child will present with varying signs and symptoms. If your child presents with some of these, it does not necessarily confirm a diagnosis of ASD. A qualified multidisciplinary team including a paediatrician, psychologist, speech pathologist, and other health professionals is required to make a diagnosis based on your child as a whole person rather than a few symptoms.
Some signs of ASD may include:
- Delayed or lack of gesture, including pointing and waving
- Lack of eye contact
- The child seeming as if they are ‘in their own world’
- Not engaging in play with others, or playing alongside others rather than with them
- Having one or two very specific interests and not being interested in sharing others’ interests
- Not responding to the emotions of others
- Becoming upset by small changes in routine
- Unusual reactions to different sensations, such as with clothing, food textures and play objects
How a Speech Pathologist can help
Assessment and diagnosis of ASD is a complex process that the speech pathologists at DSKC are qualified to be involved in. Speech pathologists alone cannot make a diagnosis of ASD, but are trained in recognising symptoms associated with ASD and collaborating with other health professionals to inform a diagnosis. The speech pathologists at DSKC can perform a range of assessments of your child’s pronunciation, comprehension, expression, and social communication skills depending on your child’s needs to gain a better view of your child’s communication abilities as a whole.
If your child has a diagnosis of ASD, our speech pathologists can support your child’s communication needs and modify therapy sessions to ensure that your child enjoys them and can successfully participate. Our speech pathologists do not ‘treat’ ASD. Instead, they provide therapy and support for aspects of communication that may be challenging for them as a result of their diagnosis, including comprehension, expression, and social communication.