Speech & Language Condition Guides
If a professional has just used a term you have never heard before — or you are trying to work out what is going on with your child's speech — these guides explain the most common childhood speech and language conditions in plain language: what each one is, the signs to watch for, and how speech therapy typically helps.
These are educational guides, not diagnostic tools. Only a licensed speech-language pathologist can diagnose a speech or language disorder.
Condition Guides
Childhood Apraxia of Speech
Understanding childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) — signs, diagnosis, and how speech therapy helps. Guide for parents.
Phonological Disorder
Understanding phonological disorders in children — patterns, diagnosis, and speech therapy approaches. Guide for parents.
Autism & Communication
How speech therapy supports communication in autistic children. Verbal, nonverbal, and social communication strategies for parents.
Expressive Language Delay
Understanding expressive language delay — when children understand language but struggle to produce it. Signs, causes, and therapy approaches.
Selective Mutism
Understanding selective mutism — when children who can speak choose not to in certain situations. Strategies for parents and therapists.
Stuttering
Understanding stuttering (disfluency) in children. Normal disfluency vs stuttering, when to seek help, and therapy approaches.
Common Questions From Parents
When should I have my child evaluated by a speech therapist?
Trust your instinct and ask early — you do not need a referral to request an evaluation in most places, and waiting rarely helps. Common prompts are: few or no words by 18 months, no two-word combinations by age 2, speech that strangers cannot understand by age 3, or any loss of words a child previously had. Loss of previously acquired speech warrants prompt attention.
What is the difference between a speech delay and a speech disorder?
A delay means a child is following the typical developmental path but arriving later than peers. A disorder means development is following an atypical pattern — for example, sound errors that are not part of normal development, or motor planning difficulty as in apraxia. The distinction matters because it changes which therapy approach is appropriate.
Will my child grow out of it?
Some children do, and some do not — and there is no reliable way to tell which from the outside. Many late talkers catch up on their own, but a meaningful minority do not, and those children benefit from earlier support. An evaluation costs little and answers the question.
Can I do anything at home while waiting for an evaluation?
Yes. Narrate what you are doing, pause and give your child time to respond, model correct words without demanding repetition, and read together daily. None of this replaces an evaluation, but none of it can hurt, and waiting lists are often long.
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