Why is my child difficult to understand?
It can feel worrying when you understand your child, but other people struggle to know what they are saying. You may find yourself repeating their words for them, translating for relatives or explaining what they meant to teachers or other adults.
Some speech sound difficulties are part of development, but when your child is often misunderstood, becoming frustrated or avoiding talking, it can be helpful to understand what is happening and what support may be needed.
What this can look like
Your child may:
- be understood by close family, but not by other people
- leave sounds out of words
- replace one sound with another
- say words differently each time
- become upset when people ask them to repeat themselves
- avoid talking because it feels too effortful to be understood
What may be going on
These difficulties may be linked to speech sound delay, speech sound disorder, phonological difficulties, articulation difficulties or childhood apraxia of speech / verbal dyspraxia.
An assessment helps identify whether your child is making age-appropriate errors, using unusual sound patterns or finding the movements for speech difficult to plan and sequence.
How assessment helps
A speech and language assessment looks at how your child produces sounds, how consistent their speech is and how easy they are to understand in everyday communication.
This helps identify the most appropriate targets and whether your child would benefit from therapy, home practice, school advice or a written report.
How I can help
I provide online speech sound assessment and therapy tailored to your child’s needs. Sessions may focus on helping your child hear, practise and use sounds more clearly in words, sentences and everyday talking.
I also show parents how to support practice at home in a calm, manageable way.
Not sure if this sounds like your child?
That’s okay. You do not need to know the reason before asking for help.
Book a free 15-minute consultation and we can talk through your concerns together.