WHAT

Expressive language means what it is that your child is saying. This is your child's ability to join words to form sentences using the correct vocabulary and grammar. Expressive language is different to speech sounds and can be easily confused when listening to your child. Speech sounds are the way your child pronounces sounds in their words. Expressive language difficulties can affect your child's ability to get their message across using spoken or written language. 

Children can experience difficulties with their receptive language skills and expressive language skills and speech sound development or it can have difficulty in one of these areas only.

The symptoms can vary from child to child depending on their age. The following symptoms may indicate that your child is experiencing difficulties with their expressive language development:

1. •Difficulties using the correct grammar. For example confusing his/her, is/are etc.
   
2. •Using short sentences for their age
   
3. •Not combining words to form sentences
   
4. •Using jargon (made up words) in their sentences
   
5. •Unfamiliar people find it difficult to understand your child
   
6. •Difficulties with holding a conversation
   
7. •Difficulties with finding the 'right' word in conversation
   
8. •Difficulties with retelling a story

Speech production refers to all the steps required to get to the end result of talking; from the brain's ability to plan, organize, and sequence the movements for speech to the actual ability of the muscles and nerves to carry out these movements.  

Most children will make mistakes with their speech sound production at some point in their development. Different sounds are expected to develop at different ages. A speech sound delay exists when a child continues to make these mistakes past the age expected. 

Speech sound delays involve articulation (making the sound) and phonological processes (sound patterns).  Speech sound disorders may involve motor speech difficulties, difficulty with planning and organizing the movements for speech, inadequate muscle tone, and/or, structural abnormalities. 

Signs that your child may need help with speech production and/or articulation skills:

1. •Not sounding clear
   
2. •A child's speech sounds slushy
   
3. •Leaving off sounds at the beginning, middle or end of words
   
4. •Changing sounds in words, or in a conversation, even though they can say the sound when you practice it with your child
   
5. •Substituting sounds in words (e.g. fish becomes “pish”)
   
6. •Inconsistent production (e.g. dog may be "da", "gog", "dod", "god" or maybe even "dog"!)
   

Articulation is the way we produce speech sounds. Humans use their tongue, lips, teeth, jaw and vocal folds to produce speech sounds. Children can experience a range of difficulties that will affect the way they produce their speech sounds.