Speech & Hearing
Diagnosis and management of communication and hearing
- Does not turn to sound or respond to their name
- Needs the television or music louder than others in the family
Finding a voice, and being understood
Speech Therapy
Speech therapy focuses on improving communication — articulation, fluency and language comprehension — and on developing the verbal and non-verbal strategies a child needs to connect with people and to progress at school.
- Session
- Typically 45 minutes
- Setting
- One-to-one
- Starts with
- Functional assessment
What it is
Understanding speech therapy
Speech therapy addresses the full range of communication: how clearly a child produces sounds, how smoothly speech flows, how much language they understand, how much they can express, and how they use communication socially.
Assessment separates these strands, because they need different treatment. A child who understands everything but cannot be understood needs articulation work. A child who speaks clearly but in short, disorganised sentences needs expressive language work. A child who does neither yet may need an alternative means of communicating while speech develops.
Where speech is not yet functional, therapy does not wait. Gesture, picture exchange, signing and communication devices give a child a way to be understood now — and the evidence is consistent that these supports encourage speech rather than delay it.
Speech-Language Therapists
Work on articulation, fluency, receptive and expressive language, social communication, and feeding and swallowing difficulty.
Who it's for
Children who may benefit from speech therapy
This is not an exhaustive list, and no single item on it means your child needs therapy. The assessment establishes what is actually going on.
- 01
Late talkers and language delay
Children whose first words or sentence-building are significantly behind expected milestones.
- 02
Unclear speech
Children whose speech is hard for unfamiliar listeners to understand, or who substitute or omit particular sounds.
- 03
Stammering and fluency
Repetitions, prolongations or blocks that disrupt the flow of speech, particularly where the child is becoming aware or avoidant.
- 04
Comprehension difficulty
Children who struggle to follow instructions, answer questions, or keep up with classroom language.
- 05
Social communication
Difficulty with conversation, turn-taking, topic maintenance, or reading tone and non-verbal cues.
- 06
Feeding and swallowing
Oral-motor difficulties affecting chewing, swallowing or tolerance of food textures.
Signs to look for
What parents often notice first
Children develop at different rates, and a single item here is rarely meaningful on its own. It is a pattern across several — particularly one that persists — that is worth raising with a professional.
- Few or no words by around 18 months, or not combining words by around two years
- Speech that family members can follow but strangers cannot
- Does not respond to their name or seem to follow simple instructions
- Repeats phrases without using them to communicate meaningfully
- Struggles to answer simple questions or tell you about their day
- Repetitions, blocks or visible effort when speaking
- Loss of words or skills that were previously present
- Limited eye contact, gesture or pointing to share interest
Benefits
What this therapy works towards
Goals are always individual to the child. These are the areas of change the discipline is designed to produce.
Clearer speech
Sound production that unfamiliar listeners — teachers, relatives, other children — can understand.
Richer language
A wider vocabulary and longer, better-structured sentences for expressing needs and ideas.
Stronger comprehension
Better ability to follow instructions and keep pace with classroom language.
Less frustration
Communication difficulty is a common driver of behavioural distress; giving a child a way to be understood often reduces it.
Social confidence
Conversation skills, turn-taking and the ability to join in with peers.
Literacy foundations
Phonological awareness and language structure underpin later reading and writing.
The process
How a programme runs, step by step
- 01
Communication assessment
Structured assessment of articulation, receptive and expressive language, fluency, voice and social communication, plus observation in natural interaction.
- 02
Hearing check
Hearing is ruled in or out first — untreated hearing loss is a frequent and correctable cause of speech and language delay.
- 03
Goal setting with parents
Targets are agreed with you and prioritised by what would make the biggest practical difference to your child's day.
- 04
Therapy sessions
Play-based, structured sessions targeting the specific sounds, structures or strategies identified, with difficulty graded as skills develop.
- 05
Carryover at home
Parents are shown how to build target sounds and structures into ordinary routines — mealtimes, bath, the drive to school.
- 06
Review
Regular re-assessment against baseline so gains are measured rather than assumed.
What to expect
Inside a session
- Session length
- Typically 45 minutes
- Frequency
- Set after assessment, based on need
- Setting
- One-to-one in a distraction-controlled therapy room
- Parent involvement
- Parents are shown techniques to carry over at home
Questions
About speech therapy
If your question isn't answered here, call the centre — it is usually the quickest way to get a straight answer.
Parent resources
Reading that may help
Related therapies
Often provided alongside this
Where a child works across more than one discipline, goals are coordinated between the therapists involved.
