What's the difference between language and speech and why is it important?
One thing is for certain: any speech-language pathologist will tell you that if your child isn't producing developmentally appropriate language, that should be your focus, not speech sounds.
Why? And what’s the difference? Well, let's chat about that :)
Language is the fundamental groundwork for communication. If your kiddo isn't producing age-appropriate language, this will impact all levels of communication, both verbal and auditory.
In this post, we will only skim the surface, avoiding overly specific information as it can all become a little overwhelming! Continue to browse other posts on my blog as they become available for more specific information.
Let’s Talk Language
Language is defined as a system of communication that we use to convey meaning via speaking, writing, or the use of gestures. Gestures are used early on as infants, and this progresses as they develop and begin to produce more spoken language. As spoken language increases, we look at how many words the child is producing based on their age, use of word combinations (ex: big cat), and the ability to comprehend new vocabulary.
It's also important to look at the types of words being used: verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc…
I will address all the specifics on age-based language in another post, but I wanted you to see how important language is to your child as they grow and develop, so again: Language before Speech.
What about speech?
Speech sounds are the actual sounds we hear when we are talking. Articulation is key. The motor plan is being created, with our articulators, that produce individual speech sounds. The articulators include our lips, tongue, teeth, jaw, alveolar ridge, the velum (soft palate), and the hard palate.
This is all quite complex as the movements are very quick, and they have to be precise to correctly obtain the target speech sound. Articulatory abilities vary as your child grows and develops new motor plans, thus producing more complex speech sounds. This is going to look very different for a 2-year-old in comparison to a 4-year-old.
If you hear someone say their child has an articulation disorder, this is simply the child has an inability to successfully complete the motor plan to get the speech sound out correctly.
Most parents have limited resources available that discuss what’s normal for their children. I know we can all use Google, but what are the experts saying? And how can you know you're getting relevant, up-to-date information? This a concern for many parents and rightly so. I'm here to help you sort through the information and provide streamlined education that you can easily understand and apply in a functional way as your child grows & develops.
My heart wants you to feel encouraged and empowered, as parents and caregivers, to help your child grow in all areas of their speech & language development.
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