Language Disorders in Children
¡Proveemos terapia del habla y del lenguaje bilingüe!
We provide bilingual speech and language therapy!
When Your Child Has Trouble Understanding or Using Language
Language disorders in children can make it harder to understand what others say, use words and sentences to express ideas, or both.
These difficulties can show up in different ways at home, at school, and during everyday conversations. A pediatric speech-language pathologist can evaluate your child’s language skills and help you understand whether language therapy may be appropriate.
Signs Your Child May Need Language Support
Needs directions repeated or simplified
Gives very short answers when more explanation is expected
Has trouble retelling something that happened or telling a story in order
Knows what they want to say but has difficulty getting the message across
Becomes frustrated during conversations when understanding or being understood is difficult
These signs do not confirm that a child has a language disorder. An evaluation can help clarify your child’s strengths, communication needs, and appropriate next steps.
Some language difficulties are easier to notice than others. You may want to talk with a speech-language pathologist if your child:
How Speech Therapy Can Support Language Skills
At Children’s Therapy Services of Colorado, speech therapy for language disorders is based on your child’s evaluation and individual communication needs. Therapy may focus on one or more areas.
Understanding Language
Receptive language is how a child understands words, questions, directions, and ideas. Therapy may work on skills such as following directions, understanding questions, learning vocabulary, and making sense of increasingly complex language.
Using Language
Expressive language is how a child uses words and sentences to communicate. Therapy may support vocabulary, sentence building, grammar, answering questions, explaining ideas, and telling stories.
Practicing Language Skills in Everyday Routines
Language practice can happen through play-based activities, books, conversation, and familiar routines. Therapists may also share simple strategies families can use during play, reading, meals, or other parts of the day.
What to Expect From a Language Evaluation and Therapy
The process starts with learning what you have been noticing in everyday life. If a speech-language evaluation is an appropriate next step, the therapist reviews your child’s history and current concerns and may use standardized measures along with play-based or conversational observation.
After the evaluation, the therapist explains the findings, answers your questions, and discusses recommendations. If speech therapy is recommended, goals are based on your child’s strengths and needs. Before reaching out, you can review our patient information and getting started details to learn more about the process.
Frequently Asked Questions About Language Disorders
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Yes. Speech clarity and language are different skills. A child may pronounce words clearly but still have trouble understanding questions, finding the right words, forming sentences, or explaining ideas.
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Tell the speech-language pathologist which languages your child hears and uses at home, school, and in the community. Understanding how your child communicates across languages can help the therapist better assess their language skills.
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Language skills support many parts of the school day, from understanding lessons and classroom routines to reading, writing, and sharing ideas. If teachers have noticed concerns with learning, participation, or communication, those observations can be helpful to share during an evaluation.
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Consider talking with a speech-language pathologist if concerns about your child’s language continue over time or begin affecting communication, learning, or everyday activities. You can also reach out if a teacher, caregiver, or pediatrician has noticed similar concerns.
Our Process
step 01
Phone Consult
During an initial phone consultation, we'll ask what you are noticing during everyday routines. This may include how your child communicates, understands language, produces speech sounds, interacts with others, or manages feeding. The conversation helps the team determine whether a speech-language evaluation may be an appropriate next step.
step 02
Evaluation
A speech-language pathologist reviews your child's case history, parent questionnaire, and current concerns. The evaluation may include standardized measures and play-based or conversational observation.
Depending on the reason for the evaluation, the therapist may look at speech sound production, expressive and receptive language, social communication, fluency, oral motor or feeding skills, literacy, or augmentative and alternative communication needs. Parents and caregivers also share what communication looks like at home, at school, and during daily routines.
step 03
Recommendations
After the evaluation, the therapist explains the findings in plain language. You'll discuss your child's strengths, areas where support may help, and any questions you have about the results. If pediatric speech therapy is recommended, the therapist will outline proposed goals and next steps based on your child's needs.
step 04
Therapy
Sessions follow the goals developed from your child's evaluation and use play-based, evidence-based activities. A session may include practicing speech sounds in words and conversation, building vocabulary or sentence length, following directions, supporting social communication, using an augmentative communication system, or working on feeding skills.
The therapist adjusts activities and practice as your child develops new skills. For families coming from Denver and nearby communities, ongoing clinic sessions take place at our Northglenn office unless another currently available service option applies.
step 05
Progress Checkups
After appointments, your child's therapist provides a brief update about what was practiced and how your child responded. Families may also receive simple strategies to use during play, meals, reading, or other daily routines.
The therapist reviews goals over time and may adjust the treatment plan as your child's needs and progress change. You can also ask questions about what you are noticing outside therapy.
step 06
Graduate from Services
Speech therapy may end when your child has met the agreed-upon goals, no longer needs ongoing support, or another plan is more appropriate. Before services end, the therapist will review your child's progress with you and explain any follow-up recommendations. You can contact the team again if new communication concerns arise.
GET STARTED
Ready to Talk With a Pediatric Speech Therapist?
If you have questions about how clearly your child speaks, contact Children’s Therapy Services of Colorado.
Our team can help you talk through what you are noticing and whether a speech evaluation may be an appropriate next step.