How To Identify Language Difficulties In Children

Understanding Language

Receptive language skills means how we understand and make sense of words and sentences that people say. Children learn to understand words and sentences gradually over time. 

Children can have challenges with the following skills that are related to understanding: 

• Listening, paying attention to and remembering what people say. 

• Learning and remembering new words. 

• Understanding different sentences, particularly longer or more complicated sentences.  

• Understanding grammar such as word endings (e.g. words with ‘-ed’ on the end mean something happened in the past). 

• Making sense of ‘hidden meanings’. or inferring.

Children who have difficulties understanding may find some of the following things tricky: 

• Following requests you give them. They might seem to ignore you, or they might follow only part of the instruction and ‘forget’ the rest. 

• Listening and paying attention, for example they might find it hard to share a whole book with you or they might seem to ‘tune out’ while you’re talking to them.  

• Answering questions you ask them. They might seem to ignore you or they might give an answer that doesn’t make sense. 

• As they get older, children might find it hard to understand terms of phrase such as ‘pull your socks up’ or ‘get a wriggle on’. They might also find it hard to follow jokes and slang. 

• Staying calm – it can be frustrating, confusing and stressful when you don’t understand what people are saying. 

Speech therapy assessment

Talking/Expressive Language

Children can have challenges with the following skills that are related to talking or expressive language:  

• Learning and using new words. 

• Putting words together in the right order in sentences.  

• Using all the important words in a sentence, including little words like ‘a’ and ‘is’, and the correct grammar and word endings. 

• Putting sentences together in a longer story in a way that is easy to follow and understand. 

Children who have challenges with talking might find the following things tricky: 

• Being able to tell you what they want or need. 

• Telling you about something they have done in a way that you can follow and understand. 

• Telling you how they are feeling and why.  

• Having a conversation. 

For further information about identifying language difficulties please see https://speechandlanguage.org.uk/help-for-families/signs-and-symptoms/signs

Materials used in speech therapy to support language development

Practical Tips for Supporting Speech Development at Home

• Pay attention when your child talks to you.

  
  

• Get your child's attention before you talk.

  
  

• Talk about where things are, using words like "first," "middle," and "last" or "right" and "left." Talk about opposites like "up" and "down" or "on" and "off."

  
  

• Have your child guess what you describe. Say, "We use it to sweep the floor," and have them find the broom. Say, "It is cold, sweet, and good for dessert. I like strawberry" so they can guess "ice cream." 

  
  

• Work on groups of items, or categories. Find the thing that does not belong in a group. For example, "A shoe does not go with an apple and an orange because you can't eat it. It is not round. It is not a fruit." 

  
  

• Help your child follow two- and three-step directions. Use words like, "Go to your room, and bring me your book."

  
  

• Ask your child to give directions. Follow their directions as they tell you how to build a tower of blocks.

  
  

• Watch movies together. Talk about what your child is watching. Have them guess what might happen next. Talk about the characters. Are they happy or sad? Ask them to tell you what happened in the story. Act out a scene together, or make up a different ending.

  
  

• Go grocery shopping together. Talk about what you will buy, how many things you need, and what you will make. Talk about sizes, shapes, and weight.

Taking the First Step Toward Better Communication

If you notice your child has difficulty speaking or understanding language, seeking help early is important. Speech therapy can open doors to better learning, friendships, and self-confidence. The speech therapy benefits are clear and lasting.

At Speech Therapy Frankfurt, we focus on providing high-quality, accessible care for English-speaking children in the Frankfurt and Wiesbaden area. Our goal is to help every child reach their full communication potential.