When Should You Be Concerned About Your Child’s Language and Communication Development?

As parents, watching your child grow and develop is one of life’s greatest joys. But what if your child seems to struggle with speech, language, or social interactions? Knowing when to seek support can make a world of difference.

What Are the Three Types of Communication?

Communication can be broken down into three main groups of skills, and your child is developing all of these in the early years of their life. You may discover that your child is struggling with only one of these, or that they may need support in all three areas.

1. Speech

Focuses on how we say sounds and words and includes articulation. How we make speech sounds using our mouths, lips, and tongue.

Milestone Example: By age 4–5, your child should be able to combine and pronounce most blended sounds such as “bl”, “cl”, “sh”, “cr” and other speech sounds such as “r” and “l”. Children should be easily understood by their families INCLUDING other people by the age of 4.

2. Language

Refers to the words we use and understand in order to communicate with each other. Your child is developing two kinds of language skills:

Expressive language

The ability to use words and combine them together to express their ideas and needs.

Receptive language

The ability to understand the meanings of the words as well as what is being conveyed to them.

Some children may need extra support with only their expressive language, while other children need help with both.

For example, with receptive language, children should be able to answer simple and complex questions (such as answer yes/no correctly or respond in context to open ended questions). Whilst with expressive language, children should be able to initiate conversations (such as approach and ask questions to an adult with correct use of words and grammar).

3. Social communication

Can also be referred to as pragmatics, which is the way children use language within their social settings such as if the child is able to greet, ask questions, answer questions, demand/command and inform people about things.

For example, a child should be able to have back and forth interaction with their peers during play.

Understanding Communication Milestones

The list of milestones below reflects the ages at which most children develop language and social communication skills. If your child does not develop one of the skills during these ranges, it doesn’t necessarily mean there is a problem. But if your child hasn’t reached most of the milestones for their age, we recommend that you consult with a speech-language pathologist.

3-4 years

– Enjoys playing with peers

– Understands turn-taking and sharing with adults and peers

– Answers a variety of questions, including “why” questions (e.g., “Why are your hands so dirty?”)

– Talks in sentences with adult-like grammar

– Talks about past and future events

4-5 years

– Chooses friends and play mates

– Takes turns in longer conversations

– Understands most of what is said at home and school

– Recognises familiar signs (e.g., stop sign)

– Follows simple stories and can retell stories

– Uses well-formed sentences

– Asks the meaning of unfamiliar words

When Should You Be Concerned About Your Child’s Language and Communication Development?

The Role of Parents/Carers

You may speak to your child’s General Practitioner or Maternal Health Nurse or your child’s Kinder Teacher if you are concerned about your child’s language.

Your kinder teacher can refer your child through to the EYES team where we are able to complete a comprehensive observation of your child’s language and communication milestones as well as observe other developmental areas that may be impacting their language and communication, such as auditory processing (hearing). Once we complete our observations we can discuss the next steps in getting the right support and supporting you the whole way while you navigate your way through obtaining support for your child.

However, to have the greatest impact on your child’s outcomes, you, the parent/carer, must play a key role in supporting your child’s learning.

Why you have the greatest power to help your child

– Research shows that young children learn to communicate best during enjoyable, everyday interactions with the important people in their lives – their parents and caregivers.

– Your close relationship with your child means that they are most comfortable communicating with you, and that you know them best – you know their interests and preferences, and what will make interactions motivating and fun for them.

– Since you spend the most time interacting with your child, you have many opportunities to support your child’s learning within your daily activities.

– Many studies have shown that, with the right support, parents can learn research-based strategies to use during everyday activities and interactions with their child and that, when they do this, their child’s communication improves.

The EYES program offers a range of resources to support families in helping their children develop language and communication skills at home. If you’re concerned about your child’s communication development, please feel free to contact us at eyes@yinclusion.org.au to access these resources. Together, we can help your child unlock their full potential.