What is Language? What is Speech?​

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Language is made up of socially shared rules that include the following:

• What words mean (e.g., "star" can refer to a bright object in the night sky or a celebrity)

• How to make new words (e.g., friend, friendly, unfriendly)

• How to put words together (e.g., "Peg walked to the new store" rather than "Peg walk store new")

• What word combinations are best in what situations ("Would you mind moving your foot?" could quickly change to "Get off my foot, please!" if the first request did not produce results)

Speech is the verbal means of communicating. Speech consists of the following:

Articulation is how speech sounds are made (e.g., children must learn how to produce the "r" sound in order to say "rabbit" instead of "wabbit").

Voice is the use of the vocal folds and breathing to produce sound (e.g., the voice can be abused from overuse or misuse and can lead to hoarseness or loss of voice).

Fluency is the rhythm of speech (e.g., hesitations or stuttering can affect fluency).

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Source: Asha.org

Activities to Encourage Speech and Language Development

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Read about various activities parents can do for their children in their respective age groups.  Source: Asha.org

How does your child hear and talk?

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The development of communication skills begins in infancy, before the emergence of the first word. Any speech or language problem is likely to have a significant effect on the child's social and academic skills and behavior. The earlier a child's speech and language problems are identified and treated, the more quickly problems can be resolved to get your child back on his or her developmental course. Read more about this at Asha.org.