You have been referred for a “speech” evaluation, but are thinking, “my child sounds fine, why do I have to go to speech?” Or, “I don’t think the therapist can help my child’s speech sound better since they don’t even talk yet!”

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs), despite being frequently referred to as simply “speech therapists,” actually treat a wide variety of different communication related issues, especially language. SLPs can help children who have difficulties with their speech (pronunciation), language (vocabulary), or both.

For the typical person, the distinction between the two may be fuzzy or not obvious. Today’s post will hopefully give a little clarity to that question.

What is the difference between SPEECH and LANGUAGE?

An overly simple way to think about speech versus language is that language is happening in the brain and speech is happening in the mouth. A person uses their language to choose words and put them in the right order. Then they use their speech to actually say the words. 

When Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) talk about someone’s speech, they are likely referring to the actual sounds coming out of a person’s mouth. This includes the way that they make the different sounds and what sounds they can (or can’t) make. You may have met someone who speaks with a lisp or has difficulty making an “R.” This is considered a speech issue because it has to do with how to move the tongue in the mouth. Sometimes kids leave sounds out of words or say the wrong sound in a word (“bah” for ball, “tat” for cat.) Speech also refers to other characteristics of the way a person sounds. Stuttering, issues with voice, cleft lip and palate, and apraxia of speech are some examples of other speech production issues that an SLP can treat.

What is important to remember is that not all speech “issues” are actual problems, depending on the age of the child. A toddler may still be leaving sounds off the ends of words and that is perfectly normal for their age. A preschooler may still be lisping, and that is also normal. However, these same patterns in an adult would be atypical and possibly distracting for the listener. If you have concerns about the way your child’s speech sounds, a speech-language pathologist is the right person to give them a good listen and let you know what is typical and if there is anything atypical that needs to be addressed. [Click here to learn more about speech sound development.]

Language is a two-way street that involves what someone understands, but also what they say. When you give your child a direction and they follow it, they are understanding language. When you ask them a question and they put together a response, they are understanding and using language. When they come up to you and ask you to get them a snack, they are using language. Sometimes children have difficulty learning their native language as fast as other children, giving them a “language disorder.” This may show up as a child who talks late and doesn’t understand as much as is expected. For an older child, they may have difficulty learning grammar or maybe don’t always put words in the correct order in a sentence. The older child may also have difficulty understanding things that they read or organizing sentences to tell a story. SLPs are experienced in figuring out where language issues lie, what is normal for a child’s age, and can help a child become better at their language use and understanding.

Speech and Language Working Together

For people who talk to communicate, sometimes errors in the speech system can significantly impair their ability to correctly use their expressive language skills. For example, if they always leave off the end of words (speech issue), then people won’t always know exactly what they mean or want (“bah” might mean ball, balls, bar, bars, bottle, bottles…) On the other side of that coin, children who are late to develop understanding and talking skills will likely also be delayed in their speech skills simply because they don’t talk a lot and therefore don’t get a lot of practice with their speech. It is quite common for children to have a delay  in BOTH speech and language. 

Speech and Language Operating Separately

When children are babies, they start to develop their speech through babbling. Young babies put consonant and vowel sounds together for practice without the babbling having any actual meaning. Kids might speak to each other in a pretend “language” that is made up of gibberish- they are using speech but not real language. This author’s personal favorite example of speech without language is when people are expert beat-boxers or can scat. Although they are not using or understanding language, no one can deny that their speech system is hard at work! 

Consider a member of the Deaf community who communicates using American Sign Language (ASL.) This person is competently using and understanding language without ever using speech. The complex nuances of their language are instead communicated using hand shapes, movement, space, and facial expressions. Another common use of language without speech is in the written form. Your brain is understanding language right now as you read this, even though you aren’t speaking. When people send each other text messages instead of talking on the phone, they removed speech from the equation but certainly are still using language (and probably emojis.)

You may have heard about parents and speech therapists using simplified sign language with babies. Consider that sign language is a way to communicate without speech. For babies learning to talk or for children with speech difficulty, this is a way to allow the child to communicate with their families without relying only on using their mouths. Speech can be a complicated task to perform (coordination of the lips, tongue, jaw, vocal folds, nose, and breath.) By giving the child the option to use their hands to communicate too, the parent is giving the child more chances to express their language skills independently of speech. It is not a replacement for talking in most young children, but just giving them more options to alleviate frustration and help them grow. You can learn more about baby sign language here. 

As you are on your journey of learning more about your child’s speech and language skills, key points to remember are that 

• Language is happening in the brain and speech is happening in the mouth. 

• A person uses their language to choose words and put them in the right order. 

• Then they use their speech to actually say the words. 

• Difficulties can exist in either or both areas

Written By:

Stephanie Burgner-Vader, MA CCC-SLP  

© 2020-2023. Stephanie Keffer, MS CCC-SLP. All Rights Reserved.

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