Wait, Speech Therapists Do That?! What SLCN’s are and what your SaLT actually does.

When people hear ‘Speech and Language Therapist’, they often think about children who struggle to pronounce certain sounds. And yes, that’s part of what we do. But speech is only one piece of the picture.

Sometimes, communication difficulties are obvious. Other times, they’re hidden. A child might look like they’re listening perfectly but struggle to process the words. They might know exactly what they want to say, but the words just won’t come. Or, they might chat confidently at the kitchen table but completely freeze in a noisy classroom. As a Speech and Language Therapist, I see firsthand that no two children are the same. Communication is unique—and our support should be, too.

What does SLCN actually mean?

Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) is a broad term. It can include difficulties with understanding language, expressing language, fluency, speech sounds, or social communication.

No two children with SLCN will look exactly the same

That’s one of the things I enjoy most about being a Speech and Language Therapist: you have to look beyond the behaviour in front of you and work out what the child is trying to communicate, what is getting in the way, and what support will make communication easier. As parents and professionals, it’s important to let go of how we think the child should be communicating, and tune into what really works for them.

Communication starts with understanding

Understanding (or Receptive) language is the ability to make sense of the words and sentences we hear. A child may be able to hear perfectly well but still find it difficult to process and understand language.  Some children might be able to talk without fully understanding what is said to them, these children are often overlooked as they appear more able then they are.

You might notice that a child:

• finds instructions difficult to follow
• misses important words in a sentence
• becomes overwhelmed when there is lots of information
• finds unfamiliar vocabulary or longer sentences difficult to understand
• appears to look around at what others are doing to find ‘clues’ for following instructions (look out for meerkats, popping their head up and looking around at others) 

Difficulties with understanding language can be misinterpreted as ‘bad behaviour’ or ‘not listening’. I often hear ‘He’s choosing not to listen’ and then assessment reveals the child struggles to understand even basic instructions. Speech and Language Therapy can help determine the barrier and support teachers and parents to understand what part of the language is proving difficult. 

Finding the words to express yourself

Some children understand much more than they are able to say.

Expressive language is about putting our thoughts, ideas, feelings and experiences into a form that other people can understand. This might involve spoken words and sentences, but it can also involve gestures, signs, pictures or communication devices.

A child might have difficulty finding the right word, putting words together into sentences, using grammar, or explaining what has happened. They may know what they want to tell you but simply not have the language to get it across.

When children can’t find the words, frustration can take over. Often, what looks like ‘challenging behaviour’ is actually just a child desperately trying to express a problem the only way they know how 

For some children, fluency is also part of this picture. Stammering (or ‘stuttering’) can involve repetitions, getting stuck on words or longer pauses. It can vary depending on the situation and may become more noticeable when a child is excited, tired or anxious.

Our role isn’t simply to make a child ‘talk more’. It’s about helping them communicate in a way that works for them, whether that means developing spoken language, supporting fluency, or finding and developing other ways to communicate.

Speech is more than just ‘getting the sounds right’

Speech is the way we use sounds to talk. 

Children are learning and developing these sounds over time, so it’s very common for younger children to simplify words. For example, a child might say ‘tat’ instead of ‘cat’.

For some children, though, speech sound difficulties persist or have a bigger impact on how easily other people understand them. Some children also find it difficult to hear or organise the individual sounds within words, which can make saying words accurately more challenging.

I remember in a session, I once pushed a child to try a speech sound one more time, only to be met with a massive eye roll!  It was a wake-up call. Constantly hearing that you haven’t got it right is exhausting and can kill motivation, which is why practice must be short, playful, and focused on success—not failure.

Using language to connect with other people

Communication isn’t just about knowing words it is about building relationships

Social communication includes things like taking turns in conversation, understanding facial expressions and body language, interpreting tone of voice and navigating different social situations.

But children don’t all communicate socially in the same way.

For example, autistic children may have different ways of interacting and communicating, and children with selective mutism may find speaking in certain situations particularly difficult. These differences aren’t something that we need to ‘fix’.

A neuro-affirming approach means recognising and respecting different ways of communicating. Our role is to support children to communicate, participate and build relationships in ways that feel comfortable and authentic to them.

In social communication groups I’ve run in the past, the focus hasn’t been on forcing eye contact or encouraging children to seem more neurotypical for the comfort of others, but on honoring different communication styles, respecting each other’s space and differences, and focusing on communication strengths.  

Communication doesn’t have to mean talking

One of the most important things to understand about Speech and Language Therapy is that communication doesn’t have to look like speech.

We use a total communication approach, which means recognising and supporting all the ways a child communicates. This might include:

• gestures and signs
• facial expressions and body language
• vocalisations and speech
• pictures, symbols or objects
• AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication), including communication devices.

For some children, these methods are used alongside speech. For others, they may be their main way of communicating.

The important thing isn’t whether a child communicates in the way we expected them to. It’s whether they have a reliable way to tell us what they think, need, feel and want to share. You’d be surprised at how much children can tell you when provided with the right environment and resources!

If you’re concerned about your child’s speech, language or communication,you can contact us at SpeechWise Therapy, and we’ll be happy to support you and your child. 

Every child deserves to be heard and every way of communicating matters.