Language

A Language Disorder is where a child experiences difficulties with understanding language (i.e. receptive language disorder) and/or using words to express their thoughts, ideas and feelings (i.e. expressive language disorder).

Receptive Language

Receptive Language is the ability to understand words either heard or read. Difficulties with receptive language can impact on your child’s relationships with others, reading development and overall academic performance at school.

Possible symptoms that may suggest your child has a receptive language difficulty include:

Difficulties following instructions
Inability to attend and concentrate
Difficulties in responding to questions
Confusion with concepts (e.g. long/short; big/small)
Understanding and responding to stories
Difficulties in understanding humour and figurative language.

Expressive Language

Expressive Language is the ability to use words to form sentences using the correct grammar and vocabulary. Difficulties with expressive language may impact on your child’s ability to effectively communicate with others either in the written or verbal form.

Possible symptoms that may suggest your child has an expressive language difficulty include:

Inability to finding the ‘right’ words to use during conversation
Difficulties with retelling and/or writing stories
Uses jargon (or made up words) in their sentences
Use of short and simple sentences
Difficulties with ordering and/or combining words to produce sentences
Unable to be understood by unfamiliar listeners
Difficulties with maintaining a conversation.

Please contact us for further information on how we may assist with your child’s language.