Are the different terms adding confusion as you anxiously look for help for your child? What kind of problem does my child have? Speech or Language or both? Who is a speech therapist? Speech pathologist? Is a speech language therapist better than a speech therapist?
First, the easier question. A speech therapist, speech language therapist, speech pathologist or a speech language pathologist are the same, all qualified professionals specifically trained to diagnose and treat speech, language and communication difficulties. They are just different words used in different parts of the world, a little bit like how you would look for an elevator in some countries and a lift in others- both get you where you want to go.
What about the difference between speech and language? Even 7-year-olds can use these words, and we may use the words loosely or interchangeably. However, the more you read, the more you may start to wonder what exactly is the difference. A speech and language therapist uses them specifically to refer to different areas that your child may have difficulty, so it is important for you to know the difference.
Speech refers to what you say and hear. The different aspects of speech are: is the speech clear, are all the sounds in a word pronounced correctly,is the voice quality hoarse, is there any stuttering or stammering etc.If a speech therapist tells you your child has a speech problem, she is referring to one of the above- and can offer speech therapy to help.
How about language? What does it mean if someone tells you your child has a language problem?
We usually think of language as in different languages spoken by different people: English, Chinese, Spanish etc. However, it does not mean that only people trying to learn a foreign language can have a ‘language’ problem.
If your speech language therapist tells you your child has a ‘language‘ problem, she is usually referring to difficulty in one or both of these two areas: 1.the meaning of words, or vocabulary (a technical term used is ‘semantics’) ,or 2. how the words are arranged to form sentences (more technical terms used may be ‘grammar’ or ‘syntax’).
‘Expressive language’ problems are those related to expressing oneself, such as knowing the correct words to express an idea (a colour, an animal, a feeling etc), or being able to say a sentence in the correct order to form a sentence. (In English, for example, we would ask “Where is my wallet?” while in Chinese the question would be “My wallet is where?”)
On the other hand, receptive language is about how one receives the language input, that is, how one understands what one reads or hears. If your child has a receptive language difficulty, he has difficulty understanding instructions, or he may be able to read a story aloud, but is unable to answer questions about the story and does not actually understand what happened.
A speech and language therapist can diagnose which area is contributing to your child’s communication or school difficulty, and can offer language therapy to help.
Now that you have a better idea of what is a speech problem, and what is a language problem, just be aware that they may occur separately, or together.
A child may have no language problem and know the words and sentences to express himself, but you can have difficulty understanding what he says because of his speech problem of a lisp whenever he says any words with the ‘s’ sound.
On the other hand, a child may have no speech problem, pronounce all sounds correctly, yet leave you puzzled when he tries to tell you what happened in school because of his language difficulty, using words such as ‘this’ or ‘him’ rather than specific vocabulary, jumbling up words, or fails to narrate what happens in the right order.
A child may also have difficulty with both speech and language.
In the same way, language difficulties can also overlap and occur together with reading problems or dyslexia. Your speech and language therapist will be able to advise you on whether your child’s reading difficulties are related to reading or language difficulties.