Sometimes a child's language development is slower or different from what you might expect. For example, it may be that the first words are slow in coming, or that by age 2, the child still isn’t combining words into short sentences.

In other children, atypical language development is observed. For example, children may have difficulty in finding words, naming words, making sentences, not understanding/remembering everything that is said, difficulty in using sounds correctly, difficulty taking turns talking, difficulty telling stories, etc. Then it is referred to as a language development disorder.

Language development disorders can cause problems: the child does not understand their environment and cannot express themselves properly. This can lead to behavioural problems: the child becomes rebellious and angry when not understood or starts to withdraw more and more. Schoolwork may also be more difficult.

Within language therapy, they work together to identify the child's strengths and weaknesses. From there, we look for an appropriate way to stimulate the language development.