What it means: Helping kids pronounce sounds correctly (like their /r/ sound) or fixing patterns like leaving off sounds off the ends of words.

When it’s needed: If your child is hard to understand for their age.

Major Milestone: Children are expected to be 80% intelligible by 3 years of age.

Quick Tip: Over-exaggerate the sounds your child is having a hard time producing in your own speech to help model the correct sound and bring awareness.

What It Means:
CAS is a motor planning speech disorder where children know what they want to say, but their brains have difficulty coordinating the movements needed to say the words clearly and consistently.

When It’s Needed:
If your child uses limited speech, has inconsistent sound errors, or seems to struggle more than peers with putting sounds together, a speech-language pathologist with experience in motor speech disorders should evaluate for CAS.

Major Milestone:
Children with CAS often benefit from frequent, individualized therapy with the goal of helping them become more intelligible over time and supporting multiple modes of communication.

Quick Tip:
Focus on functional words (like “more,” “go,” or “help”) , read books with repeating lines like “Brown Bear”. Celebrate attempts at communication—even if they’re not perfect.

What it means:
Helping kids use words, phrases, and sentences to express their thoughts/feelings and get their wants/needs met.

When it’s needed:
If your child uses fewer words than expected for their age, has trouble forming sentences, or struggles to tell stories, ask questions, or describe things.

Major Milestone:
By 18 months a child should use and understand ~50 words. By 3 years old, children should be able to use 3–4 word sentences (like "I want more juice").

Quick Tip:
Expand on what your child says — if they say "ball," you can model, "yes, red ball!" This helps naturally grow their sentence skills without pressure.

What it means:
Helping kids understand what others say — including following directions, answering questions, understanding stories, and knowing the meaning of words and sentences.

When it’s needed:
If your child often seems confused by instructions, struggles to answer simple questions, or has trouble understanding new words or concepts.

Major Milestone:
By 2 years old, children should be able to follow simple two-step directions (like "Get your shoes and put them by the door") and understand a wide range of familiar words.

Quick Tip:
Use short, simple sentences and give extra time for your child to respond. Pair your words with gestures and pictures to help build their understanding.

What it means:
Helping kids learn the "rules" of conversation and social interaction — like taking turns when talking, staying on topic, using appropriate body language, and understanding how others feel.

When it’s needed:
If your child struggles to start or maintain conversations, has difficulty making friends, or seems unaware of social cues like facial expressions or tone of voice.

Major Milestone:
By age 4, children should be able to take turns while talking, begin to express their own emotions and show awareness of others' feelings.

Quick Tip:
Practice conversations during playtime! Take turns asking and answering questions, and gently point out social cues (like “Did you see her smile? She looks happy!”).

What it means:
Helping kids speak more smoothly and easily if they repeat sounds, get stuck on words, stretch out sounds, or show tension when talking.

When it’s needed:
If your child frequently repeats sounds or words ("b-b-ball"), gets stuck trying to start a word, stretches out sounds ("mmmmom"), or seems frustrated or upset when speaking.

Major Milestone:
It’s common for children between 2–5 years old to go through short periods of normal disfluency. However, if stuttering lasts longer than 6 months, gets worse, or causes frustration, it’s a good idea to seek help.

Quick Tip:
Slow down your own speech and give your child plenty of time to talk. Stay patient and relaxed — showing that you're listening calmly can ease their speaking pressure.

What it means:
Helping kids with the thinking skills that support communication — like paying attention, remembering information, solving problems, organizing their thoughts, and planning what they want to say.

When it’s needed:
If your child has trouble staying focused, remembering what was said, organizing their ideas, or making logical connections when speaking.

Major Milestone:
By 5 years old, children should be able to tell a simple story with a clear beginning, middle, and end, and start using basic problem-solving skills during play or conversation.

Quick Tip:
Practice sequencing activities at home — like talking through the steps to make a sandwich — to build memory, organization, and clear communication skills.

What it means:
Helping kids build the foundational skills needed for reading and writing — like understanding sounds in words (phonological awareness), connecting letters to sounds, reading smoothly, understanding what they read, and organizing their thoughts in writing.

When it’s needed:
If your child struggles with recognizing letters and sounds, blending sounds into words, reading fluently, understanding stories, spelling, or getting ideas onto paper.

Major Milestone:
By the end of kindergarten, children should recognize most letters, know their sounds, and begin sounding out simple words (like "cat" or "dog"). They should also start writing simple sentences.

Quick Tip:
Read together daily! Point to words as you read, talk about sounds in words (“What sound does 'bat' start with?”), and make writing fun by letting your child help with grocery lists, cards, or silly stories.

What it means:
Helping kids who have a hoarse, raspy, breathy, or unusually high- or low-pitched voice, or who lose their voice often.

When it’s needed:
If your child’s voice sounds consistently different (not just after lots of shouting or a cold) — like being hoarse every day, sounding very strained, or having trouble being heard.

Major Milestone:
By 4–5 years old, children should generally have a clear, strong voice that sounds similar to their peers, without frequent hoarseness or vocal strain.

Quick Tip:
Encourage "voice rest" after lots of talking or loud play, model using an "indoor voice", and encourage hydration.

What it means:
Helping kids who have differences in how their voice sounds because of how air moves through the mouth and nose when they talk — like sounding very nasal (too much air through the nose) or having a muffled or blocked-sounding voice (too little air through the nose).

When it’s needed:
If your child’s speech sounds unusually "nasal" (like they have a constant stuffy nose or are talking through their nose) or if speech sounds muffled, blocked, or unclear due to airflow problems.

Major Milestone:
By 3–4 years old, a child’s voice should sound clear without consistent hypernasality (too much nasal sound) or hyponasality (too little nasal sound).

Quick Tip:
If you notice persistent nasal-sounding speech, especially after a surgery like cleft palate repair or repeated ear infections, talk to a specialist early — some resonance issues need specific therapy or medical support.

What it means:
Helping kids with hearing loss learn to listen, understand spoken language, and communicate effectively — either by building these skills for the first time (habilitation) or improving them after a hearing loss is diagnosed (rehabilitation).

When it’s needed:
If your child has a hearing loss (with or without hearing aids or cochlear implants) and needs help developing listening skills, understanding speech, or learning how to use hearing technology effectively.

Major Milestone:
Children with hearing devices typically begin developing early listening and spoken language skills within the first few months of consistent device use, but close support is key to matching age-level milestones over time.

Quick Tip:
Speak clearly, use short phrases, and talk often! Create a language rich environment consisting of spoken language, pictures, and written labels.