What is the difference between speech and language?
Speech is the ability to express language by articulate sounds. Air produced by the lungs and the diaphragm is shaped by our “articulators” including, the vocal cords, larynx, soft palate, teeth, tongue, and even the nasal cavity! All of these structures work together to make specific sounds which are then formed to make meaningful words.
Speech includes 3 different components:
• Articulation – how we make speech sounds using the mouth, lips, and tongue
• Voice- how we use our breath and vocal folds to produce sounds
• Fluency- the rate and/or rhythm of our speech
Language involves the use of words and symbols to share ideas and express our wants or needs. Language can be conveyed by speech, writing, or gestures.
Language includes 5 components:
• Phonology- the use of sounds
• Morphology- how we make new words by changing the beginning or ending of words. For example, we can say “love”, “lovely”, or “loved” to mean something different
• Semantics- what words mean
• Syntax- how we put words together to make phrases and sentences
• Pragmatics- how we use language at different times. For example, it is socially acceptable and polite to say “please” and “thank you”
We can have challenges with speech, language, or both. If we have trouble understanding the language that is spoken to us, that is a receptive language disorder. Having difficulty expressing ourselves or sharing our thoughts, ideas, and feelings is an expressive language disorder. It is possible to have both, a receptive and expressive language disorder.
When we have difficulty saying sounds, producing adequate voicing, or have interruptions in the fluency of our speech (stuttering), we have a speech disorder.
Speech and Language Developmental Milestones
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Birth - 1 Year
Recognizes their name and turns their head when called
Has a vocabulary of 2-3 words besides “mama” and “dada”
Imitates/repeats familiar words
Understands simple commands such as “look” and “give me”
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1 - 2 Years
Knows a few parts of the body such as nose, ears, eyes and can point to them when asked
Follows simple commands “throw the ball” and understands simple questions “where is your brother?”
Enjoys listening to simple stories, songs, and nursery rhymes
When asked, correctly identifies and points to pictures in books
Acquires new words on a consistent basis
Combines and asks 2 words questions “where daddy?” “go night-night?”
Imitates familiar animal sounds such as “moo” and “neigh”
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2 - 3 Years
Uses 2 - word negative phrases such as “no want”
Uses 2 or 3 word phrases to talk about and ask for things
Asks “what’s that?” and “you know?”
Carries on conversational topics with self and stuffed animals, dolls, and toys
Has a 450 word vocabulary
Combines nouns and verbs “daddy go”, “brother give”, “shoe tie”
Matches 3-4 colors
Uses k, g, f, t, d, and n sounds
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3 - 4 Years
Is able to tell a story (beginning, middle, and end)
Combines 4-5 words to create sentences
Has a vocabulary of nearly 1,000 words
Understands the concepts of “yesterday”,“summer”, “nap time” ,“tonight”
Begins following 2-step commands such as “put on your shoes after your socks”
Answers simple Who, What, Where, When, and Why questions
Talks about activities at daycare, preschool, or friends’ homes
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4 - 5 Years
Uses past tense correctly
Has a vocabulary of nearly 1,500 words
Identifies and points to colors and shapes including, triangles, circles, and squares
Speaks in abstract/ imaginary scenarios such as “I would love to…” and “If I were…”
Communicates easily with other children and adults - demonstrates good topic maintenance
Uses most sounds correctly except for l, s, r, v, z, ch, sh, and th
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5 -6 Years
Combines 5-6 words to create sentences
Has a vocabulary of nearly 2,000 words
Defines words by their purpose such as “you cut with a knife”
Knows spatial relations such as “on top”, “behind”, “below”, “near”
Counts 10 or more objects/items
Distinguishes left from right
Uses most sounds correctly with the exception of a few like “th”, “r”, ch”
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6 - 7 Years
Follows 2-3 step directions such as “go upstairs and put on your blue shirt”
Maintains good eye contact and uses language for multiple goals such as to gain information, entertainment, or to persuade others
Uses a variation of difference tenses including past, present, and future
Retells and elaborates on various stories and predicts what may happen next
Understands cause and effect
Recognizes and spells many words (spelling may be based on the sounds they hear “pensil” for “pencil”)
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7 - 8 Years
Follows and gives 4-step directions such as “go upstairs and put on your white shirt and blue jeans”
Understands words with multiple meanings
Understands and produces figurative language such as “it’s raining cats and dogs”
Asks and answers inferential questions
Begins to understand synonyms and categories in word definitions
Uses all sounds correctly with the possible exception of “th” in the medial position of a word
About
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association is the professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 127,000 members and affiliates who are speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists in the United States and internationally.
History
ASHA has had several names over our 79 year history. The first was the American Academy of Speech Correction (1925). The current name The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association was adopted in 1978.
The first official ASHA National Office was established in 1958 at 1001 Connecticut Avenue, NW in Washington, DC. Subsequent National Office locations were: 9030 Old Georgetown Road (1966) and 10701 Rockville Pike (1977). In 1981 the ASHA National Office moved to its current location at 10801 Rockville Pike. Currently, approximately 225 staff work at the ASHA National Office.
The current ASHA staff includes about 30 individuals from the professions of audiology or speech-language pathology and individuals with exemplary professional experience and credentials in the domains of: accounting and financial management, adult learning, association management, epidemiology, facilities management, graphic design, human resources, information systems, lobbying, marketing, meetings and conference management, postal operations, publications, public relations, research and survey methodology – just to name a few!
For more information about ASHA you can visit their website at asha.org.
