Bedfordshire and Luton Speech and Language Therapy waiting times

Our team have created a number of virtual workshops that are free to parents in Bedfordshire and Luton. You do not have to have a referral to go to these workshops.

The most important skills needed for communication are attention and listening skills. All other communication skills are based upon the ability to pay attention and listen.

Play is your child’s way of exploring and learning about the world. It can help them understand new words and learn how to communicate with others. Playing and social skills are important for your child to learn.

Understanding spoken language helps children follow instructions, answer questions, understand stories and identify objects and pictures. A child’s understanding of language is usually ahead of their ability to use language.

Use of language is how your child is learning to say new words and put them into sentences. It also includes non-verbal cues like gestures. As children grow and develop, they will know more words and use longer more complex sentences.

Speech sounds are the individual sounds we use to make words. To make sounds the brain needs an idea to communicate, then it sends the idea to the mouth telling it which words to say and the sounds to make. This includes signals to the muscles that control the tongue, lips, and jaw.