Social communication in children is more than just talking. It's about knowing how to use communication to connect with others, share, ask for help, play, converse, negotiate, understand intentions, and participate in daily life. When this area is weakened, the child may feel misunderstood, isolated, or constantly corrected.
Echolalia can be worrying, but it shouldn't always be seen as meaningless. In many children, repeating words or phrases is a way of learning, organizing language, responding, asking, regulating themselves, or participating. The central question is whether the repetition is helping the child communicate or limiting their communicative autonomy.
PECS can help children who are not yet speaking because it offers a concrete way to initiate communication. For some children, this bridge reduces frustration, increases autonomy, and creates more opportunities for interaction. For others, it may only be a step before more complete systems or other forms of communication.
Talking about autism and speech therapy is talking about access to communication. For some children, this access comes through speech. For others, it comes through gestures, images, devices, writing, expressions, visual routines, or combinations of various forms of communication.
Augmentative and alternative communication is not a last resort. It is a bridge. A bridge between intention and message, between person and world, between what is felt and what can finally be shared.
Improving reading fluency in schools isn't about asking pupils to read faster. It's about giving them a key to better access texts, content, and school life.
There's no need for children's language stimulation exercises to be complicated, expensive, or confined to the table. Most of the time, the best stimulation comes from everyday moments: getting dressed, playing, bathing, preparing snacks, tidying up toys, reading a story, or chatting before bedtime.
The fluency challenge should be viewed with seriousness, but not with fear. Whether in speaking or reading, a child needs opportunities to practise, make mistakes safely, repeat with purpose, and feel that their message matters more than perfect execution.
Speaking late isn't always the same. Some children need help producing sounds clearly. Others need support understanding, learning words, and constructing sentences. Still others need both. That's why understanding speech delay versus language delay is so important.
Stuttering and job interviews can be daunting, but they don't have to determine your professional future. The right preparation won't eliminate all blocks, but it will change how you deal with them. Instead of trying to hide every sign of stuttering, you can learn to communicate with structure, timing, clarity, and presence.
