Michèle Meloche-Kelly, SLP(C), Reg. CASLPO & Carolyn Spavor, SLP(C), Reg. CASLPO – Speech-Language Pathologists at The Speech and Stuttering Institute

This post is for parents who have already referred their child for speech therapy for help with saying sounds clearly and are waiting for services to start.

We know it can be so hard to wait, especially when you have lots of questions. In this article, we share our responses to the most common questions that parents ask us.

Not referred yet? Here are some links for you.

(Also available in French / Aussi disponible en français: « En attendant pour des thérapies orthophoniques »)

child and dad are eating breakfast together and chatting. Text reads "connect don't correct".

  • The most important thing you can do is to give your child positive experiences of communication: all day, every day. Focus on what they are trying to tell you – not on how they are saying it.
  • Respond when your child tries to communicate with you. Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child has a wonderful video showing how to have these brain-building “serve and return” interactions in everyday situations!

  • Some helpful things you might be doing already:
    • reassure your child that you want to understand (“Let’s figure this out together. Your words are important to me!”)
    • ask your child to point (“Can you show me?”)
    • say the part that you understood and ask for more information (“So you went down the slide at recess, and then what happened?”)
    • clarify the topic (“Wait – are we still talking about frogs?”)
    • when possible, give your child choices so they can experience success getting their message across (“Do you want a banana, or an apple?”)
  • Acknowledge the difficulty (“that’s a tricky word”) and your child’s frustration (“I can see that you’re frustrated”; “You’re trying so hard”)
  • Share responsibility for the challenge (“I’m sorry, sometimes my ears don’t work very well. Can you please tell me that again?”)
  • Remember, it’s okay to take a break and try again later.

  • No!
  • Instead of correcting your child’s speech, focus on their message, and keep the conversation going. Connect, don’t correct!
  • It may seem like it would be helpful, but correcting your child’s speech in conversation interrupts the flow of communication. It can be discouraging and frustrating for them. They may then choose to speak less often, and the extra communication pressure can contribute to the development of stuttering for some.
  • Instead of correcting, you can try modelling the “new way” of saying a word, but only a few times a day – not every time your child makes a mistake. And it’s enough for them just to listen, so avoid asking them to repeat it after you.
  • When your child’s therapy sessions start, your speech therapist will work with you to choose goals and develop activities for practicing speech at home.

  • This is very typical for children who are learning to say words in new ways.
  • A word may be easy to say at one time, but difficult at another. Children say words as best as they can in the moment.
  • Be patient while your child is learning. See the tips above, and remember, when your child is talking to you, “connect – don’t correct!”

a mom and young child are smiling and looking at books on a library shelf

  • There are many apps that claim to help children improve their speech, and some are heavily marketed to parents. But children learn to communicate and speak clearly by interacting with other people, not by sitting alone with a screen.
  • Also, practice on a general app is not tailored to your child’s unique needs. And the practice is not systematic, in the ways that we know are most helpful for learning to say words in new ways.
  • Instead, focus on making time to interact with your child, 1-on-1, without screens, for at least a short time every day. See suggestions below for what you can do together.

  • You don’t need to buy any special toys or games (or apps – see above)! Just use the books, toys, and board games you have at home to spend some 1-on-1 time with your child. As you play and chat together, be face-to-face, and say words slowly and smoothly while your child watches.
  • Everyday activities and routines offer functional, repeated opportunities to model common words (for example, bath time, cooking, gardening, grocery shopping, cleaning, going to the park).

  • No, it will not hurt her to keep speaking her first language at home – in fact, research tells us that it will help her.
  • Children (who are long-term residents in Canada) who continue to speak a language other than English at home do as well in school – and often better – than their monolingual peers in reading, writing, and math! This is surprising to most parents (and to doctors and teachers, too). For more information, please check out this report: Multilingual Student Achievement in Ontario’s English-Language Boards (2020).
  • When a multilingual child learns new speech sounds in one of their languages, they are able to use these sounds in their other language(s), too.
  • For tips about how to keep speaking your home language with your child, see these handouts from the Best Start Resource Centre and the Peel District School Board.

a chart from McLeod et al (2018) about age of acquisition of English consonants, along with title text,

  • Sometimes, parents expect their child’s speech therapist to be like a mechanic who can “fix” their child’s speech.
  • But a speech therapist is really more like a personal trainer. During the therapy sessions, they help your child work on new skills, but the real and lasting change happens when you and your child keep practising together between visits.
  • Your speech therapist will help you and your child figure out what to do at home so you can make the most of your practice time.

  • There is a lot of variation in when children learn to say different sounds.
  • The picture above shows the average age that 90% of children (or more) have learned each of the English consonants. Click on the picture to see it up close.
  • Speech errors can include substituting or distorting consonant and/or vowel sounds, leaving out sounds or syllables, and/or saying sounds and words inconsistently. Your child’s speech therapist can help you learn about your child’s speech errors, and can tell you which ones might be typical for their age.
  • It’s also important to think about how well your child is understood by others when they talk. For example, typically developing 5-year-old children are understood by strangers about 75% of the time, and skills continue to improve through age 9 (Hustad et al, 2021).

  • We wish we could give you a clear answer! But it varies for each child.
  • There are many factors that affect how long it takes to learn and use new speech skills, such as these (summarized in Namasivayam et al, 2024):
    • the nature of your child’s speech difficulty;
    • your child’s age;
    • their development in other areas (such as attention, self-regulation, other movement skills…);
    • your child’s temperament, feelings about communication, and motivation;
    • the goals and target words/phrases that you and the speech therapist choose together;
    • the type and amount of practice that the speech therapist provides; and
    • the amount and quality of practice at home between sessions.
  • Learning any new skill – including speech – takes time. The most important thing is to help your child have positive communication experiences as often as possible along the way.

a child sits in the grass and reads a book. Text says "care for the whole child."

  • Even though your child might be able to hear lots of sounds, it’s important to make sure that he is hearing the full range of speech sounds. The only way to know that is to have a hearing test.
  • A hearing test helps us know if any hearing problems – even mild or temporary ones – might be contributing to your child’s speech difficulties.
  • How to arrange a hearing test for a child in Ontario:
    • To get a hearing test covered by OHIP, your child needs a referral from their doctor to a publicly funded program. Please speak with your child’s doctor for details.
    • Another option (for children ages 3 and up) is to arrange a free hearing test at a Canadian Hearing Services location near you. No doctor’s referral is needed.
    • You can also arrange a hearing test for your child with a private audiologist, without a doctor’s referral, but there may be a fee.

  • Children with speech sound disorders (SSDs) are significantly more likely than children without SSDs to have difficulties with reading and language (Walquist-Sørli et al, 2025).
  • Speech therapists supporting children with SSDs should screen early and often for signs of difficulty with spoken language and literacy (reading and writing). They may recommend more in-depth assessments. Spoken language includes skills such as using and understanding grammar and vocabulary, stories, explanations, descriptions, comparisons, and predictions.
  • While you are waiting for services to start, you can:
    • talk with the school teacher about your child’s learning strengths and needs in the classroom, and how to help them at home;
    • read books out loud to and with your child (of any age) every day;
    • give your child chances to talk with you and learn about lots of different topics (to build vocabulary in meaningful situations).
  • For more ideas about how to help your child, check out these family literacy activities from Reading Rockets. They share activity ideas for a range of ages and literacy levels.

  • Those intake forms do ask a lot of questions!
  • But when parents are concerned about their child’s speech, we need to ask about all of those things so we can better understand your child.
  • Speech development is just one part of a child’s overall development. Many factors can affect how speech develops. For example:
    • Frequent ear infections could mean that a child has temporary periods of reduced hearing because of fluid in the ears. This could affect how much and how well they hear what others are saying (plus, their ears might hurt, which can make it even harder to learn). See above for how to arrange a hearing test (which will include checking for fluid in the ears).
    • Drooling or challenges with eating might suggest differences in the development or movement of parts of the mouth that are also used for speaking. If you are concerned about your child’s drooling or eating, please speak with your child’s doctor.
    • Snoring, sleep apnea, and/or breathing with the mouth open might suggest enlarged tonsils and adenoids, which can also affect speech development. Also, a child who is waking often due to sleep apnea may be very tired, and this can affect how they learn many different skills. If you’ve noticed that your child snores, or breathes through their mouth most of the time, please speak with your child’s doctor about arranging a referral to an otolaryngologist (“Ear, Nose, and Throat” specialist).
    • Difficulty with other movement skills such as jumping, riding a bike, holding a pencil, or using scissors, are sometimes (but not always) related to speech difficulties. Remember, speech is a movement, too! If you are concerned about your child’s movement skills, please speak with your child’s doctor.

  • It’s usually very difficult to determine why any particular child develops a speech sound disorder (SSD). Most of the time, it’s more helpful to focus on what we can do next to help them build their communication skills. Arranging speech therapy is a great step you’ve taken already.
  • When toddlers or young children have a pacifier in their mouth throughout the day, it means they have fewer opportunities to talk, babble, copy sounds, say words, and join in back-and-forth conversations.
  • Research about the effects of pacifiers on speech development is still evolving. Extended pacifier use may impact a child’s speech development (Strutt et al, 2021). Prolonged use may increase the risk of ear infections (Niemelä et al, 2000).
  • Every child and family is different. However, many experts agree that it’s time to stop using pacifiers between the ages of 1 and 3 or 4 years. For more information, here is a handout from the Canadian Pediatric Society.

light and sparks emerge from an open book. Text reads "there's no quick fix."

  • “Tongue-tie” gets a lot of attention on social media these days.
  • “Tongue-tie” (also called “ankyloglossia”) refers to a shortened lingual frenulum (tissue under the front of the tongue) that restricts tongue movement. But there aren’t actually any universally agreed-on criteria for diagnosing a tongue tie.
  • Rates of diagnosis and surgical treatment are increasing (Bhatt et al, 2025).
  • But, in general, there is no association between tongue-tie and speech disorders (Salt et al, 2020). Research so far shows that surgery for tongue-tie does not usually improve speech.
  • There may be other reasons that dentists and doctors consider surgery for tongue-tie, depending on each individual situation. Some examples of other factors to consider include gum and oral health, eating (or breastfeeding in infants), aesthetics, and social relationships.

  • To change their speech, children need to practice speech.
  • Non-speech oral motor exercises – such as blowing bubbles – do not help children improve their speech. For a parent-friendly summary of the research, see this handout.
  • Most of the time, speech difficulties do not come from a problem with muscle strength. Instead, they come from difficulty with precise coordination of movements of the jaw, lips, tongue, voice box, lungs, and other body structures. Improving this coordination for speaking happens by practicing real speech sounds in meaningful words and sentences.

Bhatt, A., Turner, B., Davidson, J., Wilson, C. A., You, P., Husein, M., Paradis, J., Strychowsky, J. E., & Graham, M. E. (2025). Incidence of oral tie diagnosis and treatment in Southwestern Ontario: A survey study. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 192, 112306. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2025.112306

Hustad, K. C., Mahr, T. J., Natzke, P., & Rathouz, P. J. (2021). Speech development between 30 and 119 months in typical children I: Intelligibility growth curves for single-word and multiword productions. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 64(10), 3707–3719. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_JSLHR-21-00142

Namasivayam, A. K., Shin, H., Nisenbaum, R., Pukonen, M., & van Lieshout, P. (2024). Predictors of functional communication outcomes in children with idiopathic motor speech disorders. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 67(10S), 4053–4068. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_JSLHR-23-00070

Niemelä, M., Pihakari, O., Pokka, T., & Uhari, M. (2000). Pacifier as a risk factor for acute otitis media: A randomized, controlled trial of parental counseling. Pediatrics, 106(3), 483–488. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.106.3.483

Salt, H., Claessen, M., Johnston, T., & Smart, S. (2020). Speech production in young children with tongue-tie. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 134, 110035. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2020.110035

Strutt, C., Khattab, G., & Willoughby, J. (2021). Does the duration and frequency of dummy (pacifier) use affect the development of speech?. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 56(3), 512–527. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12605

Walquist-Sørli, L., Caglar-Ryeng, Ø., Furnes, B., Nergård-Nilssen, T., Donolato, E., & Melby-Lervåg, M. (2025). Are speech sound difficulties risk factors for difficulties in language and reading skills? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 68(1), 164–177. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_JSLHR-24-00170

If you have not yet referred your child for publicly funded speech therapy services in Ontario, please contact:

  • your local Preschool Speech and Language Program for children who have not yet started Junior Kindergarten, or
  • your child’s teacher or principal, for School-Based Rehabilitation Services (SBRS) for children enrolled in school.

Private speech therapy is also available, for a fee. Here are some links you can use to search for SLPs in private practice: