Hamayal 
Signs of social communication difficulty in children can include finding turn-taking in conversation tricky, reading facial expressions and tone of voice differently from other children, struggling to join in play or keep friendships going, or taking jokes and sayings very literally. Every child communicates in their own way, and any one sign on its own … Read more
An articulation disorder is a difficulty physically producing individual speech sounds — the tongue, lips or jaw do not quite make the movement a sound needs. A phonological disorder is different: the sounds themselves can often be made, but the child’s speech system organises them using simpler patterns, so whole groups of sounds change in … Read more
A first word is more than a sound that happens to resemble a word. It counts as a true first word when your baby uses it on purpose, uses it consistently for the same person, object or action, and uses it independently — not only when copying you. The word does not need to sound … Read more
A speech and language therapist is the professional who assesses and supports difficulties with communication, and with eating, drinking and swallowing, in children and adults. A speech or language teacher — a title used in some schools and some countries — usually works within education, helping children to use language for learning in the classroom. … Read more
Hoarseness is when the voice sounds rough, husky, breathy or strained instead of clear. Most hoarse voices come from everyday causes — a cold, a lot of talking, dry air — and settle again as the irritation calms. A hoarse voice that will not go away is different: because no one can tell the cause … Read more
Swallowing works in four linked stages: food is prepared in the mouth, moved to the back of the mouth, carried safely past the airway by the swallow itself, and then travels down to the stomach. Each stage depends on muscles, nerves and timing working together in a split-second sequence — and during the swallow itself, … Read more
Acquired apraxia of speech is a difficulty with planning and programming the movements of speech, usually after a stroke or brain injury. The person knows what they want to say, and the muscles of speech are not weak, but the brain’s instructions for putting sounds together in the right order go astray — so speech … Read more
Executive function problems after brain injury affect the brain’s “manager” skills — planning ahead, getting organised, starting tasks, adapting when plans change, and checking your own actions as you go. A person may know exactly what they want to do, yet struggle to get started, lose track of the steps halfway through, or not notice … Read more
Aphasia is caused by damage to the parts of the brain that handle language. Most often, that damage comes from a stroke — when the blood supply to part of the brain is blocked, or a blood vessel bursts. Aphasia can also follow a head injury, a brain tumour, an infection affecting the brain, surgery, … Read more
When a child eats only a few foods, eating has become very restricted: the list of accepted foods is short, new foods are refused or cause genuine distress, and mealtimes may revolve around keeping everything exactly the same. It is more than everyday fussiness, and it is not caused by bad parenting — there are … Read more